To celebrate the release of Gretel & Hansel, Orion Pictures has partnered with Gary Pullin for a limited edition print and TAZ for a hardcover storybook based on the film directed by Osgood Perkins (The Blackcoat’s Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House). Pullin is a much-celebrated artist in the horror community who is behind tons of incredible art for other genre films, not to mention his work for Rue Morgue Magazine. He also created the stunning art poster for Orion’s The Prodigy and even the Child’s Play remake.
Bloody Disgusting has (3) of these extremely limited edition screen prints and hardcover books for some lucky readers to enter and win. Just fill out the form at the bottom to be randomly entered. No PO Boxes. U.S. entries only.
In the film, “A long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl (Sophia Lillis) leads her little brother (Sammy Leakey) into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil.” Alice Krige plays the creepy witch in Orion’s latest horror offering.
Follow the bread crumbs to theaters on January 31, 2020.
“Hansel & Gretel has traditionally been one of the most epic fairy tales – the story is always richly illustrated and has ignited artistic imaginations for hundreds of years,” explained TAZ. “As an artist, I have been influenced by the art in the various storybooks and the chance to do an original take based on Orion Pictures re-imagining of the tale was a dream come true. Upon viewing the Osgood Perkins directed version, I immediately saw that Gretel & Hansel followed the original story, but was far more nuanced, using occult symbols, real witchcraft, classic mythology, and highly charged metaphors in place of linear storytelling.
“The challenge was to make the storybook cinematic in scope, while revealing very little of the actual story,” he added in regards to the above-pictured limited edition hardcover storybook. “This was done by attempting to use noir-style lighting effects for drama, and slowly changing the lighting as the story progressed. In the storybook, the color starts cold and grey and slowly changes until they reach the witch and her amazing feast. The comic relief is the sequence where Gretel & Hansel eat mushrooms and hallucinate. Throughout the book, the symbols the filmmakers use are layered everywhere. Of course, the most fun was the forest, the menacing branches reaching out and threatening to grab the innocent children any moment. The ultimate goal was to create a universal tale that can be read by someone of any age.”
Pullin talks about his poster art that’s on display below: “After reading the script for Gretel & Hansel, it was clear this was going to be very artistic and deliciously grim take on the classic fairy tale. The good folks at Orion asked for a poster that was reminiscent of the illustrations you would find in old fairy tale books. So, off I went pencils in hand, drawing whimsical trees and disguising evil forces within the woods. I wanted the artwork to feel a bit childlike, as if it may have been something that Hansel would have drawn and coloured himself. We choose to capture the moment when Gretel and Hansel first approach the witch’s cottage. They see it as full of wonderment and innocence, unaware of the horrors that await. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Orion on Osgood Perkin’s inspired new version. I hope people enjoy the artwork as much as they enjoy the film.”
