An evil queen seeks the blood of the young princess in Jason Brooks’s gory The Death of Snow White, now streaming on Tubi.
For full disclosure, like the recently reviewed Theater Is Dead, this was filmed just outside of Seattle. I literally drove through Woodinville this weekend to get pumpkins. Unlike Theater is Dead, I know many of the cast and crew. Being horror junkies in the Puget Sound, we’re at all the same events, including Crypticon Seattle. They are lovely people. Heck, the “dwarf” Tiny used to live down the street from me. That said, even with closeness, I’ll do my best to be as fair as I can.
Akin to 1998’s Snow White: A Tale of Terror, The Death of Snow White is a horror retelling of the classic tale. It’s the familiar story: an evil queen/stepmother is jealous of Snow White’s beauty and kindness and requires her blood to stay young and in power. Blood, you say? Oh yes. There will be blood. Lots of it. Gallons of blood. Rippings. Tearings. Anything that could be ripped in twain or more is done so. Often. And splattery. A gore fest supreme. 
The heavy gore and death quotient is no surprise. Director (along with actor, editor, special effects, producer, and costumer… whew) Jason Brooks and team, including frequent collaborator, co-writer Naomi Mechem-Miller (who also worked on costumes and produced), are best known for the two fantastic “Vengeance” Friday the 13th fan films. Those films were wonderful kill fests, with one creative, bloody, and practical kill after another (and some plot, but we don’t watch Jason Voorhees, played by the hulking Brooks, for plot). The Death of Snow White might have the full plot of Snow White plus some extras, but that doesn’t mean they pull back on the violent means with violent ends.
Let’s put this out front: yes, more than occasionally, The Death of Snow White looks cheap. Filmed at the Renaissance Fair with a constructed castle, iffy costumes, plenty of Instagram faces, and some flat acting with vaguely “medieval” accents, many viewers may ugh out. Don’t. It was filmed cheaply.
And every last penny is on screen.
Look, if you can forgive a SyFy original that doesn’t give a damn how bad the latest Sharknado looks because it’s cheap and for the laughs, you can forgive a production that cares straight through its breaking bones, doing everything it can with a tiny budget. It’s okay. It has the B-movie, Full Moon energy; that’s the aim, and that’s what we get: campy fun.
So, how does the well-trod story translate? Very well, thank you. Far, far better than the live-action Disney from earlier this year. No, I’m not going to compare and contrast, but let me say: Chelsea Edmunson’s Evil Queen is a hoot, unlike the truly atrocious Gal Gadot. Chewing all the scenery with gleeful abandon on an Elizabeth Bathory take on the character (she needs blood to stay young, so plenty of maidens to be ruined by the make-up team) and some awesome costumes, especially as the film goes on. She’s having fun, and so was I. Against her is Sanae Loutsis as the titular character. She’s incredibly charming and going hard. At sixteen, she’s still learning her craft, and some parts of the performance come off false, but for the most part, she carries the film. But this is also the sort of film where everyone around her is so wild, she’s playing the straight person.
I’ll admit, it starts a bit rough, with an overlong introduction on the Renn Faire sets, and at nearly two hours, perhaps this could be cut down. It also has just too many characters, fewer than Disney’s two sets of 7 folks, but too many. But then again, more bodies to mutilate! But once Snow White enters the woods, meets the dwarves (actual correct actors with full character, not CGI monstrocities), the film hits its stride, staying continually engaging and entertaining as the two sides meet and fight (and other of the “some extra” from above).
Even if just for the glut of glorious gore (I didn’t even mention the AWESOME tree monsters), The Death of Snow White is well worth your time. And it’s free on Tubi. Jason Brooks and his team put everything into it, and it shows. While it’s a more serious film, I might recommend a Halloween fairy tale horror double feature with The Ugly Stepsister (Shudder). Funny is both feature a lot of the same “makeover” techniques for their characters.