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Hansel and Gretel, the two German kids who nearly became somebody’s meal, need little introduction. The characters in this Brothers Grimm classic have been used as a lesson about stranger danger and resilience for years. And while Hansel and Gretel’s ordeal has been put on screen multiple times — both faithfully and loosely — Yim Pil-sung’s 2007 movie is one of the more distinct adaptations. This Korean reimagining retains the essence of the influential fairy tale while also adding its own unique twists.

Hansel and Gretel was one of several movies from the golden age of South Korean Horror — often referred to as “K-Horror” in the West — to be based on fairy or folk tales. While Arang and A Tale of Two Sisters dug into local Korean lore, other movies drew from European narrations. However, much like Cinderella and The Red Shoes, Hansel and Gretel’s interpretation of its basis is rather liberal.

Hansel and Gretel is perhaps not the most original film in the world, combining, as it does, elements from Pan’s Labyrinth, The Orphanage and one or two others. It also has a bit of a split personality, coming across as a comedy sometimes, a Tim-Burton-esque fantasy at other times, and a pretty intense drama at still other times. The mix doesn’t quite work, but it’s still a very interesting film. The plot concerns a young man rushing to see his ailing mother in hospital, while speaking to his wife on the phone. She’s about to go into labour. He’s about to crash. From there, things take a very weird turn indeed, as he enters a fairy-tale land of three too-cute-to-be-true children in a fairy-tale house in a fairy-tale forest that’s worryingly difficult to get out of. The ostensible parents are present, but don’t seem too happy about it.

Whereas American cinema is in the habit of looking East to Asia (and a lesser extent Europe) for inspiration for its horror films, Phil-Sung Yim’s film takes some of its inspiration from classic European fairy tales. But Hansel and Gretel isn’t a modern take on the Brother’s Grimm tale instead, it uses the basics of the story (children in the forest), turns it slightly on it’s ear and produces a dark fantasy that is more nightmare than fairy tale.

Eun-Soo is driving along chatting on his cellphone, having a rather uncomfortable conversation with his pregnant girlfriend, when he veers off the road to avoid an animal. He wakes up a short time later disoriented and lost. Wandering around the dense forest in search for the road, he comes across a little girl who seems more of a dream than reality. She takes him home to spend the night only once there,...