The Death of Snow White

Full transparency, I was the Director of Photography and Producer on this film but I have had the pleasure of watching it go from an idea between friends to now a theatrical release. I've watched it with audiences and every time, I am hearing the same feedback: It's just fun.

Truth is, it was a BLAST to be on set also. From shooting at a real castle, to all of the special effects, to watching real little people actors in their element do their own stunts. So many people gave so much for this movie to exist and I'm so glad it does.

Special shout out to the Loutsis family for spearheading all of this and making it a reality.

I must say... this is what passion and the love of storytelling can create. The Death Of Snow White is what most filmmakers hope to achieve in their career! Jason Brooks and his team delivered a dark, horror fantasy that not only pays tribute to The Grimm's Tale but does so with humor, gore, intrigue and fun! It has a great balance of storytelling and keeps you watching! Granted, this isn't a 100 million dollar film, but what this team of creators managed with the budget they had is spectacular and... the fun shows up on screen! The Death of Snow White is a fantastic ride and if you get the opportunity to see it you will be impressed by these talented filmmakers.

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.

This was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Shirly from Entertainment Squad and the Horror Collective. My history is that like most children growing up, I knew the fairy tale. I have a bit of a weird history because I missed Disney adaptations until recently. It is wild that I've seen the original a few times in the last month due to my daughter, so the story was fresher in my mind. I was curious about a darker, horror version that could pull those elements from the original Grimms' Fairy Tale. This also doubles as a 2025 independent horror release for my end of year list.

Synopsis: Pursued by her stepmother for eternal beauty, Snow White (Sanae Loutsis) flees into a terrifying forest and aligns with seven bloodthirsty dwarves - cold-blooded assassins with a knack for brutal killings. Her spirit is tested in this grim fairy tale.

We start this by seeing a guard getting attacked. There is a hooded figure sneaking into a castle. This is an evil witch, played by Meredith Binder. She's here to kill the queen who is pregnant. The queen is played by Kelly Tappan and she's married to the king, played by Tyler McKenna. The witch stabs the queen in the stomach, with a dagger laced with poison. The only way to break this curse is to give your life to save the other. The queen decides to save her baby over herself.

It then shifts into the future. Snow White works with a theater group that puts on horrific plays. She is friends with Inga (Hailey Stubblefield), Sophia (Lydia Pearl Pentz) and Yvonne (Holland Stull). Snow White is a princess, having been raised by the new queen, played by Chelsea Edmundson. She harbors dark secrets and desires.

The evil queen is determined to be the fairest in the land. She's in an interesting position though. She wants to look younger so she can marry someone for their lands. If she kills Snow White before that, she'll lose this kingdom. Her magic mirror has three female demons that tell her different things. We also see the horrific lengths she'll go to stay young.

Snow White is in love with a prince, played by Tristan Nokes. He has eyes for her as well. They spend time together at the festival. It takes a dark turn though when the queen sends the huntsmen to take one of Snow White's friends for a ritual. Gunnar (Jason Brooks) is their leader and he swore to protect Snow White to her mother on her deathbed. Snow White and others flee into the dark forest, trying to get away from the huntsmen. It is out here that we see dangerous creatures. She also comes to the cabin of dwarves. They used to work in the castle, including Arsta (Ali Chapman) who was the doctor once. They were banished to this forest.

As things get revealed, the dwarves have been plotting their revenge. When Snow White is taken back to the castle, they join with the prince to rescue her and help overthrow this evil queen as well as her true form.

That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I'll start is that for 2025, I've seen a handful of films from 7th Street Productions. They might not be as high of quality as the major studios or even the major independents, but that's not to say that they don't produce good stuff. They're just working with smaller budgets. Brooks, who appears as Gunnar, was also the co-writer and director. He's a name that I'm familiar with even if I haven't seen a lot of his films. Then to end out of my thoughts here, this production company is good at seeing what is popular and then doing their own variations on it, capitalizing here on Disney's live action remake of the same fairy tale.

Now let's dive into what this does well. The original Grimms' Fairy Tales are dark. They translate well with a familiar story and the source tends to have horrific aspects. What is fun here is that the Grimm brothers are characters who are friends with the prince. They are Wilhelm (Milo Mechem-Miller) and Jacob (Christopher Burnside). What's funny is that they splatter with blood a couple of times and Jacob is taking notes to write the story while they're in danger. That was a good touch.

There's also an added element here that makes the queen evil. They incorporate elements of Elizabeth Bathory. She bathes in the blood of local peasant girls. She takes the teeth of one and does other things like this. This makes good visuals as these scenes were mostly practically done as well. It is just an easy way to make your villain worse and I dug it. It also doesn't hurt that Edmundson does so well at portraying arrogance that is needed for this role.

Let's then discuss the dwarves in this film. I love the fact that they hired little people for these roles. They also didn't discriminate. We have Chapman who is Black. What's great there was that she was the court physician before the evil queen took over. She's joined by Pollen (Risa Mei) who is Asian. We have Dozer (Jeremy Hallam) who appears in the opening sequence. I love that he's seen a good fighter. We also have Sunny (Dillon Moore), Beau (Colin Miller) and Grimwald (Michael De Santo II). Santo cracked me up with his dry humor. There's also Tiny (Eric Pope) who isn't a dwarf but he's seen as one. What's funny there is that Snow White points this out and they jump on her, which cracked me up. They're not adhering to the whimsical names describing their demeanor or a trait, but that didn't bother me.

I think then I'll finish discussing the acting performances. Loutsis works as our titular character. I do like that she's naive to things around her. What is good is that there are things happening in the shadows. She has believable chemistry with Nokes. He's solid as well as this prince who will do whatever he can to save her. I like how their story arc plays out as it doesn't pull punches. Binder works as the evil witch. I've already said that all those playing dwarves were decent, they bring unique things to their characters to give them life. Brooks has great size as Gunnar. I like that he's playing both sides as well. Other than that, Mechem-Miller and Burnside are fun as the Brothers Grimm. The acting won't win awards but it works for what this needed.

All that is left then is filmmaking. What I wasn't expecting was how mean spirited this would be at times. That was appreciated. I thought that this was made well enough. The practical effects were good. This goes brutally, which is great. There was only once that I noticed something not looking realistic. They tried though. The CGI doesn't look as good but it's fine where they used it. I do think the cinematography and framing help hide the seams. It also makes it look like this era is set. Other than that, music and sound design fit what was needed.

In conclusion, this is a solid independent horror film that takes a familiar fairy tale and injects it with a brutal, dark twist. While it may not have the budget of major studio productions, it excels in its commitment to practical effects and a genuinely mean-spirited tone. Fans of 7th Street Productions or those who appreciate well-crafted low-budget horror will find a lot to enjoy here. It's a compelling addition to the 2025 independent horror slate that successfully blends the classic with the horrific.

My Rating: 6.5 out of 10.

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.