Snow White: A Tale of Terror - Gloriously Grimdark

Cinematic Doctrine

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PARTY PLEASER:

Shirleon joins Melvin to summarize a late-90s retelling-with-a-twist adaptation of a beloved fairytale: Snow White: A Tale of Terror! From its surprisingly nuanced characters to its downright diabolical antagonist, the two enjoy discussing the horrific ins-and-outs of this late-20th century oddity!

Topics:

• The opening tone-setter for Snow White: A Tale of Terror really sells the atmosphere of dark fantasy.
• Interestingly, the opening dynamic between Claudia, the "Evil Queen" equivalent, and Lilli, the "Snow White" equivalent, is more of Claudia seeking a good relationship with Lilli while Lilli acts consistently bratty.
• Once the movie goes grimdark, it doesn't stop topping itself with bizarre dark fantasy ideas.
• Discussing why they think classic fairytale villains, Disney or otherwise, are so compelling.
• The film is undeniably a horror film, but it's largely psychological with some horror-lite sequences.
• The "Seven Dwarves" equivalent are essentially Highwaymen, and each one has some form of physical deformity or ailment which contrasts with Claudia's unabashed vanity.
• The whole "catatonic Snow White" sequence that the fairytale is famous for starts and ends near immediately.
• The film is loaded with "show don't tell", but sometimes it's to a fault.

Recommendations:

• Fairest of All by Serena Valentino (2009) (Book)
• Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonia (2019) (Book)
• Event Horizon (1997) (Movie)

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