Oz Perkins, the son of horror legend Anthony Perkins and a rising filmmaker in his own right, having directed the supremely underrated Blackcoat’s Daughter and I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives In The House, has now signed on for his next project. Per Collider, the genre filmmaker will direct Gretel And Hansel for Orion Pictures and Automatik Entertainment.
Rob Hayes (Netflix’s Chewing Gum) has penned the script, which is being described as a faithful version of the Brothers Grimm fairytale about a pair of siblings kidnapped by a terrifying witch who lives in the surrounding woods. Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Sinister) and Fred Berger (La La Land) will produce for Automatik, and production is expected to start in the autumn in Europe.
The Hansel And Gretel fairytale has been adapted numerous times in different forms and versions, most recently with the subversive turn in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, which starred Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. There was also a 1987 film version, one in 2002, and even a stoner version titled Hansel & Gretel Get Baked.
This one might not be quite that laid back, but it’ll be interesting to see how Perkins will tackle this classic tale. His two feature films thus far have been distinctly in the horror genre but have been filled with a slow, brooding atmosphere rather than a pacy, jump-scare heavy formula.
In addition to those two films, he also wrote The Girl In The Photographs, which was the last movie legendary horror director Wes Craven worked on before his death. Perkins also penned crime drama Cold Comes The Night, which starred Bryan Cranston.
Earlier this year, he signed on to direct an adaptation of Paul Tremblay‘s thriller A Head Full Of Ghosts, so he’s definitely beginning to get the recognition he deserves, and hopefully Gretel And Hansel will be his next step up the directing ladder.
#Peace.Love.GretelAndHansel
