Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

As children they escaped a witch by taking a violent, decisive step, and years later Hansel and Gretel have turned that childhood trauma into a profession. Now grown, they work as bounty hunters who track down witches with brutal efficiency, mixing blades and blunt force with a grim sense of humor. When a series of new attacks signals a darker power at work, old scars and family ties resurface, forcing them to reckon with memories they'd hoped were buried. The film keeps major surprises intact while pushing the fairy tale into bloody, action-packed territory.

Directed by Tommy Wirkola and released in 2013, the movie reimagines the Brothers Grimm story as an R-rated action horror. Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton lead a cast that includes Famke Janssen and Pihla Viitala, blending fantasy roots with genre filmmaking.

The film's take on the candy-coated fairy tale, with over-the-top witch-slaying set pieces and a gothic visual style, made several sequences stick in viewers' minds, especially the candy-house confrontation. Its mix of horror and action helped spark interest in darker, more violent retellings of classic stories.

Critics and audiences were mixed, reflected in an average user rating near 6.1/10 from thousands of votes. Many praised the chemistry between the leads and the film's tongue-in-cheek tone, while others found the script uneven. Key themes include sibling loyalty, the enduring effects of childhood trauma, and vengeance as a way of life.

The movie found a sizable audience on release, appealing to fans of genre mashups and late-night horror screenings. Its blend of spectacle and cheeky violence made it a modest genre hit that kept the fairy tale recognizable while turning it into something louder and more modern.