The Death of Snow White

In a year flooded with high-budget remakes and safe studio offerings, The Death of Snow White emerges like a blood-soaked dagger in a field of plastic swords. Written, directed, and produced by Jason Brooks, known to horror fans as the terrifyingly physical Jason Voorhees in Friday the 13th: Bloodlines. This $1.2 million indie horror reimagining of the classic fairy tale isn't just bold... it's brutal. And more importantly, it's good.

Unlike Disney's own lifeless live-action attempt, Brooks doesn't hold back. The Death of Snow White takes the bones of the original tale and reanimates them with twisted intent. We follow Snow White (played with grit and vulnerability by Sanae Loutsis) not through a magical woodland filled with animals and dwarfs whistling while they work-but into a nightmare realm of gnarled trees, blood magic, and a pack of deranged, vengeful dwarves who make the seven from your childhood look like Teletubbies in comparison.

And while I'm not typically a fan of fantasy (ask me about The Lord of the Rings and I'll tell you once was enough), this film doesn't feel like a fantasy in the traditional sense. It's horror first, dark fantasy second... an eerie, dirt under the nails kind of experience where the forest feels alive and the danger is always one breath away.

The standout here, though, is Chelsea Edmundson as the Evil Queen. Obsession with beauty has always been the core of the character, but this version takes it to a chilling extreme. Edmundson sinks her teeth into the role, creating a villain who is captivating, terrifying, and disturbingly real. Her scenes pulse with menace, and her descent into madness and vanity fueled cruelty is the film's black heart. This might just be the best version of the Evil Queen we've ever seen on screen.

What's most impressive, though, is how much Brooks pulls off with so little. For a mere $1.2 million budget, this film delivers on atmosphere, gore, and world-building in a way that makes Disney's $240 million effort look like a bloated costume party. It's proof that vision and tone matter more than pixels and polish.

The Death of Snow White is a dark fairy tale done right, bold, bloody, and refreshingly unafraid to push boundaries. Even if you don't typically enjoy fantasy, the horror elements, strong performances, and razor-sharp direction make this one worth your time. Jason Brooks has crafted something twisted and special, and Chelsea Edmundson's Evil Queen is one for the horror hall of fame.

Living in a desolate community, a woman learns that she has royal blood when the Queen turns her attention to her to continue looking youthful so she can enact a diabolical plan to rule the kingdom, forcing her into the forest and banding together with a group of dwarves to fight back against her.

Overall, this was a rather enjoyable take on the fairy tale. Among the better aspects of this one tends to incorporate its own unique spin on the typical mythology of the story by changing around a lot of the usual elements of the story. Rather than deal with the usual setup of the story offering the kind of traditional low-rent peasant community that Snow White is involved in while the Queen looks on jealous of everything she has despite her poor state of life is a solid way of going about trying to get back to the throne's power by trying to accumulate her beauty into her own for own gain. It manages to bring about the kind of connection to the original feature, especially once the decision to flee the kingdom and live with the dwarves is put into place, which provides this with some intriguing connections to the fabled story. When matched against the new elements of the story involving the more gruesome attempts at showcasing the brutality inherent in the story and how it would all play out, there's a lot to like here. The general state of the Queen adopting a more vampiric attitude to her beauty by torturing and removing parts of their body so that their body parts can be served to keep her beauty more youthful until her plan comes into focus serves everything rather nicely, especially when it starts moving away from the peasants she's rounded up and onto her inner circle which gives this some solid attempts at body horror. That carries over into the finale, where the different forces come together to deliver on the quest to stop the Queen's plans, leading to some solid action along the way, and with some fine nudity, manage to give this a lot to like. There are some issues here that hold this one down. The main issue here is that it tends to follow more of a dark fantasy route than an overly generic feel, making it appropriate for more adventurous fans, while others may be somewhat more turned off by the atmosphere created here. The idea and concept of the film is built more on the idea of going through their quest littered with perils, magic creatures, and disloyal allegiances that all point to a different genre atmosphere that only becomes far more obvious when it plays out. There's nothing genuinely wrong with it, but it becomes a big part of the film to have to get over as the fairy tale roots it tries to honor are kept in check enough for it to be a factor here as a means of personal preference, despite being the only real issue.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Full Nudity, and Graphic Language.

So I'd like to start by saying that I could not finish this movie. This happen almost never and I cannot remember the last time that I did.

The photography is not so bad, special effects (both CGI and practical) are also quite good.

But the acting.... It is so bad, it's not even funny. And the realisation look as it was made by a student. As explaining what not to do in acting and realisation, perfect movie. But as a Movie in itself, hard pass.

Man, this picture moves-a fever-dream fairytale barreling through the woods in a chariot made of VHS tape and heavy metal fog, lit by the flickering torchlight of pure pulp passion. The Death of Snow White ain't just another backyard fantasy flick trying to fake its way into cult status. No, this one earns it. Earns it with grit, charm, and a wild sincerity that cuts through the cynicism like a broadsword through bone.

Could've sworn this was a lost Cannon Films relic-some long-buried warrior tale found on a Betamax in a pawn shop off the Jersey Turnpike. It's got that Sword and the Sorcerer energy, baby: sweaty, sword-swinging, spell-casting glory-but polished in a way that belies its indie roots. Looks like twice the money got spent and three times the heart.

The sound design rips. The humor lands. The action works, in that way where you feel the boots hit the dirt and the sweat sting the eyes. The acting? Rock solid, every single soul dialed in and playing it straight-like they believe in this twisted fairy tale world, and by god, you believe it too.

It's not just good-for-an-indie. It's good, period. One of those rare, no-bullshit reminders that indie film still has teeth-sharp ones. Makes you wanna go home and sharpen your own.

Highly recommend. And whatever these maniacs do next? I'm there for it.

Snow White has been in the press a lot lately from the Disney remake in live action. This is not to be confused with that movie. You might as it is showing in cineplexes at the same time. This is a movie written by a director with high ambitions. Unfortunately those ambitions were too high and missed the mark. The acting, special effects, and low B-Grade quality often took me out of the film. I could tell at times that you could see they were putting themselves out there and trying. Hence the 3 stars. It is rewarding to the filmmakers that in these moments I was reminded of this. There certainly was the chance for potential here but the tired take of Snow White combined with low production quality couldn't make that possible. I would like to point out that I observed true potential in some actors that paired with a better script and director could really shine. Tristan Nokes and Meredith Binder stood out at times. However, the film's titular lead Sanae Loutsis could not hold the film up. I have not seen other films she has acted in but maybe there is something to see in her elsewhere, perhaps. I would love to elaborate more on this film but the poison from that apple is hitting and I'll be dead soon. For the casual movie goer I'd recommend skipping this one.