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As we’ve said, January is usually a dumping ground for crap movies. But honestly it has been a decent month for the suspense/horror genre. Well, we haven’t heard great things about The Turning, but otherwise we’re winning. Underwater was a really solid action horror flick, husband/editor Will totally loved Color Out of Space, and now we’ve been shocked by how strong Gretel and Hansel was.

Obviously, Gretel & Hansel is a retelling of the classic fairy tale. The twist though is that it focuses a bit more on Gretel (hence the name swap) as she finds out more and more about the power and strength of women. It is a pretty solid feminist piece, although as you’ll hear, we don’t think it totally stuck the landing. As the story progresses, Gretel uncovers more and more about the witch in the woods, but things don’t go totally how you think they will.

Ultimately it is the story you know from childhood. The story beats are all there. But the production design and cinematography create an atmosphere we loved being immersed in and we kind of hope more movies take this approach: low budget, lead actor on the verge of a big break, not a ton of risk. We don’t think it’s a perfect movie, so if you want to hear all our thoughts on Gretel & Hansel, hang around for today’s episode of So…I’m Watching This Show!

GRETEL & HANSEL SHOWNOTES!