Hansel and Gretel (2007)

In a conversation with The Guardian in 2022, Eggers minced no words while reflecting on this 27-minute short, based on the famous 1812 fairy tale by the brothers Grimm of the same name, describing it as “absolutely terrible”. He not only lamented the fact that it’s out in the world but explained how, on his way home from a screening in the Boston Underground Film Festival, he realized he had to do something better if he wanted to make it big in showbiz. Granted, the director certainly had a long way to go before coming into his own behind the camera, but to his credit, there’s a lot to be appreciated in his spin on “Hansel & Gretel”, as long as you take it for what it is: an experimental film shot on a shoestring budget by a then-unproven, twenty-something former stage director and production designer.

Shot in black-and-white in anachronistic silent form with intertitles, the 2007 adaptation provides a tissue sample of Eggers’ pet interests, sharp attention to detail and uncanny ability to get under the viewer’s skin. For the most part, it sticks to the well-trodden source material — putting us in the shoes of the titular siblings (Luke Allison and Isabella Pease) as they venture into the forest and fall in the hands of a sinister witch who plots to fatten them before gobbling them up.

You can sense that the young director wasn’t entirely confident yet, but if nothing else, his debut proved he wasn’t afraid of swinging for the fences and has always marched to the beat of his own drum.