Hansel & Gretel:Witch Hunters-The Theatrical Cut.

Rating: 7/10 (7 December 2014)

With a friend having recently named her new cat Hansel,I decided to search around for a Hansel and Gretel-related movie that she could watch during the Christmas period.Taking a look at IMDb's Horror board,I noticed a post which mentioned a film that had taken a Horror-Fantasy approach to the tale,which led to me getting ready to go hunting for witches.
The plot:
Finding themselves getting left alone in the woods by their dad,Hansel and his sister Gretel spot a house made of gingerbread.Entering the house,Hansel & Gretel are gripped by a witch who holds them hostage.Desperate to escape,they both fight back and kill the witch,via shoving her in the oven (what charmers!)
Years later:
Since having cooked some roast witch,Hansel & Gretel have become witch hunters,with their aim in life being to visit every town,and kill every witch in the area.Entering a small town called Augsburg,Hansel and Gretel discover that the villagers are starting to accusing almost everyone of being a witch. Initially expecting their time in Augsburg to involve a traditional killing,Hansel & Gretel soon discover that the witches have other plans for them.
View on the film:
Showing a real bravery in not taking the easy family friendly route,writer/director Tommy Wirkola and cinematographer Michael Bonvillain cast a splatter-soaked Horror spell across the film,with Hansel & Gretel's rapid-fire action scenes being matched by headless witches and deadly wounds getting splashed on the movie.Along with the exciting action and gleeful horror shocks,Wirkola uses rusting,fading colours to give the title a surprising Steam Punk Fairy Tale atmosphere.
Jumping from the original Brothers Grimm tale within the first 10 minutes,Wirkola gives the characters wonderful added additions,with Hansel's diabetic problems (which the studio sadly got Wirkola to trim down) giving the character a real weakness,and also showing the effects of Hansel's visit to the Brothers Grimm sweet house! Whilst not giving her the delightful off-beat weaknesses of her brother,Wirkola combines Gretel's sharp action chops with an enchanting fairy tale side,which reveals itself as Gretel closes in on their latest target.
Entering the movie in super-tight leather,the ravishing Gemma Arterton (who for some reason puts on (an admittedly good) fake US accent-despite the film being set in Europe!) gives an excellent performance as Gretel,thanks to Arterton looking extremely sexy in the thrilling fight scenes,and also casting a wide smile across Gretel's face,as she beheads one witch after the other.Joining Arterton,Jeremy Reener gives a very good,brisk performance as Hansel,whose action bite Renner connects with a warm,quirky side,as Hansel & Gretel get ready to break every witches spell..and neck.