Review for Hansel & Gretel

Introduction

Once again, I find it necessary to preface a review for a horror movie with a disclaimer about my disdain for the genre. I find myself asking how much longer I can keep doing so, given the number of horror movies I seem to review, but I still feel ill-versed in the tropes and the classics of the genre, and I certainly haven't had the exposure to most people's all time favourites. It's just that from what I have seen of Hollywood's mainstream horror output in recent years, I'd be happy never to see such a movie again. But then, when something like Hansel and Gretel gets released on Blu-ray, a little horror movie gremlin in the back of my mind wakes up, urging me to take a look. Even I've heard of Hansel and Gretel, the Korean horror fantasy fairy tale with superlatives like genre redefining, groundbreaking, and visually inventive constantly applied to it. It's been a successful DVD release for years in the UK, and now that Terracotta Films is bringing out the Blu-ray of the title, I really want to see just how visually inventive it is.


There's a reason why it's against the Highway Code to drive and talk on your mobile phone at the same time. Eun-Soo learns this the hard way, when a fraught argument with his girlfriend leads his attention to drift on a winding forest road. He's discovered and rescued by a young girl in a red cloak, who leads him through the darkness to an idyllic house in the middle of the forest. The House of Happy Children is home to what looks like the perfect family, brought forward in time from a perfect fantasy image of the past. Three angelic children live with their picture postcard parents in perfect harmony, and they are overjoyed to meet their new guest. It's only the next day, when Eun-soo tries to get back to the road and back to civilisation that he learns that all paths lead back to the house. Something isn't right about this family, and the disturbing past behind this picture postcard existence may mean that he'll never be able to leave the house at all...

Picture

Hansel and Gretel gets a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer presented at 1080p resolution. At first glance it is a breathtaking image, clear and sharp, bringing across the filmic qualities of the movie to astounding effect. The level of detail in the forest, the astounding colours of the costumes and the sets in the house, all present the film's fantastic production design to astounding effect. In this story, the house in the woods is designed around the children, all bright and primary colours, rich in toys and games, and colourful furnishings. There are plenty of sweets and cakes to eat, and it all looks stunning on this Blu-ray.


There are weaknesses in the transfer, mostly in the darker scenes. Digital banding does become apparent when light sources like torches and lanterns break the darkness, and also there is an odd colour bleed to darker scenes. This is most apparent the first time that Eun-soo ventures into the house's attic. Almost everything is crushed to a uniform black here, but it's so deep that it has a dull blue glow to it, which is most disconcerting. Any really deep black in the film gets treated that way, and it looks faintly radioactive. This is something of a disappointment in a film which otherwise benefits greatly from the clarity of Blu-ray.

Sound

You have a choice between DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround Korean, and a DD 2.0 Stereo track in the same language, with optional English subtitles. I went with the DTS track, and found it to be a robust and rewarding experience, bringing across the film's sound design most effectively. It uses the soundstage well to heighten the film's eerie atmosphere as well as deliver the sudden shocks, without ever feeling unsubtle or overdesigned. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the film's music soundtrack is suitably creepy. The subtitles are clear, legible and timed well, but the odd typo does drift in, 'angle' instead of 'angel' one example that I recall offhand.

Extras

The disc boots quickly, with a static menu presenting the various options.

Taking a look at David Beckett's review for the 2009 DVD, I can see that the extras from that disc are ported over to the Blu-ray, and are joined by some other tantalising titbits. All except the trailers are presented in 480i SD resolution.

The Making Of lasts 55 minutes, and offers a behind the scenes look at the film's production, in the form of b-roll footage interspersed with an interview with the director. It seems as if the subtitle issue noticed in the DVD has been resolved to a degree. The subtitles on the b-roll footage are scarcely applied, but the interview is fully translated.


Also taken from that DVD are interviews with the Special Effects Director, Jung Seong-jin (10 mins), and the Production Designer Ryu Seong-hie (14 mins).

New to this release are the following, beginning with a Director and Cast Interview lasting 5 minutes.

Welcome to Hansel & Gretel (Behind The Scenes) is another short featurette that runs to 5 minutes.

Recommendation by Other Korean Directors is pretty self explanatory, and lasts 3 minutes.


There are theatrical and teaser trailers for Hansel & Gretel on this disc, and in Terracotta Trailers you'll find trailers for Revenge, A Love Story, Fox Family, Death Bell, Breathless, and The Detective. The trailers are presented at various resolutions, although Breathless lacks audio.

There is a promo for the Terracotta Film Festival which lasts 2½ minutes, and a page of links to Terracotta sites and social network connections.

Conclusion

Hansel and Gretel is one of those films that you absolutely do not want spoiled, and I'm going to refrain from discussing the plot too deeply in this review. It's not so much a typical horror as it is a horror fantasy, emulating the true dark fantasies that were originally the intentions of the very fairy tales that it subverts here, before they were rendered safe and child-friendly by Disney reinvention. This is the reminder that the wolf that eats grandma, and the witch that gets burned in the oven, are images that aren't safe and friendly at all, and that true, genuine fairy tales aren't for the faint of heart. This Korean take on the classic Hansel and Gretel is an unsettling and chilling tale, that's made all the more so by its Technicolor imagery, and bright and wholesome children. As horror movies from time immemorial have taught us, there's nothing as creepy as a bright and wholesome child. I was glued to the screen watching this dark fantasy unfold, it's a tale that is deftly told, with twists, revelations and surprises, and I have to say that for the most part, it's a treat on this Blu-ray disc. It's well worth watching if you want something different from the usual Hollywood definition of a scary movie.


What makes Hansel and Gretel work so well is just how good the child actors are in this film. They have to carry the film, bring across the menace, drive the suspense of the film, and act in some very harrowing and challenging scenes. Yet the quality of the performances from these actors never varies. They always convince, and are very much the strongest part of the film. Another thing is the way that the story subverts the traditional tale of Hansel and Gretel, making Eun-Soo, the hapless adult that wanders into the wrong part of the forest, and with the terror coming from the most unexpected source. The most impressive thing is how the film is made relevant by imbuing it with a core or realism, giving it a very chilling and unsettling, but also very tragically a familiar reason for its fantasy horror. It leaves you thinking about the definition of monsters and victims, and the reasons and motives behind the actions of both.


I hope that was circumspect enough, as I really do not want to give too much away about this film. Hansel and Gretel is a film that ought to be experienced for yourself. One or two issues with the image on this disc make it fall short from what I would consider is high definition perfection, but in brighter scenes, the level of detail and clarity is astounding. I've never seen the DVD of Hansel and Gretel, but I doubt very much it could come close to what this Blu-ray offers in that regard, and if you do have the DVD, I would very much consider the upgrade as essential.