The only thing (apart from the title),I knew going into this, was that this was supposed to be trash. Now I like me some trash movies from time to time, so I was prepared for that. Turns out that's not the case at all. Actually this is more of an art excercise than anything else. Anything else also including the Hansel & Gretel stories we know - which the title switch of the names might be the first indicator of.

That's not all that is different - certain aspects seem to be as you may have seen them in other movies, but the majority of the movie dares to be different. In a lot of ways - character wise, story wise, setting wise, incidents wise ... Now that should answer the question some might have had, about the necessity of the movie: are there not enough of these already? Well apparently you can spin this another way - and it works.

Now having said that, it is surely not without flaws, yet the fact it goes places you probably don't expect it to go, handles horror in a way I personally prefer to the in your face jump scares (it is about mood and setting it) and how it is shot (visually) is quite exceptional! You have to be in the mood for this type of film and some may have issues with the pacing - but you can't please everyone anyway!

An eerily creepy vibe permeates the entire film, and though it's nominally set as a horror film, the terror is more in the eye of the beholder than anything experienced on screen. An opening narrative of a young girl who achieves 'second sight', is expanded in the story to include one of the protagonists. Gretel (Sophia Lillis) becomes an unwitting benefactor of the dark knowledge shared by an old witch (Alice Krige),who's influence over the girl requires separation from her younger brother Hansel (Samuel Leakey). Hallucinogenic mushrooms, mysterious shadowy figures in the forest, and the apparition of a 'pink hat girl' all contribute to Gretel's understanding of where her mission lies after being turned out from her home by a widowed mother who no longer has the room or patience for her children. At times, the viewer is left wondering, like Gretel, whether what's occurring in the picture is reality or a dream, until suddenly being jolted back to Gretel's awareness of her surroundings. Eventually, events in the story conspire to bring Gretel full circle to the realization that she's become a witch in her own right, but instead of using her second sight for a malign purpose, she frees the spirits of the old witch's captive children, and sends her brother on a path to find his own destiny. It's a unique take on the classic fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel, with a creative variation on the twist of pushing a witch into an oven.

This movie isn't for everybody. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's beautifully shot and very well acted. The music by ROB is pure fire. This is an art piece for sure. If you're into artsy films with heavy synth soundtracks and gorgeous witches, you'll love this movie. The goth in my black heart loved every minute.