Leofwine_draca A disappointingly mundane dark fairytale that takes the original storyline and transforms it into a modern-day offering about child abuse, the nuclear family, dependence and obsession. In truth, HANSEL & GRETEL bears little resemblance to the story we know of old, acknowledging it stylistically rather than via the narrative.The film is billed as a horror movie but in truth it isn't. There are very few moments of violence or tension and these are glossed over rather quickly. Instead, the film prefers to depict 'happy family' scenes and hint at darkness behind the light, rather than focusing on anything specific. Yes, there are a series of supernatural events within the movie that could also help define it as fantasy, but again these are dealt with in hurried glimpses rather than focused upon.Sadly, what we're left with is a series of repetitive events that go on and on for far too long. From the outset, it's apparent that Eun-Soo can't leave the idyllic woodland location he's trapped in, and yet a good half of the running time is about his endless attempts to escape. Then there are intriguing sub-plots that are never fully developed, such as the one featuring a would-be serial killer. The film ends up relying on huge chunks of exposition plonked in towards the end in an effort to explain things, and undigested back story never makes for a dramatically satisfying movie.Indeed, you can't fault the calibre of acting on offer – especially from those great child actors – or indeed the technical perfection behind the scenes. But HANSEL & GRETEL's story feels bloated and unfocused, and needed the hand of seasoned professional to turn it into something better than it is.

Neil Welch In this interesting contemporary Korean take on the Grimm Brothers' original, everything is turned upside down: a stranded motorist ends up at a cottage in the woods where three children prevent him from leaving.The story always keeps you guessing, the film looks good - given that it hovers in the horror/supernatural realm, it is brightly lit with saturated colours. Despite the fact that it is not loaded down with supernatural goings-on (the dramatic events are few and far between) it maintains a sense of genuine unease throughout.It bears a strong resemblance in some respects to the "It's A Good Life" sequence of The Twilight Zone movie from 1983, but has a distinctive oriental flavour of its own.Terrific performances all round, but especially from the children.

kosmasp If you think you know what this is going to be like, you actually might be wrong. Especially if you think this is a true adaptation of the famous child story. It's not, it's completely different. This Korean movie might seem like a story that could be told to people and it's shooting style is amazing, but it moves very slow.The colorful movie has quite a few twists, while taking it's sweet time. We have great actors here, who play in this drama (well it's a bit of Horror too, but don't expect this to be a real Horror movie, you will be disappointed by that expectation) and a nice story. The main thing still remains the style it's shot, so Kudos to the Production design and the camera man, for making this world so vividly beautiful.

dbborroughs Korean fairy tale based in part on the Grimms story only now things are reversed.A man with a troubled life has a car accident and stumbles into the woods. found by a child he's brought home to recover with her mom, dad, sister and brother. However things transpire that quickly lead him to realize that all is not well and that he may never be able to leave.If you suppress your desire to compare the film to other works of terror and fantasy in the early going you'll find that this is a pretty good and rather creepy story in the revised fairy tale genre. Its been compared to Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage and while I haven't seen the Orphanage yet, I would say that this would make a hell of a double feature with Pan (and perhaps even People Under the Stairs). It is ultimately a fairy tale and not a horror movie (its very creepy and doesn't have really big scares) and on that level it scores big points.You can pretty much click off the typical fairy tale elements and see that they are all working here (and no you won't do it while you're watching-though you will be aware that this is not a typical horror film) To be certain it did remind me of other films, but at the same time it bends them to its own end. The film also has several really good characters that lift the film to a higher level. The performances are across the board excellent with any flaws the result of the writing.I liked the film a great deal and I am both happy and unhappy that I was interrupted in my viewing by a friend because the end left me rocked in both a good way and a bad way. I can't imagine how I would have reacted had the call not come since as is I'm a tad unsettled (which should not imply anything either way since the impact was emotional I'm not sure which way it left me).Worth a look if you get the chance and like dark fairy tale type stories.Not sure of the rating, I have to sit on this one a while.(Its at least a 7 out of 10)