By: Timothy Rawles ……..
Thanks to director Rhys Frake and Disney’s classic fairytale characters falling into the public domain, movies based on cute and cuddly beloved creatures are becoming malevolent and vicious. We saw Winne the Pooh: Blood and Honey become a viral curiosity, and a sequel is already on the way. We have also got a horror adaptation of Bambi, Peter Pan, and Cinderella in the works.
But this trend isn’t entirely new, there have been plenty of titles that borrow from classic children’s tales dating back to the ’80s. For this list, we tried to include movies where the source material’s narrative isn’t particularly nasty. So the omission of Hansel & Gretel is warranted because that is already a story based in horror.
The Company of Wolves (1984)
When this movie first came out people thought it was strange to do a horror movie based on Little Red Riding Hood. Maybe the same way we think today about Winnie the Pooh. But with all due respect to Rhys Frake (Blood and Honey), this one went beyond the low-hanging fruit of a slasher and was an artistic masterpiece. Just look who directed it: Neil Jordan!
Yes the man who went on to make The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, and Greta, started out making a fairytale horror movie which is a must-see for fans of the genre.
Pinocchio’s Revenge (1996)
Low-budget horror films led to small lines around the theater from the mid to late 80s and into the early 90s. When I first saw Ghoulies (1985) the auditorium was packed and everyone had a great time. Then Trimark Pictures (an off-shoot of Vidmark) sort of changed the game, producing “higher quality” horror movies with elevated screenplays and special effects. Trimark eventually merged with Lionsgate in 2000.
But Vidmark did produce some memorable titles including 1996 Pinocchio’s Revenge, a straight-to-video attempt to cash in on Don Mancini’s Child’s Play. This twist on the classic fairytale admittedly isn’t that great, but it’s a nice reminder of when low-budget films used practical effects to tell stories and had to be innovative enough for them to look as good as they could on screen.
Rumpelstiltskin (1996)
Republic Pictures found their fairytale villain, Rumpelstiltskin, in this 1996 box office flop, but it sort of works as a horror movie. The team behind it, Mark Jones and Michael Prescott, had just achieved cult success with Leprechaun and were ready to jump on board its sequel, but the opportunity to direct this film opened up and they took it.
Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997)
This one might be cheating a little since it was released on Showtime and not in theaters. But the sheer star power of the production and how it drastically changes the Disney version’s relatively tame narrative into a truly horrific one should be noted. Directed by Michael Cohen (not to be confused with Q’s Larry Cohen), it stars Sigourney Weaver and Sam Neill.
Darkness Falls (2003)
People laughed at the concept of this movie when it was first announced. A killer tooth fairy? How laughable. But even though it’s not the best, it still packs a punch and since its release has gained a bit of a millennial cult following.
The Gingerbread Man (2005)
Of all the people who have produced and directed modern low-budget horror movies, Charles Band might be next only to legendary celluloid mastermind William Castle. Band is well known for his ’80s production house Empire Pictures which eventually folded. But the prolific director countered that by starting Full Moon Features which continues to release movies even today.
One could surmise that the idea behind this picture spawned from the popularity of Shrek (2001) which also featured an Anthropomorphic cookie that was tortured for information (not my gum drop buttons) by the prince. But that might just be a coincidence. In this film, eccentric actor and personality Gary Busey takes on the titular role which adds to the uniqueness of this Band favorite.
The Lure (2016)
The Little Mermaid has fangs. Yes, believe it or not, this 2016 film is based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale made famous by a red-haired Disney princess. However, this mermaid tale doesn’t end very well. Two sirens emerge from the sea in the ’80s and start performing at a nightclub as backup singers to a rock band. Complications ensue when one of the sirens named Silver falls for the lead singer.
It’s an interesting spin on the classic fairytale and it’s been pretty well received since its release.
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