Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters. (2013)
Hansel and Gretel have turned pro. Coping with the trauma of their childhood captivity in the gingerbread house by slaying witches for bounty. Things take a turn for the worse with the appearance of the grand witch Muriel (Famke Janssen).
I'd only ever seen this on dvd previously and quite liked it. Watching it on Blu-ray was a whole new experience. The Blu is an extended edition which is ten minutes longer. Ten minutes of expanded and additional scenes which move the film from a 6/10 to an 8/10 for me.
Directed by Dead Snow's Tommy Wirkola, this utilises the same gore, irreverence and fun not to mention anachronisms as those two classic Nazi zombie films. As an example Hansel has diabetes from eating too much sweet stuff when trapped in the witch house as a child.
Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters delivers on all counts. Its a good old fashioned medieval romp full of folklore and superstition with just the right blend of frenetic action with gratuitous gore galore which thankfully doesn't rely completely on CGI for its thrills. Added to this is a nice layer of humour, with some of the conversation laugh out loud funny, especially the choice use of expletives.
The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as the titular characters and both do a fine job. Arterton in particular seemed to revel in the madness, be it getting kicked to shit by thugs or headbutting Peter Stormare's sheriff in her opening scenes. It should be noted that the extended version makes her beatings even stronger to stomach.
Meanwhile Famke Janssen is fabulous as the grand witch, especially when she loses her human guise and becomes Black Metal style cracked of face - it's probably wrong to fancy her but i did.
If i'd known how much i was going to enjoy this on Blu-ray i'd have bought it long ago not simply picked it up from a charity shop because it was there.
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