Snow White and the Huntsman Movie Review

It seems that this spring and early summer has been a true goth fest when it comes to movies. We had "The Raven" in early May, followed by "Dark Shadows" in late May, and now another dark movie has come our way. Oh joy! It's sort of like Halloween, when everywhere you look you see the wonderful little skulls and pumpkins!  It's the most wonderful time of the year.....oops, well, it is, when we have three Gothic themed movies in a row....and it's not October!  <HUGE GRIN>

I went to the movie Snow White and the Huntsman this weekend after anticipating it for months.

This movie does have a seriously creepy, dark atmosphere. I loved it. The director has taken the lovely children's story of Snow White and turned it into a Gothic Fairytale.

The storyline follows the fairytale pretty well. A beautiful, enchanted child is born to a king and queen in medieval Europe. The queen dies when the little girl, called Snow White is about seven or eight. The king mourns his wife, but eventually remarries a beautiful woman. Unbeknownst to him, the woman is a sorceress. The king dies, and well, you know the rest. Evil stepmother rules the kingdom, Snow White is out of the picture. In fact, she ends up locked up in a dungeon for years.

The movie veers slightly from the fairytale, but not far. The princess Snow White escapes, runs into the forest, and the Queen wants her back, because of the whole rival beauty paranoia going on. So, the Dark and Beautiful Queen hires the huntsman to go after Snow and bring her back. The problem is, my fellow goth lovers, is that Snow has ran into the Dark Forest, a place of magic, mystery and Halloween type trees that grab at you with roots and branches. The Dark Forest is the only place the Evil Queen has no power--go figure?

So, enter Thor---er--the Huntsman.
He's the only one who knows the secrets of the Dark Forest and can track her and bring Snow White back to the dungeons. But, then, as you probably guessed, he switches sides, feeling sorry for Snow White and her plight. Of course they encounter dwarves in their journey, and of course the Evil Queen pursues them. The Queen tricks Snow into eating the poisoned apple, and she dies. The rest is history, as they say. you know the story. The Huntsman kisses her, she comes back to life, and they storm the castle . . .  That's the short synopsis.

Along the way, the princess and the huntsmen encounter some adventure, a little romance, a triangle romance scene, if you will, and some enchanted creatures, including woodland fairies.  I found this version to be visually lush, amazing and richly imaginative. I highly recommend it.

Now, you're probably thinking of Kristen Stewart and going....ewww....from the Twilight thing. But seriously, I have to say, the movie is well worth the effort. Stewart does a pretty good job in the lead role. She's not bad, really. Just not incredibly strong with the screen presence thing yet. But she's young, and she's growing into it. Regardless of how you feel about Stewart, the movie is incredible, truly strong visually. Having Thor (Chris Helmsworth) in the role of Huntsman was a huge bonus. And, if you're looking for strong female screen presence you've got it with Charlize Theron as the evil queen. Now that is some smoking stage presence, ladies and gentleman. Give that woman an Oscar, please! I was captivated by this lovely, bewitching, malevolent queen. In fact, I think Theron stole the show, for me. She is hauntingly beautiful and frightening.

One of the most striking scenes of Theron is when she appears to Snow White, offers her the apple, and then the Huntsman discovers who she is and swings his axe at her. She transforms into a flock of black crows against a snowy forest and they all cascade up into the sky. It's so darkly poetic and lovely.

So, bottom line;  Get over the Kristen Steward dislike due to her role as wilting Bella in The Twilight Saga, and go see this wonderfully Gothic Fairytale. Stewart shows promise in this story, and she learns to kick ass and wield a sword. No more squirming and grimacing as she waits for her boyfriend to save her. And if you're looking for stellar performances; with Thor from the Avengers headlining as the male lead and Charlize Theron as the elegantly malicious sorceress queen, you'll be vastly entertained.


 The men who play the dwarves are also worthy of note, as they capture your heart. Not Doc, Dopey and Sneezy, but real life, gritty, warrior dwarves that deserve the limelight every bit as much as the rest of the cast.

Movies this good do not--I repeat-- do not come around very often. So dear Gothic Friend, savor the moment, and don't choke on your popcorn. 

Chills to you, 

Lilith Bloodrose.