Look below the surface, and fairy tales can be terrifying, grotesque and unnerving... which makes them perfect for a horror-fantasy movie.And there's no shortage of either beauty or horror in "Hansel and Gretel" -it's a dark fairy tale that starts off as lovely as an antique wind-up toy, but soon the prettiness flakes away to show the horrors underneath. The actors all do excellent jobs (particularly the three kids), but the real star here is Yim Pil-Sung's lushly atmospheric direction.
After a car accident, Eun-soo (Cheon Jeong Myeong) finds himself wandering through a lush green forest, until he comes across a colorful little cottage that is every child's dream -countless toys, and no food but candy and cake. The family inside seems similarly perfect, but they're strangely reluctant to let Eun-soo go -and soon the parents vanish, leaving Eun-soo to watch the three eerie kids.
Oh yes, and whenever poor Eun-soo tries to walk back to civilization, the the forest itself swamps him with snow and darkness.
Stuck with the kids (and a pair of increasingly creepy yuppies who are also stranded), Eun-soo begins to realize that this house isn't just creepy because of the "children's fantasy" theme. There's something dark and weepy in the attic, a girl wanders through the house and yard, and the children start to demonstrate darker facets -and mysterious powers that are keeping him trapped.
Porcelain doll-women, people swallowed by trees, magical picture books, an endless forest littered with toys, and a house where children's wishes come true. "Hansel and Gretel" is full of strange and fantastical things that make it seem like a magical dream -but as the story winds on, Yim Pil-Sung peels away all those pretty layers and shows us the rotten wood underneath. Think "Pan's Labyrinth" crossed with a reverse "Coraline."
And his style is absolutely stunning -lush, eerie, full of lingering glimpses of leafy trees, antique toys and old dusty rooms hidden behind magical doors. Even the creepy scenes are painted in shadows and sunlight -and there are a lot of them, because Yim Pil-Sung can even make harmless toys, stuffed animals and rabbit masks seem eerie.
The story needs to look that lovely, because it becomes more terrifying and saddening as it winds on -especially since horrendous things happen to some of the grown-ups who cross these kids ("Good girl," Young-hee croons at one victim). And in the last quarter the story suddenly twists back on itself, revealing a gruesome and traumatic back history for the children, painted in the dull brown hues of an old sepia photograph.
But the most haunting aspect of the movie is the kids -the three young actors perfectly embody innocence that has been twisted and shattered. Shim Eun Kyeong gives a heartrending performance as the tragic, withdrawn Young-hee, and while Eun Won Jae's Man-bok seems like a jerk at first, we eventually see just how passionate his protectiveness is. In fact, Cheon Jeong Myeong gets rather overshadowed despite being the lead character -he's rather underdeveloped, but a fundamentally nice and kind guy.
"Hansel and Gretel" is a perfect blend of exquisitely beautiful horror and dark fantasy, with a brilliant cast of actors and sublime direction. An absolute must-see.
When Eun-soo Lee (Jeong-myeong Cheon) has a car accident (which is why talking on the cell phone while driving is outlawed in California), he regains consciousness within a forest with a 12-year old girl named Yeong-Hee (Eun-kyeong Shim) who leads them to their house in the middle of the woods. Once there, he meets the parents, Yeong-Hee's older brother Man-Bok (Won-jae Eun) and cute younger sister (played by Ji-hui Jin), he is invited to stay the night. Come morning, Eun-soo is served sweets for breakfast which was quite odd. Eun-soo also finds that he is unable to find his way out of the forest by himself and decides to impose upon the kindly family once again to stay one more day. The following day, he finds the children crying and that the parents have left on an urgent matter and asks Eun-soo to watch over the kids. Eun-soo soon realizes that these are not your normal children and that there have been other guests in their home, and none of them ever found a way out of the forest.
The film has very high production values and has superb visuals. "Hansel and Gretel" is quite unique when we think about all the overused elements in Korean horror. The atmosphere and feel seems to have been inspired by a fairy tale and the way the plot unfolds is quite similar to a fable. I would say that the film's main visual style in regards to color is its "storybook" appeal that is both creepy and well, a little terrifying. I really thought the strong visuals carried most of the film's burden, and while the movie's main premise isn't entirely original (one lost and cannot leave-premise), it is still a fresh approach to Asian horror.
The performances of the cast led by Jeong-myeong Cheon (who plays Eun-Soo) is decent but a little uneven; the strong performance by Hie-Sun Park (plays Deacon Byeon) is the only adult performance truly worth noting because it stands out. Cheon seemed a decent actor but all the emotions he showed were too stereotypical for his character. Won-jae Eun and Eun-keong Shim are the older siblings and they are the balance of anger and natural charm. Man-Bok is genuinely mysterious and you can tell he is full of fury while Yeong-Hee is the young girl who serves as the film's most interesting character. The youngest child, Jung-Soon (played by Ji-hui Jin) is the living combination of raw creepiness and cuteness--she is spooky but at the same time so adorable and cuddly.
The script by Kim Min-sook is rather uneven and leaves several factors unexplored. The plot itself isn't really original since its backgrounds regarding child abuse and orphans is a little predictable. The film's premise of an alternate world wasn't very defined as to its relationships with the forest, the past and even the "real" world. The film does lift some ideas from "Peter Pan" and the colorful style of a children's storybook does give it a nice feel that is surrounded by an adult subject matter. However, if the plot had established the needed groundwork for the house, the forest and the real world (in regards to Deacon Byeon) then the hidden secret in the film's final act would have proved more convincing and highly credible. The supposed disturbing secret seemed like a throw-away detail designed to shock and generate sympathy.
Overall, "Hansel and Gretel" does do a lot more things right than wrong. I loved the colorful atmosphere, the beautiful cinematography, the great performances of the children and the wholly different approach to a storybook wrapped around in a dark premise is enjoyable. Some elements of the film did lack credibility and felt like a cheap shot to surprise the viewer, the failure to fully develop the back story hampered the film and made the "secret" a little underwhelming. Pil-yung Yim's "Hansel and Gretel" had all the necessary tools to become a great horror thriller but unfortunately, it just ends up being good. Still, it is worth a watch.
Recommended! [3 ½ Stars]
Video/Audio: 2.35 ratio anamorphic widescreen. The picture is colorful, vibrant as intentioned to exude a fairy tale feel. The 5.1 Dolby Digital Korean Track is nice and powerful. The English Subs have minor typos but not enough to hamper the film's enjoyment.
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It is disturbing and immensely beautiful, with every scene a painting come to life, much in its own way as Death in Venice, and I don't think anyone could escape being caught in wonderland. Like any good film, it touches the heart and finds it searching for places and gaps memories and tomorrows it never knew it was searching for before.It could be in the mind of a child on the brink of sleep, that is so frightening tender, so scratching against winter window, poor and threadbare, that contrasts with the film's richness of candy and cakes and eternal Christmas trees and presents under them, heavy snow forever more, an exquisitely created dream of a house of jolly elf coated nightmares and furnishings and frenetic parents who try to recapture something they hope is in you, at the same time you realize they're hiding something so unspeakably terrifying and that is when you begin to know you are the bulwark of this hideous thing and you must please.
As you feel this artificial glowing inside yourself turned into a hollow thing that leaves you stranded and alone, just as you think young forever, then close to the child almost the moment of clarity, and you fall asleep and wake to the fever of Christmas morning.
The earlier front cover of the DVD case has a picture of the children on the couch, looking so solemn and forlorn. The words above them read: Don't go. We'll be good. And they try and they are really the needed, finally the sacrifice comes in the sadness you feel when you realize for the first time you are indeed grown up but inside you is for always the corpse of the child who was once you.
In the frightening fairytale woods all around this home of happy children, supervised by adults of a certain nervous condition. And when the thieves arrive in the deepest pure snowfall, the snow on their lovely hair, their wealthy clothing, the very eye colors and tint of gray in the man's hair, their fragile looking glasslike beautiful faces, welcome to representatives of the world that no wicked witch could conjure.
The opening ancient drawings of Hansel and Gretel, how quaking in horror they are, as if skin is made of oatmeal, and is pulling apart from the sheer shudder of utter terror.
Those ancient drawings seemed to say behind a fear is the fear of themselves. Like it was no old woman to bake them in the oven, or grandmother is not really a Wolf in disguise. It's them, my impressions of drawings themselves as certain gibbering qualities to the film you never get over.
This is a fairytale for sure, looks and feels like one, the ultimate gingerbread cottage, massive amounts of toys and candy food and the razor edge blood red roses with the most blood red hue imaginable.
The ultimate warning is this: believe in magic at your peril. As it protects, comes a price indeed. Adults hide in endless attic, but not for long in this woods of twisted.
And if you are brave enough to go through the door appearing out of thin air, where the secrets are kept, and in the darkness, one of the children says hello, don't turn your lighter on, consider first, as does this grand film. The film makes one remember with dread anew the reading of a fairy tale in a dark summer night room of long ago. The last time we see the children in the movie makes me think: Don't go, we'll be good.
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Hansel and Gretel is a horror film from South Korea. The story follows Eun-soo after a car accident; Young-hee leads him to the "House of Happy Children" where he is introduced to the family. But there is something strange about this home....The story has a "magical"-vibe to it; it plays out like a fairytale, a terrifying fairytale. The story has some genuinely frightening moments and concepts, like the maze attic, the china doll transformation scene, and the oak tree scene. Not only are they scary, but there is also something fascinating about them. The ending was intense and even shares a powerful message/question. The movie is shot beautifully and uses bright colors well. The music was also amazing and can be spine-tingling one moment and enchanting at another. The acting was also great, especially the children at the end of the film. It's really a dark movie, though.
Hansel and Gretel is a magical yet terrifying experience. Some moments will scare you and some may make you smile, and the ending may even make you shed a tear. As of 10/21/12, this film is available on Netflix Streaming, although I highly recommend a purchase.
Hansel and Gretel has strong blood and violence, no sex or nudity.
Also, I streamed this on Netflix, and the video was a little sluggish like it had a lower rate of frames-per-second, my connection was fine, though. I'm not sure if the blu-ray version is like this, but I felt like I should at least note this.
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If you like world cinema, you might love this film as much as I did. It has suspense and it is creepy. Don't read too much about the film. The best way is just to watch it without knowing what will happen.Save 12% Off
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