Hansel & Gretel

Hansel & Gretel took me by surprise, in a good way. I was expecting a sick film about a man who gets taken hostage by a murdering, cannibalistic family and he had to escape. I should've known more, being that the film is Korean and the way in which they make films is often character driven, complex and with heart. Hansel & Gretel provides all three. The title is a mere intelligent reference to the Grimm's story, it's not simply a re-telling but a fairytale of its own, although I wouldn't go telling this story to any kids!

The film is beautifully shot. In the beginning the colours are extremely bright and vivid, giving the film an unnatural quality so that you know that there's something wrong. However, the colours and props gradually decrease as we find out the many secrets as it leads up to a big twist at the end that I'm sure you will never see coming. What makes the film so gripping and worthy of its two hour running time is that it's highly unpredictable. When you think the films going one way it completely changes direction in a similar way to "Martyrs", although not that harrowing! Hansel & Gretel is jam-packed (Nathan's jam, in my own fairytale) with twists and turns so there's hardly ever a dull moment.

Although things start to become repetitious when our hero keeps going into the woods and getting lost, so going back to the house it's there for a reason, so that we start to feel as fed up and trapped as he does/ There's a great atmosphere of isolation and the film is incredibly eerie at times with the creepy children. Hollywood could never make a film like this because they lack the imagination and creativity that makes Hansel & Gretel so great. Many people may not totally get the fantasy element but I see it important, as it makes the film become its own fairytale and also leaves a lot of things up to interpretation, and I like that sense of ambiguity.

The protagonist is also a very likable character,being that he's the only normal one in the whole film. We uncover the mysteries with him, putting the audience in his shoes makes the film even more compelling. The screenplay is very clever and explores extremely dark and brave areas towards the end. It makes you sympathise for the characters and almost changes into a completely different genre which is very original.

Hansel & Gretel can sit up there with all the other great Korean films, I have yet to see a bad one! It also makes a nice change to do something different rather than the usual (but brilliant) bloody revenge horror/thrillers. It's highly original and compelling with a big heart. It's scary and heartfelt exactly when it needs to be with a lot of questions that can be answered in very different ways. It's eerily directed and never boring. You'll care as much as our hero about uncovering the secrets in the strange house! I think that it deserves to be seen by much more people. (Luckily I caught it on Film4, having never even heard of it before!)

The world of film is currently saturated with Horror films similar to Saw and Hostel. In fact, to the average cinema goer, films such as Saw probably define the Horror genre. However, it is currently Asia that is producing the most original, surprising Horror films that last much longer in the memory than anything produced and distributed in the States.

It is therefore no surprise that Hansel and Gretel continues the tradition of outstanding Asian Horror film with its aim to entertain the audience with a good story as well as shocks.

There have been many similarities with this film to some of Guillermo Del Toro's work such as Pan's Labyrinth or The Orphanage. Initially, these comparisons seem to be wide of the mark, but as the last third of the film unravels, the similarities become clearer. In fact, it is in this final third that the film is at its strongest as things start to come together and the final twists are revealed.

All of the actors are brilliant, particularly the three youngsters at the heart of the story. They are very convincing in their roles and add some emotional weight to the film.

Overall, I would highly recommend this film to anyone that wants to see an original story that is full of imagination. A credit to the genre.

Take one dark little fairytale and blend it in with some Asian horror sensibilities, and you get this loosely based modern take on "Hansel & Gretel". Truth is that the "Hansel & Gretel" theme is actually just a background for the film, and not the whole story.

The basic storyline centres around a man who following a car crash finds himself lost in the forest. Taken by a friendly young girl to her family's home, he finds the family is living in a fantasy like house full of toys and nursery school imagery (replacing the gingerbread make-up from the original tale). Obviously, all isn't as it seems and escape is futile as the leading man finds that all roads out of the house through the forest seem to lead right back to it. The protagonists are the three children, controlling the house and toying with those who enter it, becoming the bane for our lead man as he tries his best to escape their "ideal" world.

What is it all about? Well, it's no fairy tale, and is more a psychological horror tale. However it's very dark and even most adults will feel uncomfortable throughout much of it. That isn't to take away from the film, as its meant to play with our preconceptions of the fairytale world. The story develops from fairytale to horror and then mixes in some serious social commentary. The story is captured with some incredible set pieces and settings, whilst the actors all seem to fully suit their roles in this twisted little tale. Original and intriguing, no matter how uncomfortable you may feel at points watching this early in the film, it is worth watching to the end.

Not all will love the ride on this merry go round, but those who give it a chance to the denouement will find it intriguing and satisfying.

If you think you know what this is going to be like, you actually might be wrong. Especially if you think this is a true adaptation of the famous child story. It's not, it's completely different. This Korean movie might seem like a story that could be told to people and it's shooting style is amazing, but it moves very slow.

The colorful movie has quite a few twists, while taking it's sweet time. We have great actors here, who play in this drama (well it's a bit of Horror too, but don't expect this to be a real Horror movie, you will be disappointed by that expectation) and a nice story. The main thing still remains the style it's shot, so Kudos to the Production design and the camera man, for making this world so vividly beautiful.

A disappointingly mundane dark fairytale that takes the original storyline and transforms it into a modern-day offering about child abuse, the nuclear family, dependence and obsession. In truth, HANSEL & GRETEL bears little resemblance to the story we know of old, acknowledging it stylistically rather than via the narrative.

The film is billed as a horror movie but in truth it isn't. There are very few moments of violence or tension and these are glossed over rather quickly. Instead, the film prefers to depict 'happy family' scenes and hint at darkness behind the light, rather than focusing on anything specific. Yes, there are a series of supernatural events within the movie that could also help define it as fantasy, but again these are dealt with in hurried glimpses rather than focused upon.

Sadly, what we're left with is a series of repetitive events that go on and on for far too long. From the outset, it's apparent that Eun-Soo can't leave the idyllic woodland location he's trapped in, and yet a good half of the running time is about his endless attempts to escape. Then there are intriguing sub-plots that are never fully developed, such as the one featuring a would-be serial killer. The film ends up relying on huge chunks of exposition plonked in towards the end in an effort to explain things, and undigested back story never makes for a dramatically satisfying movie.

Indeed, you can't fault the calibre of acting on offer – especially from those great child actors – or indeed the technical perfection behind the scenes. But HANSEL & GRETEL's story feels bloated and unfocused, and needed the hand of seasoned professional to turn it into something better than it is.