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.

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.

Real Fiction Studios has struck gold-or perhaps spilled blood-with their daring new horror masterpiece, The Death of Snow White. This isn't your childhood fairytale anymore; it's a chilling, visually arresting reimagining that blends folklore with horror. The cinematography is exceptional, using shadow and light to amplify tension while giving the forest setting an otherworldly, menacing beauty. The sound design is equally impressive, with a spine-tingling dramatic score. The actors are wonderful! I was so happy to see both inclusive and appropriate casting! In case you were wondering, both the humans and animals are real! Snow White is adorable yet strong, and the Evil Queen steals the show, a terrifying figure with emotional depth that elevates the horror beyond cheap scares. The Death of Snow White it's horror with heart and brains. I entirely forgot I was watching a horror movie, let alone an independent film!

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.

Granted, I have to admit that when I stumbled upon the 2025 movie "The Death of Snow White", and opted to watch it on account of it being a movie that I had neither seen nor actually ever heard about, then I was harboring zero expectations given the movie's title.

However, writers Jason Brooks and Naomi Mechem-Miller actually put together a script and storyline that proved to be corny and campy enough to actually make for an oddly entertaining movie. Sure, this was by no means Shakespearian theater, but would you expect that from a movie carrying a title such as "The Death of Snow White"?

Of the entire cast ensemble in the movie, I was only familiar with leading actress Sanae Loutsis. The acting performances in the movie were actually good.

Visually then the movie was actually surprisingly good. The wardrobe, props and sets were good and actually had a medieval fantasy feel to them, which helped carry the movie nicely.

I was actually adequately entertained by the cheesiness of the movie.

My rating of director Jason Brooks's 2025 movie "The Death of Snow White" lands on a five out of ten stars.