Welcome to another edition of the “The Valero Verdict” movie review. In this I will give you a quick movie review with a couple of bullet points of which I either liked or disliked. I will end the review with rating of the movie and a short overall thoughts.
On the docket today, is the horror film Gretel & Hansel.
Plot: A long time ago in a distant fairy tale countryside, a young girl leads her little brother into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.
- The score: Robin Coudert gave us one of the devastatingly haunting score that elevated this film to the next level. The film’s dialogue was very minimal, so the placing of the score throughout the film was brilliant.
- The writing: Hollywood tends to overwrite horror films anymore. Rob Hayes did the complete opposite. He wrote a simplistic script which was straight forward and to the point.
- The directing: I was intrigued by the way Perkins decided to have a slow build because you could easily lose your viewer by doing this. He stuck to the plan and executed well. The focus was Gretel and his character development of her was great.
- The acting: Sophia Lillis was perfect for the role of Gretel. The way she went from a soft-spoken little girl to a grown ass woman was beautiful. She developed within the character and only works because she made it work.
- Favorite scene: The Shroom Trip. (you’ll get it when you see it)
- Run Time: 1:27 – Folks this is how you film a movie, it doesn’t overstay its welcome like 99% of movies these days.
The Verdict:
**** out of ***** gavels
The film was good, very good at that. I loved how un-Hollywood this film ended up being. I am so tired of the consistent over-blown horror films that are filled with crappy jump scares and stupid narrative.
They told a story, the stuck to their guns and it paid off. This film developed well, was acted on point and was carried by a great score.
Hats off to all parties involved in this film.
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