Gretel & Hansel is a stylish upcoming horror movie that bases its premise on a fairy tale we all know and have heard so often that there’s nothing left in it even remotely frightening. So why go back to that well? There are a lot of creepy houses in the woods—why pick that one?
In a new featurette, director Osgood Perkins tries to explain, offering some ideas on what, precisely, makes this story so compelling to him. He points to the primal terror of the story’s ideas, about the loss of innocence that comes from being forced out into the wilderness before your time. About the stress of drifting apart from your sibling, maybe by force.
And if the footage included in the featurette is any indication, maybe it’s just that the woods are freaking terrifying. If you’re interested in the horror of a story you might have heard before, Gretel & Hansel hits theaters January 31st.
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