Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

My sister gave me this movie awhile back since I had never seen it, and it was alright, better than I expected, especially when I found out that MTV films played a role in the making of it.  Barring Vaarsity Blues, their track record isn't the greatest.  I was quite surprised to see Jeremy Renner in this one as well, especially with his talent.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was released in 2013 and is a German/American horror/action film.  It is meant to be a continuation on from the Grimm's fairy tale of Hansel & Gretel.  In case you know nothing about the original fairy tale, two children get lost in the woods from their dad and end up at a cottage made of candy that is owned by a witch.  The witch is force-feeding them candy, trying to fatten them up so that she can eat them.  As the witch is trying to put Hansel into the oven, Gretel kills the witch, hence the witch hunters.

The cast includes:
Jeremy Renner as Hansel (The Bourne Legacy, The Avengers, MI: Ghost Protocol, Hurt Locker, American Hustle)
Gemma Arteton as Gretel (Prince of Persia, Clash of the Titans, Quantum of Solace, RocknRolla)
Famke Janssen as Muriel (X-Men Series, Hemlock Grove, Nip/Tuck, Taken, Rounders)
Peter Stormare as Sheriff Berringer (Constantine, 22 Jump Street, The Last Stand, Killing Room, Prison Break)
Thomas Mann as Ben (Beautiful Creatures, Fun Size, It's Kind of a Funny Story, Project X)


Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was originally supposed to be released in March 2012, but due to Renner's busy schedule with the Avengers and The Bourne Legacy, it ended up getting pushed back.  Although it was not well received by most outside of the horror genre in the US, it garnered international attention and was a hit in Germany, Brazil, Mexico and Russia.   It ended up grossing $225 billion on a $50 billion budget, making it a box office success.  Although I can't personally say it is deserving, a sequel is currently in the works and scheduled to be released in 2016.

The film is written and produced by Tommy Wirkola, a Norwegian director with a love of horror.  This is his first American film and he originally wanted to make the story a short, but ended up selling it in Hollywood as a franchise with the goal of trilogy.  Witches are definitely portrayed as villains and the costumes were done by the same company that did Harry Potty & The Ghostly Hollows.  Filming took place in Germany in a forest near Berlin. 

This movie is entertaining for a B movie, there is weird attention to detail such as Hansel having diabetes from all of the sugar and the drawings on the home cottage wall.  Then there is the inattention to detail in the horrendously out of place weapons for the era, especially the guns, and the fact that at least one of the beginning witches is definitely a large man.  Also, I felt like for 2 people whose occupation it is to hunt witches that they would have a much better aim haha.  Gretel was the worst, she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  I also wonder why in the heck no one was pointing out the obvious with the grand white witch's heart and where it now resides.  Overall, I give this movie 3/5 stars.  It is a good movie if you don't want anything too serious and just feel like being entertained by something from the horror genre. 

 Here is the link to the movie's site: hanselandgretelmovie.com/