The best Korean horror films seem to work because of the screenwriter and director's ability to blend elements of both horror and drama in such a way that you simply cannot give up on the characters in the story, no matter how much you might dislike them.
This is definitely the case with Hansel & Gretel, a film which if all you know about the film is the title you will find something very much the opposite of your expectations.
No this isn't really a story about two children being taken in by a witch. Quite the opposite in fact and despite being led to believe by the title that you've heard this story before and are now only going to experience a slight variation you're in for something very different from the typical Asian horror horror film. None of that Ringu long-haired ghost nonsense here.
Where the Koreans have recently excelled its in their need to produce something new and not fall back into recent genre trends. This film is no different. You're not entirely certain who to root for until the second major plot point, you're not sure of the victims, nor the victimizers. More so, you're not sure how you might arrive at a happy ending or a simple solution. There is none in sight.
When all is said and done, the story of a man, surviving a car accident and happening upon a house and an eccentric family in the deep woods (don't worry, they're not gonna pull a Sixth Sense on you) you realize you experienced the Korean equivalent of Pan's Labyrinth, a story about children and their strange capacity to realize real evil through the filter of their imaginations (don't worry they're not gonna pull a Bridge to Terabithia on you either).
This is definitely the case with Hansel & Gretel, a film which if all you know about the film is the title you will find something very much the opposite of your expectations.
No this isn't really a story about two children being taken in by a witch. Quite the opposite in fact and despite being led to believe by the title that you've heard this story before and are now only going to experience a slight variation you're in for something very different from the typical Asian horror horror film. None of that Ringu long-haired ghost nonsense here.
Where the Koreans have recently excelled its in their need to produce something new and not fall back into recent genre trends. This film is no different. You're not entirely certain who to root for until the second major plot point, you're not sure of the victims, nor the victimizers. More so, you're not sure how you might arrive at a happy ending or a simple solution. There is none in sight.
When all is said and done, the story of a man, surviving a car accident and happening upon a house and an eccentric family in the deep woods (don't worry, they're not gonna pull a Sixth Sense on you) you realize you experienced the Korean equivalent of Pan's Labyrinth, a story about children and their strange capacity to realize real evil through the filter of their imaginations (don't worry they're not gonna pull a Bridge to Terabithia on you either).