Director Robert Eggers has been a huge part of the modern horror renaissance that genre fans are currently living in. His two feature-length horror masterpieces The Witch and The Lighthouse are considered modern classics. Eggers' third film The Northman releases in just a couple of weeks and looks to continue the director's hot streak. However, if you need something to hold you over until that Viking epic’s release, Eggers' long-lost 2006 horror short film Hansel & Gretel has just resurfaced to haunt your nightmares.
Most people know The Brothers Grimm story of Hansel & Gretel pretty well by now given that the horror genre has been flooded with adaptations of the tale over the years. However, in typical Eggers fashion, he puts his own horrifyingly unique spin on the story. The 26-minute short film follows the narrative pretty closely with Hansel and Gretel getting lost in the woods, coming across a candy-made house, and getting kidnaped by an evil witch who wants to eat them.
That being said, Eggers made the satisfying choice of making this short into a silent film. This is a pure love letter to the horror genre's silent film era. The direction painstakingly recreates the vibe of those haunting early films complete with bombastically eerie music, transition and dialogue cards, and a slower frame rate that makes horror from that time period extra creepy. If you did not know Eggers made this in 2007 you would think this was made in the 1920s alongside other genre classics like Nosferatu. It is always fun to see where your favorite director got their start, and you can definitely see Eggers' signature style shine through here. This atmospheric, up close and personal style would later be perfected in The Witch and The Lighthouse.
Shots like the very disturbing extreme close-ups of the witch, played by the director's own mother Kelly Eggers, in this short bring back a lot of traumatic memories. Sequences like Anya Taylor-Joy’s Thomasin signing her name in the devil’s book or Robert Pattinson’s Thomas seeing a creepy laughing mermaid in their respective films are in the DNA of Hansel & Gretel. Without even watching this short you would understand Eggers' deep love for the silent era. Those gothic influences are seen throughout his two feature films. Whether it is the ear-piercing musical score of The Witch or the black and white aesthetic of The Lighthouse, Eggers has helped keep the atmospheric roots of horror established in the silent era alive. Eggers' next project is a remake of the previously mentioned Nosferatu starring Taylor-Joy. Nosferatu just celebrated its 100th anniversary, and it is arguably the most iconic film from the silent era.
Hansel & Gretel was posted on Monday by the YouTube channel Famous First Films after years of seemingly being lost to time. Eggers’ next film The Northman releases on April 22, 2022. That epic may be the film everyone is losing their minds over and for good reason, but it would not exist without this stylish silent short film.
You can watch Hansel & Gretel in its entirety below: