Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Kathrin Kuhnel, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Derek Mears, Pihla Viitala, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Joanna Kulig, Thomas Mann, Thomas Scharff, Alea Sophia Boudodimos, Cedric Eich
Fifteen years after Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) defeated the wicked witch who imprisoned the children in her creepy candy house, and planned to have the children for her dinner, the siblings have come of age, now, working as gifted witch hunters. Hell-bent on retribution, the siblings have dedicated their lives to hunting down and destroying every witch still lurking in the dark forests of their homeland. As a notorious blood moon approaches, the siblings face a great evil -- one that could illuminate a well-kept secret from their terrifying past; a secret that, once revealed, will change their lives forever.
Magic plays a crucial role in this story, and nowhere is magic illustrated more vividly, than in the characters of Adrianna, Gretel, and Muriel, and how these women - and their identities as witches - is reflected through their magic.
Gretel’s mother, Adrianna, was known as the Grand White Witch. Like Gretel and Mina, Adrianna’s magic is white magic, and thus, their appearance is that of a beautiful, young woman, rather than an ugly and decaying corpse (which is how witches like Muriel and her sisters appear). The White Witch’s magic is also used for protection and healing, rather than for attack and death. Muriel and the rest of her dark coven covet the heart of a Grand White Witch, a powerful talisman that can create a potion that will make them immune to fire - their greatest weakness. Because Adrianna was so immensely powerful, the witches in Muriel’s coven decided to use Gretel’s heart to complete their potion on the night of the Blood Moon, instead of her mother’s. Adrianna’s love for her daughter is what compelled her to send her children deep into the forest that night…to protect Gretel from being taken by Muriel and used as a sacrifice to empower the dark witches. Adrianna gave her own life to protect her children from death at the hands of Muriel’s coven.
There are subtle tells woven throughout the story that indicate Gretel being a White Witch before this truth is revealed to her.
When Gretel is a child, she, and her brother, Hansel, are taken deep into the forest by their father, and abandoned, on a dark night. Frightened and alone, the children wander until they happen upon a house made entirely of candy, wherein resides an evil witch, who imprisons the children, and plans to have them for dinner (literally). When the witch threatens to eat Hansel, Gretel bravely fights the witch to protect her brother. When the witch tries to use her magic on Gretel, to her surprise, her magic fails to harm the child, and the children escape the witch’s lair after locking her in the very oven that she planned to cook Hansel in. Gretel’s magic is used to protect her brother from the cannibalistic witch in the candy house, but this is only a small piece of Gretel’s power. The second tell is illustrated when Gretel is confronted by Muriel, and Muriel tells Gretel that she’s not going to kill her yet, because Gretel has something that Muriel needs. A troll, named Edward, saves Gretel from being viciously attacked by the bounty hunters from the village, after they find her searching for her brother and accuse her of causing all the trouble. Edward rescues Gretel and takes her to the stream to heal her. When Gretel asks Edward why he saved her, Edward tells her that trolls protect witches. The final tell is revealed when Muriel confronts the siblings in their childhood home and reveals the truth of Gretel’s power…that Adrianna put a protection spell on her children so they would not be harmed by black magic, and now that her mother is dead, Gretel is the new Grand White Witch. And because Adrianna foiled Muriel’s plan the first time, Muriel now wants to use Gretel, because she possesses the last ingredient Muriel needs to complete her potion…the heart of a Grand White Witch.
The number three plays a symbolic role in the story, and it is illustrated in three different moments throughout the story. When Hansel and Gretel arrive in Augsburg to investigate the mysterious disappearance of children, they are told that in three days, there will be a Blood Moon, and this moon coincides with a sacred Sabbath for witches. There are three ingredients needed to complete Muriel’s potion: the blood moon, which comes but once in a generation, the children, and the heart of a Grand White Witch. There are three instances throughout the movie that Mina saves Hansel…when she saves him from the tree, when she saves him from his mother’s Witch Cave after Muriel attacks him and takes his sister, and finally, when she gives her life to save Hansel’s during the last battle. There are also three instances when Gretel is saved throughout the film…when she is saved by Ben after the witches abduct the last child, when she is saved by Edward the troll, in the forest, when she goes looking for Hansel, and when Hansel and Mina rescue her from the witches and stop the witches from doing their sacrifice. There are three white witches in the story – Adrianna, Gretel, and Mina – and three dark witches – Muriel and her two minions, the Red-Haired Witch, and the Horned Witch.
Sacrifice is also a powerful theme in this film, and it is shown three times throughout the story.
The first sacrifice is made by Hansel and Gretel’s mother, Adrianna, when she sacrifices her own life to save her children from Muriel. The second moment of sacrifice comes when the witches gather on the mountain to sacrifice Gretel’s heart – who is the new Grand White Witch – so that she can finally create her potion and protect her coven from fire (which is their greatest weakness). The final moment of sacrifice comes when Mina – another White Witch – bravely sacrifices her own life to protect Hansel from Muriel outside the witch’s candy house.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a delightfully absurd and unapologetically gruesome retelling of the classic fairytale, and I love it. The casting for this movie is excellent, particularly for Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton who appear to relish their opportunities to overpower the witches. I would highly recommend this film.
© 2024 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, Kathrin Kuhnel, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Derek Mears, Pihla Viitala, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Joanna Kulig, Thomas Mann, Thomas Scharff, Alea Sophia Boudodimos, Cedric Eich
Fifteen years after Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) defeated the wicked witch who imprisoned the children in her creepy candy house, and planned to have the children for her dinner, the siblings have come of age, now, working as gifted witch hunters. Hell-bent on retribution, the siblings have dedicated their lives to hunting down and destroying every witch still lurking in the dark forests of their homeland. As a notorious blood moon approaches, the siblings face a great evil -- one that could illuminate a well-kept secret from their terrifying past; a secret that, once revealed, will change their lives forever.
Magic plays a crucial role in this story, and nowhere is magic illustrated more vividly, than in the characters of Adrianna, Gretel, and Muriel, and how these women - and their identities as witches - is reflected through their magic.
Gretel’s mother, Adrianna, was known as the Grand White Witch. Like Gretel and Mina, Adrianna’s magic is white magic, and thus, their appearance is that of a beautiful, young woman, rather than an ugly and decaying corpse (which is how witches like Muriel and her sisters appear). The White Witch’s magic is also used for protection and healing, rather than for attack and death. Muriel and the rest of her dark coven covet the heart of a Grand White Witch, a powerful talisman that can create a potion that will make them immune to fire - their greatest weakness. Because Adrianna was so immensely powerful, the witches in Muriel’s coven decided to use Gretel’s heart to complete their potion on the night of the Blood Moon, instead of her mother’s. Adrianna’s love for her daughter is what compelled her to send her children deep into the forest that night…to protect Gretel from being taken by Muriel and used as a sacrifice to empower the dark witches. Adrianna gave her own life to protect her children from death at the hands of Muriel’s coven.
There are subtle tells woven throughout the story that indicate Gretel being a White Witch before this truth is revealed to her.
When Gretel is a child, she, and her brother, Hansel, are taken deep into the forest by their father, and abandoned, on a dark night. Frightened and alone, the children wander until they happen upon a house made entirely of candy, wherein resides an evil witch, who imprisons the children, and plans to have them for dinner (literally). When the witch threatens to eat Hansel, Gretel bravely fights the witch to protect her brother. When the witch tries to use her magic on Gretel, to her surprise, her magic fails to harm the child, and the children escape the witch’s lair after locking her in the very oven that she planned to cook Hansel in. Gretel’s magic is used to protect her brother from the cannibalistic witch in the candy house, but this is only a small piece of Gretel’s power. The second tell is illustrated when Gretel is confronted by Muriel, and Muriel tells Gretel that she’s not going to kill her yet, because Gretel has something that Muriel needs. A troll, named Edward, saves Gretel from being viciously attacked by the bounty hunters from the village, after they find her searching for her brother and accuse her of causing all the trouble. Edward rescues Gretel and takes her to the stream to heal her. When Gretel asks Edward why he saved her, Edward tells her that trolls protect witches. The final tell is revealed when Muriel confronts the siblings in their childhood home and reveals the truth of Gretel’s power…that Adrianna put a protection spell on her children so they would not be harmed by black magic, and now that her mother is dead, Gretel is the new Grand White Witch. And because Adrianna foiled Muriel’s plan the first time, Muriel now wants to use Gretel, because she possesses the last ingredient Muriel needs to complete her potion…the heart of a Grand White Witch.
The number three plays a symbolic role in the story, and it is illustrated in three different moments throughout the story. When Hansel and Gretel arrive in Augsburg to investigate the mysterious disappearance of children, they are told that in three days, there will be a Blood Moon, and this moon coincides with a sacred Sabbath for witches. There are three ingredients needed to complete Muriel’s potion: the blood moon, which comes but once in a generation, the children, and the heart of a Grand White Witch. There are three instances throughout the movie that Mina saves Hansel…when she saves him from the tree, when she saves him from his mother’s Witch Cave after Muriel attacks him and takes his sister, and finally, when she gives her life to save Hansel’s during the last battle. There are also three instances when Gretel is saved throughout the film…when she is saved by Ben after the witches abduct the last child, when she is saved by Edward the troll, in the forest, when she goes looking for Hansel, and when Hansel and Mina rescue her from the witches and stop the witches from doing their sacrifice. There are three white witches in the story – Adrianna, Gretel, and Mina – and three dark witches – Muriel and her two minions, the Red-Haired Witch, and the Horned Witch.
Sacrifice is also a powerful theme in this film, and it is shown three times throughout the story.
The first sacrifice is made by Hansel and Gretel’s mother, Adrianna, when she sacrifices her own life to save her children from Muriel. The second moment of sacrifice comes when the witches gather on the mountain to sacrifice Gretel’s heart – who is the new Grand White Witch – so that she can finally create her potion and protect her coven from fire (which is their greatest weakness). The final moment of sacrifice comes when Mina – another White Witch – bravely sacrifices her own life to protect Hansel from Muriel outside the witch’s candy house.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is a delightfully absurd and unapologetically gruesome retelling of the classic fairytale, and I love it. The casting for this movie is excellent, particularly for Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton who appear to relish their opportunities to overpower the witches. I would highly recommend this film.
© 2024 Keriane Kellogg. All rights reserved.