A what sighting?
I was sitting down Saturday, scrolling through the channels, when I saw in the guide Snow White: A Tale of Terror.
I recalled it had not gotten great reviews, and it was on my ‘wait till video/tv’ list as a result. So, my PLAN was to record it and get off to bed (not wanting to stay up for the whole movie with the daylight savings time change and all).
But, the opening sequence just grabbed me from the get go.
Oh, I’ve read many folks claiming this is the Grimm treatment of the fairy tell. Don’t fool yourselves, this movies is as far removed from The Brothers Grimm as the Disney version.
But, it is certainly a dark look upon the tale. One that attempts to weave a sense of realism with the realm of the fantastic.
The greatest accomplishment of the film is the portrayal of the wicked witch. Of course, with Sigourney Weaver cast in the role, it is hard to expect anything less from the film. The witch is evil, vile, and utterly merciless in the pursuit of her goals. Yet, at the same time, QUITE human.
The movie just drips atmosphere with every scene. This is actually spurred on by the fact there are no fancy effects, no razzle dazzle. This is old school movie making, with the effects coming from well done camera fades and scene blends for much of the movie. This just adds to the charm of the movie.
They did pull ONE punch towards the end of the film that was a disappointment, detracts a bit from the witch, and left a plot hole that makes you scratch your head in wonder, however. It also comes in conjunction with some unfortunate stock Hollywood lunacy with ‘witchcraft’. Especially disappointing since they had taken care to steer clear of that for the rest of the film.
The second disappointment came in the finale of the film, when apparently they decided the old school techniques would not fit the bill and went with some (poorly done) of the razzle dazzle special effects. In 1997, they were probably adequate, at best. Today, they look very low budget.
So, what’s this about Zuvembie?
Well, see for yourself. The Witch, not satisfied with killing the servants, made them into Zuvembie. (Zuvembie sighting at 4:30, creepy Zuvembie baby at 7:00)