5 For: Gretel and Hansel (2020)

In this Movie Memory Machine: Five For mini-episode, Landen and Truman descend deeper into the forest of offbeat horror, dark fantasy, and ghostly dread. Building on the vibes of Gretel & Hansel, they recommend five strange, stylish, and haunting films that blend folklore, surrealism, and atmospheric isolation. From haunting governesses to cursed love stories and meth gators, this list is a strange brew—equal parts eerie, elegant, and Eastern European.

Films Discussed:

1. Lemora: A Child’s Tale of the Supernatural (1973)

2. Beauty and the Beast (1946, dir. Jean Cocteau)

3. Beauty and the Beast (1978, Czechoslovakia)

4. The Innocents (1961)

5. Midsommar (2019)

Topics Covered:

• Fairy tale logic vs. narrative logic

• Why dark fantasy works best through a child’s eyes (or a governess’s)

• Jean Cocteau’s uncanny elegance and Gothic surrealism

• When the Beast is genuinely beastly—and not just “hot with fur”

• Czechoslovakian castles, tetanus aesthetics, and the horror of 70s Euro cinema

• The Innocents as peak atmospheric ghost story

• Ari Aster’s sunlit dread and the isolation of folk horror

Key Takeaways:

• The scariest horror films don’t shout—they quietly watch from across the river

• Folk tales and fairy tales don’t need happy endings—they need strange rules

• Isolation creates its own morality

• Black licorice is the defining visual metaphor for Osgood Perkins’s career

Listener Prompt:
What’s your favorite surreal or atmospheric horror film? Let us know using #MovieMemoryMachine—or join the Discord to drop your weirdest recommendations.

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