Snow White: A Tale of Terror Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)

Snow White: A Tale of Terror is a 1997 horror film directed by Michael Cohn (Interceptor, When the Bough Breaks, & Sacrifice). It’s based on the classic fairy tale with a grim twist to it. It was written by Tom Szollosi (Three O’Clock High, BeastMaster TV series, Bone Daddy, & The A-Team) & Deborah Serra (Punky Brewster, Risk, Going for Broke, & Highway Heartbreaker). It was produced by Scott Kroopf (Bill & Ted trilogy, Jumanji, Very Bad Things, Limitless, & Pitch Black) & Ted Field (Riddick franchise, Cocktail, Jumanji franchise, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, & The Amityville Horror).

Lilliana Hoffman (played by: Joanna Roth from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein) dies in a carriage accident in the woods. Her husband Frederick (played by: Sam Neill from In the Mouth of Madness, Event Horizon, Jurassic Park franchise, & Daybreakers) reluctantly performs a caesarean section to save their unborn daughter. Years later, the young Lilli Hoffman named after her mother plays mischievously on the grounds of the Hoffman estate. Frederick remarries a noble woman named Lady Claudia (played by: Sigourney Weaver from the Alien franchise, Ghostbusters 1/2, Madman, & Copycat). Despite Claudia’s kindness to her, Lilli is jealous & resentful towards her new stepmother. Years later, Claudia now pregnant with Lilli’s half brother, gives her a gown to wear at the ball that belonged to her as a child. Claudia goes into an early labor & delivers a stillborn boy. Doctor Gutenberg (played by: David Conrad from Men of Honor, Wedding Crashers, & Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) informs Frederick that Claudia can never have another child. Lilli (played by: Monica Keena from Freddy vs. Jason, Night of the Demons, Undeclared, & The Devil’s Advocate) is confronted by Claudia’s brother Gustav (played by: Miroslav Táborský from The Brothers Grimm & EuroTrip) who tries to kill her as per Claudia’s orders but she escapes deep into the woods. Lilli is found by seven rough combative miners led by Will (played by: Gil Bellows from Love and a .45, The Shawshank Redemption, Ally McBeal, & 11.22.63). Claudia makes another attempt on Lilli’s life by using witchcraft to crush her in the mines but she is rescued by Will. Lilli keeps escaping death but others around her are not so lucky. Claudia will do anything to end her stepdaughter’s life but she can pull it off? Lilli is ready this time & she’s out for revenge!!!!

This one turned the classic Snow White story into a horror film which was an interesting concept.  I really enjoyed the script for this 90’s movie. It took something everyone was familiar with & flipped it into something twisted. The production design is top notch here. The special fx are very impressive & they still hold up after all these years. Sigourney Weaver is a great villain in Snow White & it’s one of her most under-rated performances. It rarely gets brought up when she is mentioned but it’s definitely one of her best. She was pure evil & on a mission to kill her stepdaughter no matter what. Monica Keena was always quality eye candy & she was actually solid in this one. She had some momentum at the time as an actress but it didn’t last long until probably Freddy vs. Jason. After that, she’s done smaller films & television.  This one had a good supporting cast with Sam Neill, Gil Bellows, & David Conrad. It’s a nice mix of drama & horror, it has a few moments that still stand out so the replay value is good with Snow White. Hopefully with this brand new home video release, it will get some more attention & appreciation because it’s rarely brought up, RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Mill Creek! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer looks way better than expected for a back catalog title. The production design & cinematography really stand out here. It’s a big improvement over the previous home video DVD release from Universal. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is solid here. All of the dialogue is very clean, all the thrills are elevated here, & the music has a nice boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Unfortunately, it has no extras on it. Mill Creek always has their products at a cheap price so this can be picked up for under $10 at most places. It’s worth the upgrade or just as a first time purchase. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!