Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Besides watching movies, my second favourite thing to do is reading and as a kid who also had a penchant for horror stories. The Brothers Grimm wrote some of my favourites; from Red Riding Hood to The Little Mermaid brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm created and published some of the most iconic fairy tales ever written, stories that have been adapted time and time again. One of the latest adaptations is Netflix’s and Wit Studio’s The Grimm Variations, where six Grimm fairy tales are told with a Japanese anime twist.
While the animation wasn’t anything mind-blowing, each episode does open with an illustrative art style depicting Japanese-inspired takes on The Brothers Grimm telling their stories to their younger sister Charlotte.
It’s a shame they didn’t stick with this throughout as it would’ve made The Grimm Variations stand out visually. Considering the source material, each story told has a dark undertone, but the genre shifts a bit as well, think The Twilight Zone meets anime and you might have an idea of what to expect. I did find a few of the stories quite engaging and there was even a dark comedic tone throughout most of them. If I had to pick favourites it would be Episode 1 “Cinderella” where new stepmother and stepsisters get more than they bargain for when they become members of Cinderella’s family. Red Riding Hood was especially brutal, set in a dystopian world where most of the society lives in a virtual reality. But some are not satisfied with the illusion as Mr Grey AKA the Big Bad Wolf tires of easy prey and sets out to find himself someone more challenging. And then there was Hansel and Gretel, which could’ve easily fit in as an episode of Black Mirror.
There is a wide range of genres here, from science fiction to fantasy (The Pied Piper of Hamlin) to supernatural and action-packed comedy (The Town Musicians of Bremen). The Grimm Variations gets points for variety and I’m sure any viewers watching will find at least one episode to enjoy. Cinderella is easily the strongest of the bunch and it was a smart choice to put it first as the others, while not bad, do diminish in terms of storytelling. But if you’ve ever wanted to see your favourite Grimm fairy tales with an anime-inspired twist, you could do a lot worse.
Sommer’s Score: 6.5 out of 10
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Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More