Frighteningly Female - Subversion of horror film tropes in Oz Perkins’ Gretel & Hansel

Abstract

This essay aims to examine the portrayal of the reproductive and aging female body as horrific in Oz Perkins’ Gretel & Hansel (2020). It proposes that the reinterpretation of the Grimm brothers' classical fairytale as a feminist coming of age story, centering Gretel as the protagonist and the witch as a mentor, allows for a subversion of horror film tropes pertaining to the reproductive female body. The essay identifies and discusses various tropes surrounding horrific renditions of women, focusing mainly on the figure of the European witch and the figure of the Mother, before giving an analysis of their appearance in Gretel & Hansel (2020).