Fairy tales, in general perception, are princes and princesses, pure and innocent, courageous and adventurous, magic and legend. But when the darkness and cruelty of modern society began to slowly soak in innocent fairy tales, dark-tone films based on the basis of the story entered people's vision. Today I will give you an inventory of some of the dark to fairy tale movies that make you think about it.
Alice in Wonderland
Adapted from: Alice in Wonderland
Directed by: Tim Burton
Production area: United States
"Alice in Wonderland" is a fairy tale with a strange style. Directed by Tim Burton, a genius who makes good use of black humor and a unique perspective, he has become more of his own dark style. The film opens up novel brain holes, using the sequel to the original story as an eye, telling the story of Alice who accidentally falls into wonderland again as an adult. Burton's dark gothic style is exaggerated to the extreme in this film, and the intense tones and fantasy plot are full of imagination.
The Sleeping Curse
Adapted from: The Sleeping Beauty of Grimm's Fairy Tales
Director: Robert Stormberg
The film tells the whole story from the perspective of an evil witch, and there is no deep truth or complicated plot twists. This is the mental journey and struggle of a character who is both right and evil in itself, and it can be said that it shows the experience that any ordinary person among us may face. This year, everyone wants to be a "charming villain", which is a typical adaptation of the "villain whitewashing" shuttle.
Snow White and the Huntsman
Adapted from: "Grimm's Fairy Tales of Snow White"
Director: Rupert Sanders
This film adapts the original childlike story full of suspense and crisis, telling the story of the queen sending hunters to hunt down Snow White, but the hunters are soft on the princess. In order to escape the queen's pursuit, the hunter and the princess embark on the road to escape together.
It can be said that in the film, in addition to some basic characters or fairy tales, the plot, theme, and character are very different from the original story. Brother Hammer is not Brother Hammer, but he enters the Axe Gang :)
Wonderland
Adapted from: The Wizard of Oz
Directed by: Sam Remy
The Wizard of Oz is based on Lyman Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Oscar is a circus magician who can only sculpt insects, but he is inadvertently brought by a tornado from dusty Kansas City to the magical and wonderful country of Oz.
When the forces of darkness overwhelm him and Oscar is forced into a strife, he decides to give it a go against the evil witch. But how can you counter the powerful and evil magic of the witch with your own magic tricks? Where does the future of Oz Wonderland go? There are many conspiracy theories in this story, and it has a dark and eerie tone of early children's literature.
Guillotine Valley
Adapted from: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The film tells the story of New York police officer Crane who travels to a remote town to investigate the headless murder, and after encountering a series of bizarre images, finally tracks down the truth of the case. The "Headless Horseman" is a magical legend that people always recall casually, and the story is overshadowed with mystery because of different versions.
Tim Burton learned about the legend of the Headless Horseman from the Disney cartoons and applied such a mysterious symbol to the film. There are many wonderful horror scenes in the script of "Guillotine Valley", which is not only a novel story, but also full of drama and humor.
The Wolf Clan
Adapted from: Little Red Riding Hood
Directed by Neil Jordan
This is not a horror movie in the true sense of the word, but a movie about adolescent growth mixed with various stories. This horror film contains many fairy tales and psychoanalytic plots, including the story of The Wolf Grandma eating Little Red Riding Hood.
All of these stories seem to be about the loss of innocence and man's desire and fear of sex, and Freud's theories find archetypes in every dream-like story. In this movie, all the legends about wolves and people actually contain sexual revelations.
"Gluttonous Tree"
Adapted from: "Tree Baby"
Director: Jan Sven Meyer
Production area: Czech Republic
An infertile couple longs to have a baby. In order to comfort his wife, the husband dug out the slightly human-shaped roots of the tree and used them as substitutes. It is not surprising that fairy tales also come true, but when the fake drama is real, the black fairy tale full of blood is officially performed.
The ending of the film follows the fairy tale, but the persistence and dark side of human nature are nakedly displayed. The narrative of the film is smooth, and the suspense elements and horror content are well matched. A large number of close-ups reinforce the subjective perception of the audience, making this story adapted from Czech folklore quite dark humor and modern allegorical flavor.
The Story of the Story
Adapted from: "Five Days Talk"
Director: Matteo Galloni
Production area: Italy
Great fantasy story, seemingly imaginative, contrary to human nature, but also excavated the essence of human nature, about greed, about desire, just like the last scene, living like a tightrope on a line of fire.