Surprisingly the 2013, straight-to-Redbox-knock-off-of-a-theatrical-money-making-movie, "Hansel & Gretel," brought to you like only the folks at The Asylum are infamous for, is not terrible, however the replay value for the film is slim to none.
As mentioned in my previous reviews, the production of these home entertainment movies from The Asylum are continuously rising in quality and in all areas. The scripts are getting tighter, the acting choices have been a night and day difference from two years ago and the directing has been increasingly better, to the point where I don't hesitate any more like I used to when I see a DVD being a production from The Asylum.
With that said, I will continue to remind my readers of that each time I review a "new" movie from The Asylum. They do however need to use a little different font for their covers, especially if there is a similar film in the theaters at the same time. I mean, the font for "Hansel & Gretel" is almost identical to the theatrical version from Paramount and they have to realize there are still some very ignorant people that go to these Redbox kiosks. I have first hand heard over a dozen people through eavesdropping say something about how fast the Redbox gets these new movies and think that it's still in the theater, so they pick it up because they feel they are getting something special. Definitely not The Asylum's fault for the idiots, however, they need to know their target market a little better.
On to the film, highlighted by the kick ass performance from Dee Wallace (The Howling, Cujo, Critters, E.T.) and her witch-character of Lilith, "Hansel & Gretel" had a perfect mixture of Saw meets the family from Texas Chainsaw Massacre while throwing in new school elements to make this Brothers Grimm tale just a little different from what we've seen up until this point.
What I feel as a breakthrough performance in the Horror genre from Brent Lydic (Hansel) added to making this film worth watching all the way through. I see Lydic going places with his acting if he actively pursues a career in this field.
All in all, I feel as if this is worth one watch as I said before. Let your guard down, like you would with the theatrical version and have fun. There are little similarities between the story from The Asylum and the story from Paramount, so you can watch both without spoiling either. Take a chance, pick it up at your local Redbox kiosk today and let's hope The Asylum continues their pace of progression.
