Teenage Gretel leads her little brother Hansel through the woods after their mother throws them out. They find a house full of food and an old woman who seems kind. Perkins retells the fairy tale as a slow, dreamy horror film centered on Gretel and what she is becoming.
Gretel & Hansel is a 2020 horror and fantasy film directed by Osgood Perkins. This breakdown covers 5 techniques (3 narrative, 1 psychology and 1 cinematography), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Nightmare Alley uses several of the same techniques.
Building part of the story around a young character's first test of adulthood, such as a hunt or an ordeal. The trial shows what a community values and what it hides from its children.
How this film uses it
Perkins said the story was reshaped around Gretel as a coming-of-age tale. She is sent into the world and faces the test of whether she will become like the witch. The house is her trial, and what it hides is a version of adulthood.
Where to see it
The witch's lessons. Holda teaches Gretel to levitate a staff, and Gretel begins to feel her own power.
Making the character who threatens the hero most also the one who helps them most. You can't separate the danger from the guidance.
How this film uses it
Holda treats Gretel like an apprentice while planning to cook Hansel. She gives Gretel real teaching and a sense of purpose. That kindness is what makes her dangerous.
Where to see it
The training scenes. Holda trains Gretel in witchcraft while Hansel is kept apart.
Holding back a key piece of information for a large part of the film, then revealing it in 1 moment. Everything you already watched now means something different.
How this film uses it
The film holds back who Holda really is until late. We see a prologue about a girl with powers who is locked in the woods. Only later do you learn she is Holda's daughter, and that Holda has been eating children for power.
Where to see it
The revelation. Holda is revealed as the mother of the girl from the prologue, who killed her daughter and took her place in the cottage.
Showing one character steering another through suggestion, reading, triggers or false trust. The manipulation works because the target wants to believe or cannot resist.
How this film uses it
Holda uses food, a safe place and flattery to pull Gretel in and push her away from Hansel. Hansel finds a satanic symbol carved in a tree and argues with his sister. The manipulation works because Gretel wants to feel special.
Where to see it
The pentagram argument. Hansel finds a pentagram carved in a tree and argues with Gretel, and then he is trapped by Holda.
Repeating one shape or image, such as circles, an X or a fragile natural sight, throughout the film. Each return adds meaning and quietly signals themes or fate.
How this film uses it
The house and its imagery lean on triangles, which show up in the design and in the look of the film. The repeated shape makes the cottage feel built by a rule you cannot see. Each time you notice one, it suggests the trap is closing.
Where to see it
The cottage. Gretel and Hansel follow the smell of cake to a triangular house where Holda takes them in.
Questions
Gretel & Hansel: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does Gretel & Hansel use?
CineCode breaks down 5 techniques in Gretel & Hansel (2020): Coming-of-Age Trial, The Mentor-Monster Dynamic, The Long Reveal, Psychological Manipulation and Recurring Visual Motif.
Who directed Gretel & Hansel?
Osgood Perkins directed Gretel & Hansel, released in 2020. CineCode also covers Longlegs (2024).
What films are similar to Gretel & Hansel?
Films that share techniques with Gretel & Hansel include Nightmare Alley (2021), The Best Offer (2013), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), The Silence of the Lambs (1991).
