escaping from the frame of fairy tale for give a dark, cold, bitter show of power, dark magic, innocence and hate. and admirable performance of Sigourney Weaver as the Stepmother. impressive for the forms of poetry, for the special effects and for the wise science to use the details for a film who transforms well known facts in a terrible show. so, a tale of terror. different by many other versions. but useful for remind the profound message of the story created by Grimm brothers. because it is an exploration of the basic senses of fairy tale.with precise science, with fascinating art.

The story of Snow White takes on a new twist, literally, where young Lilli Hoffman (Monica Keena) is disliked by stepmother Claudia Hoffman (Sigourney Weaver), causing her to eventually flee deep into the forest and into the home of seven gruff-looking and aggressive gold miners.Most of the elements of the classic fairytale is included in this movie, but it is also filled with more adult-themed elements such as a semi-graphic scene of Snow White's mother dying in childbirth, passionate and provocative moments shared between Snow White's father Frederick Hoffman (Sam Niell) and Claudia, and the menacing, violent and belligerent characteristics of some of the seven gold miners (not dwarfs as depicted in the original tale). Filmed in the Czech Republic and Germany, this film captures the beauty of the Crusade era with its rich European and classical flavor; the Hoffmans' palace has a magnificent design and the visual effects, costumes and make-up were superb. Thomas E. Szollosi and Deborah Serra wrote a very intriguing screenplay for the movie that provides a plot that is more than just a story about an innocent little princess escaping from her jealous and vain stepmother - it in detail captures the heart-pounding terror and evil magic Claudia and her magic mirror brought, and the horror Lilli and the seven men experience from Claudia's powers. It also elaborates on the frictional relationship Claudia and Lilli share. In addition, the entire atmosphere of the movie is mostly dark and dim, yet hopeful.The acting was mostly great, in which I thought Weaver's Claudia and Gill Bellows' Will character carried the movie. Weaver's character is vain, antagonistic and devious, but has a purpose to her intentions in the movie, and Bellows' character is courageous and is an unlikely hero. Keann's Lilli character is a typical rebellious and bratty teenager, which made her less charming and attractive. The plot's pacing was a little slow and full of those odd dialog exchanges between Lilli and the seven men, making you just root for some poison apple action to happen already. Overall, it is an eerie, thrilling and somewhat creepy adaptation of Snow White that does away with the all-is-well "fairytale" element and is something not suitable for young children.Grade B

This version of the what may be the Grimm's most famous fairy tale holds very true to the original story. There have been so many film adaptations of Snow White that, although unique and creative renditions, stray very far from the original. I was impressed with the minor details that they included from the Grimm's version, such as the "hair as black as ebony, skin white as snow, and lips as red as blood" and the fact that the heroine is choked by the apple and not put into a magical sleep (like Sleeping Beauty). The story is dark and ominous, which also holds true to the fairy tale, in contradiction to the popular belief that these stories were light-hearted and innocent (we have Walt Disney to blame for that). They did take some creative license with names, character traits, and certain plot elements, but I didn't find it terribly offensive. It served to make the story more realistic and deep. It kept my attention the whole way through and kept me wondering what was going to happen next despite the fact I knew the story. The thing that makes this movie good is the great attention to detail and the awareness of the material the film makers had. I was impressed. Do not be fooled though. This is not a movie for little children. Do not go into it thinking that, or you will completely miss what makes it so special. I would even suggest reading the actual fairy tale before watching it so you can truly appreciate the small but significant specific aspects the film artists obviously took so much care to preserve.

A wealthy man (Sam Neill) remarries years after his first wife dies during childbirth. However, the new wife (Sigourney Weaver) despises her stepchild and the daughter (played by the lovely Monica Keena) is forced to flee into the woods where she befriends seven miners (not dwarfs). Will the stepmother get away with her wickedness? My friend Jason had been suggesting we watch this film for a while and I couldn't bring myself to do it. With the movie being based on Snow White and the silly cover photograph, this just didn't seem like a decent horror film. And I know Sam Neill makes some decent horror appearances, but Sigourney Weaver? Come on! Then when I saw Monica Keena was in it (who I know from "Dawson's Creek" but many horror fans will know her from "Freddy vs. Jason") I couldn't get the DVD in the slot fast enough.This film comes from director Michael Cohn, whom I've never heard of and I suspect neither have you. And despite his relative obscurity (ten years later and I still haven't seen anything else he's done) he can weave a very well-visualized tale. The man has a knack for the realm of fantasy.This really is the film's strength. We are treated to a land of fantasy with witches and magic mirrors, but there is no silliness about it. This is not a kid's tale like "Labrynth" or "The Dark Crystal", but something much more adult and terrifying. There is even a scene where -- dare I say it -- we get hints of rape.All the acting is strong, which should come as no surprise. Keena is great, and Sam Neill really cannot do a bad job acting even if he wanted to as far as I can tell. The effects were fine, the music was alright, and there was a scene where a horse did a back-flip, which was pretty intense. Don't be discouraged like I was about the title, this is a horror film worth seeing and a nice change of pace from the usual modern-day fare.