The Death of Snow White (2025) (Blu-ray Review)
DIRECTED BY: Jason Brooks
STARRING: Chelsea Edmundson, Meredith Binder, Risa Mei
RATED: UR/Region: O/1:78/1080P/NUMBER OF DISCS 1 (BD-r)
AVAILABLE FROM Rising Sun Media
If you’ve been paying attention to horror over the last few years, you’ve probably noticed a very important trend: apparently every public-domain children’s character is contractually obligated to become a serial killer. First it was Winnie-the-Pooh. Then Peter Pan. Then Mickey Mouse. At this rate we’re about six months away from Thomas the Tank Engine: Blood on the Tracks.
Enter The Death of Snow White (2025), the latest fairy tale to get dragged kicking and screaming into the horror genre. And honestly? It’s one of the better examples of this increasingly ridiculous subgenre.
The premise is exactly what it sounds like. Somebody looked at the classic Snow White story and asked, “What if we added blood, violence, and enough gore to make the Brothers Grimm nod in approval?” Considering the original fairy tales were already pretty messed up before Disney sanitized everything, this isn’t actually as big a stretch as it sounds.
What surprised me most about The Death of Snow White is that it actually commits to the bit. The filmmakers aren’t simply relying on the novelty of “Hey, remember this childhood character?” and calling it a day. There’s real effort here. The atmosphere is dark, the production design is solid, and the film embraces its grim fantasy setting with enthusiasm.
And let’s talk about the gore.
For a movie like this, the gore absolutely had to deliver, and thankfully it does. There are several nasty kill sequences that should satisfy horror fans looking for practical effects and buckets of fake blood. The film understands exactly what audience it’s targeting and isn’t shy about providing the carnage. If your idea of a good time is watching fairy tale characters have very bad days, you’re in luck.
The cast does a respectable job with material that could have easily become unintentionally hilarious. Everyone seems committed to treating the story seriously, which helps sell the darker tone. It’s a difficult balancing act because one wrong move and the whole thing becomes a parody.
The biggest problem is the runtime.
This movie is simply longer than it needs to be.
Not dramatically longer. Not “check your watch every five minutes” longer. Just long enough that you start noticing it. There are stretches where the pacing slows down and the film gets a little too comfortable exploring its mythology, characters, and dramatic moments. Horror fans showed up to see Snow White get the slasher treatment, not attend a graduate-level seminar on enchanted forest politics.
A tighter edit probably would have elevated the film considerably. There are points where you can practically hear the movie saying, “Hold on, we’re building character development,” while the audience quietly replies, “That’s nice. More dismemberment, please.”
Still, I’d much rather watch an overlong horror movie with ambition than another bland streaming original that evaporates from memory before the credits finish rolling. The Death of Snow White at least has personality. It knows exactly how ridiculous its premise is and somehow manages to turn that absurdity into entertainment.
No, this isn’t a masterpiece. No, it doesn’t reinvent horror. But as the latest entry in cinema’s ongoing mission to traumatize childhood memories, it’s a surprisingly effective effort. The gore is good, the atmosphere works, and the film is entertaining enough to overcome its occasional pacing issues.
Besides, if we’re going to keep turning fairy tales into horror movies—and let’s be honest, we’re definitely going to keep turning fairy tales into horror movies—this is the kind of result I hope we keep getting.
