Film

Gretel & Hansel

Name: Gretel & Hansel
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Released: 2020
Cast: Sophia Lillis, Samuel Leakey, Alice Krige, Jessica De Gouw, Charles Babalola

A dark, moody reimagining of the Brothers Grimm classic that treats the fairy tale as psychological horror. Sophia Lillis carries the film as Gretel, a girl forced into terrible choices to protect her brother. It's atmospheric and painterly, prioritizing dread and visual storytelling over jump scares. For those who prefer mood and texture to plot momentum.

TMDb rating

3.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like fairy tales rendered as slow, atmospheric dread, where the forest feels like a place with its own cold logic and the horror builds through mood and production design rather than jump scares.

Skip it if you want brisk plotting or a clear sense of where things are headed, since this one lingers on quiet, unhurried scenes and keeps its narrative cards close to its chest for most of the running time.

What it asks of you: Settle in for a short, measured watch of about an hour and a half, with patience for long stretches of gloom and whispered tension before anything sharp arrives.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Witch2016

A masterclass in folk-horror atmosphere that shares Gretel & Hansel's commitment to slow-burn dread and grotesque fairytale logic. Deeply unsettling without relying on gore.

But Glacially paced with minimal conventional narrative thrust. Seventeenth-century dialogue and isolation may feel punishing rather than immersive.

Pan's Labyrinth2006

A fantastical nightmare layered over real historical horror, with the same lush-but-sinister visual palette and a young protagonist navigating magical stakes. Guillermo del Toro's masterpiece.

But The violence is real and brutal, not metaphorical. Some scenes are genuinely traumatic, and the ending offers no easy comfort.

Crimson Peak2015

Gothic, gorgeously composed, and deeply committed to a haunted atmosphere despite its mystery-plot scaffolding. Shares the painterly approach to horror and a vulnerable young heroine in dark settings.

But Veers closer to romance and melodrama than Gretel & Hansel's austerity. The plot becomes more important than the mood in the second half.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Gretel & Hansel

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Come True2020

Both use a young woman's vulnerability as the emotional engine, prioritize visual mood and fractured logic over plot coherence, and treat the viewer's discomfort as a feature, not a bug.

A haunting sci-fi horror about sleep deprivation and pharmaceutical experiments on a young woman. Like Gretel & Hansel, it's visually hypnotic and deliberately vague about what's real, building dread through atmosphere and surrealism rather than plot clarity.

But Extremely slow and abstract. The narrative refuses to crystallize, and some will find it frustratingly opaque rather than mysteriously intelligent.

The Babadook2014

Australian horror that distils childhood trauma into a creeping, shape-shifting presence. Psychological and intimate, with the same refusal to explain everything or offer catharsis.

But The monster is largely metaphorical. If you're watching for scares, you'll leave frustrated. Some find the mother's behaviour alienating rather than sympathetic.

A Dark Song2016

A slow, austere supernatural drama where grief and desperation drive the plot more than external threat. Oddly beautiful and meditative for something so haunted.

But Nothing happens for long stretches. The pacing will feel glacial to anyone wanting action or conventional suspense beats.

The Shape of Water2017

Fairy-tale sensibility wrapped around a Cold War thriller. Lush production design, creature mythology, and a protagonist who must make terrible choices to survive.

But Far more romantic and whimsical than Gretel & Hansel. If you want something darker and less fantastical, this tilts the wrong direction.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters2013

An action-horror take on the same source material, starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as adult versions of the siblings. Fast-paced, visually inventive, and genuinely fun.

But It's a B-movie sensibility played straight. Tone-deaf to the darkness it's playing with, and the action often overwhelms any horror intention.

The Lighthouse2019

Monochrome dread and psychological unravelling, shot in an unusual aspect ratio that feels oppressive and dreamlike. Two men descending into madness in an isolated space.

But Aggressively weird and difficult. The dialogue is maritime-vernacular mumble, the pacing is elliptical, and it deliberately frustrates narrative satisfaction.

We Are Still Here2015

A ghost story with committed '70s atmosphere and genuine scares grounded in real grief. Low-budget but confident, with clever twists on haunted-house tropes.

But Uneven pacing and some dated indie-horror quirks. The ending leans into visceral gore that might undercut the sombre mood you're seeking.

The Company of Wolves1984

A canonical reimagining of Grimm folklore that prioritizes symbolic logic and dreamscape mood over narrative sense. Both treat the source material as psychological terrain to be explored rather than a story to be retold.

Neil Jordan's fractured, dreamlike reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood, told through nested fairy tales and lush surrealism. A direct ancestor to this kind of genre-warped folklore. Utterly original and hypnotic.

But Structurally confusing—fairy tales collapse into one another. The '80s practical effects look deliberately artificial. Very much of its era, which some will find quaint rather than eerie.

Come and See1985

Both use a child protagonist and sumptuous cinematography to examine how evil corrupts innocence. Both refuse comfort or easy redemption, and both treat the viewing experience as something to endure rather than enjoy.

An unflinching Soviet war film where a boy is thrust into incomprehensible horror. Like Gretel & Hansel, it's a portrait of childhood innocence destroyed by forces beyond control, shot with painterly intensity and a refusal to look away.

But Profoundly disturbing and bleak. Not a film to watch for entertainment. The atrocities depicted are real historical events, not metaphorical. One of cinema's most difficult experiences.