'Gretel And Hansel' Clip Heads To The Witch House

Gretel and Hansel will attempt to twist the classic fairy tale into something extra-spooky at the end of the month, and there's a new clip to better acclimate you to the film's creepy atmosphere. Oz Perkins helms this take on the story, with It star Sophia Lillis and newcomer Sammy Leakey playing the siblings who end up encountering a witch in the woods. In the clip below, Gretel and Hansel stumble upon the witch's house – and anyone familiar with this tale can guess that things don't go so well.

If you're ever wandering through the woods and come across a spooky house, you probably shouldn't climb in through the windows – even if it smells delicious in there. Unfortunately, that little scamp Hansel doesn't know that, and in he goes – and then something scary happens. Smooth move, genius.

In Gretel and Hansel, "A long time ago in a distant fairytale countryside, a young girl (Sophia Lillis) leads her little brother (Sammy Leakey) into a dark wood in desperate search of food and work, only to stumble upon a nexus of terrifying evil." Now, I know January is often seen as the "dumping ground" for films, but I remain optimistic about this. For one thing, it looks incredible. The cinematography from Galo Olivares is dark and foreboding, and I love the imagery on display here. I'm also a fan of the films of Oz Perkins – The Blackcoat's Daughter and I Am the Pretty Thing that Lives in the House. Some consider those movies too slow, but I was quite taken with them. I have a good feeling about this overall and hope I'll be rewarded for my optimism.

"We tried to find a way to make it more of a coming of age story," Perkins previously told EW. "I wanted Gretel to be somewhat older than Hansel, so it didn't feel like two twelve-year-olds — rather a sixteen-year-old and an eight-year-old. There was more of a feeling like Gretel having to take Hansel around everywhere she goes, and how that can impede one's own evolution, how our attachments and the things that we love can sometimes get in the way of our growth."

Gretel and Hansel, which also stars Alice Krige, opens January 31.