Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)

In this spin on the fairy tale, Hansel & Gretel are now bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. As the fabled Blood Moon approaches, the siblings encounter a new form of evil that might hold a secret to their past.

Director:

Tommy Wirkola

Writer:

Tommy Wirkola

Stars:

Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Famke Janssen

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Renner	...	Hansel
Gemma Arterton	...	Gretel
Famke Janssen	...	Muriel
Pihla Viitala	...	Mina
Derek Mears	...	Edward
Robin Atkin Downes	...	Edward (voice)
Ingrid Bolsø Berdal	...	Horned Witch
Joanna Kulig	...	Red Haired Witch
Thomas Mann	...	Ben
Peter Stormare	...	Sheriff Berringer
Bjørn Sundquist	...	Jackson
Rainer Bock	...	Mayor Engleman
Thomas Scharff	...	Father
Kathrin Kühnel	...	Adrianna
Cedric Eich	...	Young Hansel

Storyline

The siblings Hansel and Gretel are left alone in the woods by their father and captured by a dark witch in a candy house. However they kill the witch and escape from the spot. Years later, the orphans have become famous witch hunters. When eleven children go missing in a small village, the Major summons Hansel and Gretel to rescue them, and they save the red haired Mina from the local sheriff that wants to burn her accusing Mina of witchcraft. Soon they discover that the Blood Moon will approach in three days and the powerful dark witch Muriel is the responsible for the abduction of children. She intends to use the children together with a secret ingredient in a Sabbath to make the coven of witches protected against the fire. Meanwhile Hansel and Gretel disclose secrets about their parents.

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Plot Keywords:

bounty hunter | shotgun | stun gun | person on fire | cut into pieces | 

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Taglines:

Classic Tale New Twist

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Genres:

Action | Fantasy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong fantasy horror violence and gore, brief sexuality/nudity and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hansel y Gretel: Cazadores de brujas

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$19,690,956 (USA) (25 January 2013)

Gross:

$55,682,070 (USA) (19 April 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Gary Sanchez Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min 98 min (Unrated Cut)

Sound Mix:

Datasat Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tommy Wirkola:  One of Berringer's deputies.

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Goofs

When Gretel goes to bite the nose of the guy that was beating her, there is already blood on her face before she bites his nose in the next shot.

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Quotes

Muriel: [picks up a missing child poster] I see you got my invitation.
Gretel: Say your name before my arrows rip out your throat.
Muriel: I go by many names. None of which you are worthy of pronouncing.
[Muriel grins as she slowly reveals her true self to Gretel]
Gretel: [whispers] Oh my God!

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Connections

Featured in Half in the Bag: Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)

User Reviews

Leave the kids at home for this one – this revisionist take on the classic fairy tale is an entertaining blend of horror and humour that is as gory as it is vulgar

What you may or may not remember about the Brothers Grimm' story is over and done with in the first ten minutes of writer-director Tommy Wirkola's revisionist treatment of the classic tale, which basically imagines what happens after the happily ever after. And so Wirkola fast- forwards the story many years later, where he would like us to believe that Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have found their calling as witch hunters, travelling around from village to village killing the evil ones who kidnap children and rescuing their abductees in the process.

One particular such mission brings them to the town of Augsburg, where a beautiful blonde-haired woman named Mina (Pihla Viitala) is due to be drowned in front of an angry crowd by the shifty Sheriff Berringer (Peter Stormare). The Mayor (Rainer Bock) is not so fast to pronounce judgment on her for the spate of disappearances, and has hired Hansel and Gretel to get to the bottom of it. Seeing no visible signs of sorcery on her, Hansel and Gretel free her, inadvertently setting themselves on a collision course with the Sheriff.

But the bitter Sheriff and his band of hunters are the least of their problems – indeed, their most pressing concern is the Grandmother Witch Muriel (Famke Janssen) and her hench-women, who have been keeping the children they have kidnapped locked up in wait for a much more sinister plot to make them even more powerful. Of course, as narrative dictates, Muriel's plan would have something to do with Hansel and Gretel's own past, as well as their extraordinary ability to be immune from the spells of witches.

Savvy viewers will be able to spot the connection once the clues are laid, so don't expect a revelatory surprise at the end. That doesn't mean however that this reimagination is predictable; instead, Wirkola keeps you riveted with a surprisingly effective blend of horror and hilarity often within the very same scene. Case in point? Just before she forces someone to turn a shotgun on himself and splatter his brains onto the wall, Muriel comments how the room they are in looks somehow drab and could do with some colour.

That same irreverence pervades the entire movie, which shouldn't come as a surprise if you paid attention to the opening credits and spotted Will Ferrell and Adam McKay as producers of the movie. Their brand of rude cheeky humour is very much alive in Wirkola's first English-language feature, who had demonstrated through his debut movie lampooning Quentin Tarantino – Kill Buljo – that he is perfectly in tune with their sensibilities. But Wirkola also brings his eye for gore – seen in his sophomore film 'Dead Snow' – to this movie, so be prepared for exploding flesh, crushed skulls and some particularly nasty decapitations that is good reason why this grown-up version of Hansel and Gretel does not carry a kid-friendly rating.

Amidst the gore and adult humour, Renner and Arterton unfortunately are left with paper-thin characters. While Renner pretty much looks dour throughout the movie, Arterton seems determined to have fun with her ass-kicking female heroine of a role, and her portrayal of Gretel resembles a Lara Croft for the medieval ages. The scene-stealer however is Janssen, the former Bond villain once again relishing the opportunity to play against type as the villain and putting in a deliciously over- the-top performance as Muriel. Other supporting actors don't make much of an impression – including Thomas Mann, a firm Hansel and Gretel devotee who gets some laughs from his fanboy behaviour and eventually sees his wish come true to be a witch hunter like his heroes.

And we suspect, how much you will end up enjoying this new twist to the classic fairy tale will also depend on your expectations. Compared to the recent spate of fairytale-inspired Hollywood movies like 'Red Riding Hood' or 'Snow White and the Huntsman', it veers most far off from its source material to tell an entirely different story. The result of that novelty is something bloody all right, that can also prove to be bloody good fun if you're looking for an adult-oriented blend of action, adventure, fantasy, horror and comedy. It might not sound intuitive, but this fairy tale is best enjoyed without the kids.

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