Hansel & Gretel's Halloween is now streaming free to watch with ads on Tubi and Fandango. The horror fantasy feature film from Devilworks puts a trick or treat spin on the classic Grimm fairy tale, and we have a taste of the Halloween horrors that await horror fans in the trailers and reviews below!
SYNOPSIS: “On Halloween Night, six teens enter a candy-coated labyrinth from the tale of Hansel & Gretel, where a deadly Witch turns temptation into traps, and resisting the sweetest lure is their only way out.”
Directed by Marcus Mallard and Logan Walcher, it stars Christy Tate (Lifetime’s Murder and Mayhem at Mardi Gras) as Amelia/Witch, Griffin Edge as Hansel, Alexia Berry as Gretel, with Aubree Payne as Madison, Nehemiah Auzer as Jacob, Madison Sein as Taylor, Tate Skelton as Michael, Amanda Stump as Jacob’s mom, and Caroline Kelly as Allison Cooper.
Devilworks states: “Hansel & Gretel's Halloween is a Devilworks original—we developed the concept in-house and fully financed and executive produced the film. We brought in Chris Hoyt to write the screenplay, and partnered with Marcus Mallard at Mouldy Rogue Productions and Logan Walcher at Proxima Bear Production to direct and produce.”
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Jack-O's Review: "There's a shit ton of Halloween vibes near the beginning, at least. There are Halloween decorations and animatronics on the houses, along with great costumed trick or treaters carrying pumpkin pails. Then the kids trick or treat and enter the witch's house, and things slow down. She appears wearing a cool witch mask for only a second before taking it off to hand out treats. At first, she's a pretty woman, but later, when she gets more witchy, I guess it's just mostly black lipstick, heavy black eyeliner, a scar on her face, and a black hooded robe. There's a short scene where Gretel is looking at herself in a mirror, and her reflection actually looks more like a traditional creepy witch than the actual witch does. They should have used that makeup for the actual witch, but it never appears again. Anyways the witch turns the kids into CGI melting chocolate, and they actually look like chocolate. "I can taste the innocence." The witch says! The acting is kind of bad, and there's decent visual effects and a Stranger Things-type synth score. But, it's mostly a bunch of flashing lights when the witch is chasing the kids around the house. It has a happy ending with all the kids, which I didn't care for, but the CGI house at the end was cool. It's definitely more of a kids' or teen movie than a horror movie. I'll add one more star for the Halloween atmosphere!" ★★★ @trickhorrortreater
More Reviews:
"This begins as a fun Halloween spin on the classic story, which makes perfect sense based on the themes of the source material, landing it on the holiday horror page. It begins with the witch being burned in her cottage and cursing the kids as they escape... It sure does feel like Halloween is a load of fun without little kids running around. The Halloween vibe is off the charts, so I had high hopes. Even when they unknowingly reach the witch’s house, it’s all pimped out for the holiday. Awesome... The movie loses its charm. It becomes a very generic, repetitive witch movie... When she finally does reveal what it is she wants from them, it’s pretty awesome... Although, we never really get to see her as a hideous old hag. She does cackle like a classic witch, so that’s fun... Despite the cool concept of the chocolate mutations, the movie simply isn’t very thrilling. The pace is slow, the witch isn’t very menacing, and the final fight is anticlimactic. However, the final scene feels like a live action version of something out of Monster House, and it’s fricking awesome." boysbearsandscares.com
"Hansel and Gretel’s Halloween is a film I really wanted to enjoy, but unfortunately, it didn’t deliver. I expected it to at least be somewhat fun, especially with the Hansel and Gretel concept, but instead it felt like another typical teen horror movie centered around a Halloween party that quickly turns into a disaster. I thought there would be more creativity behind the story. With the witch, the candy, and the familiar Hansel and Gretel elements, there was plenty of opportunity to build something creepy and entertaining. Unfortunately, those elements never came together in a way that made the movie feel exciting or memorable. The possession angle and some of the stranger moments felt awkward and underdeveloped. I kept waiting for the story to find its direction, but instead it felt like everything was simply pushing you forward without giving you much reason to stay invested. Overall, Hansel and Gretel's Halloween was a major disappointment. It lacked the energy, creativity, and storytelling I was hoping for, and I definitely would not recommend it." ½ 1/10 TheMovieSearch at IMDBb.com
"I thoroughly enjoyed this movie ! It was a nice spin on the classic tale. The chemistry between Hansel and Gretel in their few shared scenes really stole the show. The cinematography and production design of the different types of rooms inside the labyrinth was really impressive. They felt different, while still maintaining the feeling that the rooms might be part of the same house. The writing took a premise that could get boring after a while and gave it little nuances that kept the story flowing and audience wondering what could happen next. However one of my critiques is I didn’t feel like the ensemble got enough character development. That critique is only due to the fact that I wanted to care more about their deaths. On top of everything, I think the VFX were the cherry on top. The story calls for the believable use of VFX and I believe the VFX team delivered. I hope more people get to tune into this film, especially with the Halloween season coming up !" ★★★ Chris G @gr4h4mmy at RottenTomatoes.com
"Full disclosure: This was directed by a good friend, but I think this is my unbiased opinion. The first twenty minutes are a little shaky; there are a couple of performances that are mildly distracting. But if you can make it past that, you will see some remarkable cinematographic choices. That's why this is a cut above most indie horror. I watched this right after SCREAM VII and this is the better film (made on a thousandth of the budget)." ★★½ Zachary Ingle at letterboxd.com
"Hansel and Gretel's Halloween recalls what I consider to be the finest of family friendly horror fare, Disney's 1987 tv movie Mr. Boogedy. Like Boogedy, Hansel and Gretel has a cast and crew giving it their all. I marvelled at the attention to production design. The world created echoes of the family friendly horrors of the 80's, like Monster Squad or Little Monsters. Some 10 year old kid is going to find this film and make it their personality for at least an entire fall season. This film honestly has some great seemingly off the cuff gags by its young and exuberant cast. Particular standout performances include Madison Sein's no-nonsense Taylor, Alexis Berry's determined Gretel, and a truly attention getting performance from Griffin Edge as the lovable, witty and charismatic Hansel." ★★★★½ Jackson E @FreddieHoward at RottenTomatoes.com
"AI Slop, horrible ADR, bad effects, terrible writing, awful writing, awful acting, and just an overall boring experience that feels like it waste of an interesting premise... Taking the Hansel & Gretel fairytale and doing a darker twist, I thought this movie was gonna be in vein of Goosebumps or The Haunting Horror but instead it doesn't know what it wants to be because one minute it tries to be like a family film from the 2000's, than it spirals into being like a teen horror film from the late 90s where everyone was either horny or stupid... It just felt all over the place, and the cuts/transitions between the scene's of the "teens" running around that damn house got boring real fast, and it feels all out of order because the trailer kinda sells this movie better even if you know it's going to be bad. But it is hilariously bad at moments, especially the scenes where the kids are turing into what appears to be AI Chocolate Slop, and The Witch is pretty entertaining especially she the only one trying... The others have no direction whatsoever, everyone feels like Aliens trying to be humans and it's aligned with writing so bad, it wouldn't surprise me that the people behind this used Chat GPT because it feels so unnatural and soulless. The story is also inconsistent, especially since it doesn't fully kick in until the last 20 mins when it tries to be a movie but it's too little, too late...shout out to JoJo, she still killing it years later.... But yeah this was ass, I only laughed but it was at the movie because of how bad this was even if it's a movie on Tubi you can still put in some effort. Hansel & Gretel's Halloween has no imagination, no soul, and instead of trying it just feels like a slap together movie made in 3 Days!" ½ 2/10 FANTASTIC CLYDE at letterboxd.com
"Hansel & Gretel's Halloween puts a fresh spin on a familiar fairy tale, delivering a visually striking and surprisingly fun Halloween adventure. The film is easily at its best from a visual standpoint. The cinematography, lighting, and set design create a wonderfully atmospheric world and give the movie a polished look that punches above its weight. The performances are solid across the board, but Alexia Berry steals the show as Gretel. She brings an impressive amount of energy and presence to the role, proving to be an absolute powerhouse and a performer with a very bright future ahead of her. While it may not reinvent the genre, Hansel & Gretel's Halloween is a charming, entertaining flick that makes for an easy recommendation when you're looking for some family-friendly Halloween fun." ★★★★★ Kellan P @BlackCatRago at RottenTomatoes.com
"Purr-fect for Spooky Season, Alright cat puns aside I would say this is Hansel and Gretel meets Howl's Moving Castle in the 21st century, Many centuries have passed since the fist Hansel and Gretel and now their descendants must take up the task of killing the witch that almost ate the Ancestors. Now find out is it Trick or Treat on Hansel and Gretel's Halloween." 8/10 Moonbeam_87 at IMDBb.com
"This is a super fun Halloween movie, very reminiscent of Goosebumps story telling which I’ve always loved! Definitely give it a watch" ★★★★ Emily R @emollymayhem at RottenTomatoes.com
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