Snow White: A Tale of Terror
Encyclopedia
Snow White: A Tale of Terror is a 1997 horror film
based on the Snow White
fairy tale
. It stars Sigourney Weaver
, Sam Neill
and Monica Keena
. The original music score is composed by John Ottman
. The film is marketed with the tagline "The fairy tale is over." The film received mixed reviews but is praised for staying with the dark formulas that were once present in fairy tales.
to save their unborn daughter. Years later, the young Lily Hoffman—the Snow White of the title, although she is never addressed or referred to as such in the film—plays mischievously on the grounds of the Hoffman estate. Lily reluctantly meets her new stepmother, Lady Claudia. Claudia gives the reticent Lily a Rottweiler
puppy; Lily is pleased, but runs off with the puppy without thanking Claudia. On the Hoffmans' wedding night, Lily spoils the communal blessing of the marriage bed by dashing the contents of her small ceremonial cup at Claudia.
As Lily grows into womanhood, Claudia keeps her dressed in girl's clothing. On the night of a ball, Claudia gives Lily a dress that belonged to her mother before she passed it on to Claudia; she tells Lily it is now her turn to wear it. Lily rebels by wearing one of her mother's gowns to the ball. Her father is startled, then pleased at Lily's evocation of her mother; the two dance. Claudia, in a paroxysm of jealousy, goes into labor early and delivers a stillborn boy; her doctor informs Frederick that Claudia can never have another child. Claudia, looking haggard from her ordeal, stares into her wardrobe-like mirror, where an ideally beautiful reflection replaces her real one and demands revenge against Lily.
Claudia orders her brother Gustav to kill and eviscerate Lily in the woods. When Lily escapes, Gustav kills a pig and presents its organs to Claudia, who keeps what she believes to be Lily's heart. Claudia orders Gustav to place the rest of the remains in the stew pot, then coos over the deliciousness of the stew as she eats and urges Frederick to join her. When Claudia learns the truth from the mirror, she drives a terrified Gustav to suicide.
Lily is found by seven rough, combative miners—outcast by civil or ecclesiastical authority—who grudgingly give her shelter. When one of them threatens her with rape, their unofficial leader, Will, stops him. When Claudia discovers that Lily is still alive, she uses magic to try to kill her, but instead kills two of the miners. Meanwhile she keeps an injured Frederick infirm; afflicts the estate staff with a living death; seduces Lily's fiancé, Dr. Peter Gutenberg and steals Frederick's semen and blood to resurrect her son.
As the four remaining miners mourn their losses, Lily touches Will's scars, inflicted by Crusaders, and the two share a lovers' kiss. Claudia disguises herself as a old woman, and turns her brother's eviscerated heart into a poisoned apple. Transported to Lily's refuge, the disguised Claudia speaks kindly to her, gives her the apple, which puts her into a death-like coma
. Will finds Lily seemingly dead on the ground from a bite of the apple. Dr. Gutenberg, the last person still searching for Lily, arrives and pronounces her dead. Seeing her eyes appear to open through her glass-lidded coffin during her burial, Will leaps into the grave, pulls Lily's body from the coffin, and shakes her as he commands her to breathe, causing the piece of apple lodged in her throat to fall out so that she wakes.
Gutenberg takes Lily back to the mansion to destroy Claudia; Will follows and joins them to help. Lily's grown dog attacks Will; Lily counterattacks with her torch, and they escape. On finding her father, Lily charges Will with getting him safely outside. Claudia kills Gutenberg, and Lily—rather gratuitously armed with a crossbow—confronts Claudia. Claudia gloats, clutching her newly revived, not fully formed baby boy; disappears; then reappears to attack Lily, smashing her into mirrors and deliberately cutting her face with one of the shards. Scrambling for safely, Lily knocks over a burning brazier. When the fire threatens the baby, Claudia is distracted; Lily finds a knife, and the evil mirror cries out to warn Claudia. Realizing the source of Claudia's strength and weakness, Lily plunges the knife into the mirror. Claudia dies in flames. Lily joins Will and a delirious Frederick, who finally recognizes her.
nomination as well as a Screen Actors Guild
nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a TV Movie. The film also earned two Emmy nominations for Makeup and Costume Design.
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
based on the Snow White
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...
fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
. It stars Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana...
, Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
and Monica Keena
Monica Keena
Monica C. Keena is an American actress, known for her roles as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek, Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy Undeclared, Kristin on HBO's Entourage, and as Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason....
. The original music score is composed by John Ottman
John Ottman
John Ottman is an American film editor, composer and director.He is best known for his collaborations with film director Bryan Singer, acting as film editor and composing the scores for The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X2: X-Men United, Superman Returns and most recently...
. The film is marketed with the tagline "The fairy tale is over." The film received mixed reviews but is praised for staying with the dark formulas that were once present in fairy tales.
Plot summary
Lilliana Hoffman dies in a carriage accident in the woods, caused by wolves that attack the horses and the coachman. Her husband Frederick, at his dying wife's urging, reluctantly performs a caesarean sectionCaesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
to save their unborn daughter. Years later, the young Lily Hoffman—the Snow White of the title, although she is never addressed or referred to as such in the film—plays mischievously on the grounds of the Hoffman estate. Lily reluctantly meets her new stepmother, Lady Claudia. Claudia gives the reticent Lily a Rottweiler
Rottweiler
The Rottweiler is a medium to large size breed of domestic dog that originated in Rottweil, Germany. The dogs were known as "Rottweil butchers' dogs" because they were used to herd livestock and pull carts laden with butchered meat and other products to market...
puppy; Lily is pleased, but runs off with the puppy without thanking Claudia. On the Hoffmans' wedding night, Lily spoils the communal blessing of the marriage bed by dashing the contents of her small ceremonial cup at Claudia.
As Lily grows into womanhood, Claudia keeps her dressed in girl's clothing. On the night of a ball, Claudia gives Lily a dress that belonged to her mother before she passed it on to Claudia; she tells Lily it is now her turn to wear it. Lily rebels by wearing one of her mother's gowns to the ball. Her father is startled, then pleased at Lily's evocation of her mother; the two dance. Claudia, in a paroxysm of jealousy, goes into labor early and delivers a stillborn boy; her doctor informs Frederick that Claudia can never have another child. Claudia, looking haggard from her ordeal, stares into her wardrobe-like mirror, where an ideally beautiful reflection replaces her real one and demands revenge against Lily.
Claudia orders her brother Gustav to kill and eviscerate Lily in the woods. When Lily escapes, Gustav kills a pig and presents its organs to Claudia, who keeps what she believes to be Lily's heart. Claudia orders Gustav to place the rest of the remains in the stew pot, then coos over the deliciousness of the stew as she eats and urges Frederick to join her. When Claudia learns the truth from the mirror, she drives a terrified Gustav to suicide.
Lily is found by seven rough, combative miners—outcast by civil or ecclesiastical authority—who grudgingly give her shelter. When one of them threatens her with rape, their unofficial leader, Will, stops him. When Claudia discovers that Lily is still alive, she uses magic to try to kill her, but instead kills two of the miners. Meanwhile she keeps an injured Frederick infirm; afflicts the estate staff with a living death; seduces Lily's fiancé, Dr. Peter Gutenberg and steals Frederick's semen and blood to resurrect her son.
As the four remaining miners mourn their losses, Lily touches Will's scars, inflicted by Crusaders, and the two share a lovers' kiss. Claudia disguises herself as a old woman, and turns her brother's eviscerated heart into a poisoned apple. Transported to Lily's refuge, the disguised Claudia speaks kindly to her, gives her the apple, which puts her into a death-like coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Will finds Lily seemingly dead on the ground from a bite of the apple. Dr. Gutenberg, the last person still searching for Lily, arrives and pronounces her dead. Seeing her eyes appear to open through her glass-lidded coffin during her burial, Will leaps into the grave, pulls Lily's body from the coffin, and shakes her as he commands her to breathe, causing the piece of apple lodged in her throat to fall out so that she wakes.
Gutenberg takes Lily back to the mansion to destroy Claudia; Will follows and joins them to help. Lily's grown dog attacks Will; Lily counterattacks with her torch, and they escape. On finding her father, Lily charges Will with getting him safely outside. Claudia kills Gutenberg, and Lily—rather gratuitously armed with a crossbow—confronts Claudia. Claudia gloats, clutching her newly revived, not fully formed baby boy; disappears; then reappears to attack Lily, smashing her into mirrors and deliberately cutting her face with one of the shards. Scrambling for safely, Lily knocks over a burning brazier. When the fire threatens the baby, Claudia is distracted; Lily finds a knife, and the evil mirror cries out to warn Claudia. Realizing the source of Claudia's strength and weakness, Lily plunges the knife into the mirror. Claudia dies in flames. Lily joins Will and a delirious Frederick, who finally recognizes her.
Awards
Weaver's critically acclaimed performance earned her an Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination as well as a Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
nomination as Outstanding Lead Actress in a TV Movie. The film also earned two Emmy nominations for Makeup and Costume Design.
Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Sigourney Weaver Sigourney Weaver Sigourney Weaver is an American actress. She is best known for her critically acclaimed role of Ellen Ripley in the four Alien films: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection, for which she has received worldwide recognition .Other notable roles include Dana... |
Lady Claudia Hoffman |
| Sam Neill Sam Neill Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III.... |
Lord Frederick Hoffman |
| Monica Keena Monica Keena Monica C. Keena is an American actress, known for her roles as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek, Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy Undeclared, Kristin on HBO's Entourage, and as Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason.... |
Lily Hoffman |
| Gil Bellows Gil Bellows Gil Bellows is a Canadian film and television actor. He is best known for the roles of Tommy Williams in The Shawshank Redemption, Billy Thomas in the television series Ally McBeal and as CIA agent Matt Callan in the television series The Agency.-Early life:Bellows was born in Vancouver, British... |
Will |
| David Conrad David Conrad David Crawford Conrad is an American actor. From 2005 to 2010, he starred in the television series Ghost Whisperer alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt.-Early life:... |
Dr. Peter Gutenberg |
| Miroslav Taborsky Miroslav Táborský Miroslav Táborský is a Czech actor who has appeared on Czech television series, as well as in American movies.... |
Gustav |
| Brian Glover Brian Glover Brian Glover was an English character actor, writer and wrestler. Glover was a professional wrestler, teacher, and finally a film, television and stage actor. He once said, "You play to your strengths in this game. My strength is as a bald-headed, rough-looking Yorkshireman".-Early life:Glover was... |
Lars |
| Andrew Tiernan Andrew Tiernan Andrew James Tiernan is an English actor.-Theatre:Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and moved to London in 1984 to study a three-year Diploma in Acting at the Drama Centre London run by Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren... |
Scar |
| Anthony Brophy | Rolf |
| Chris Bauer Chris Bauer Mark Christopher "Chris" Bauer is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Bauer was born in Los Angeles, California and attended high school at Miramonte High School in Orinda, California. He played on Miramonte Championship football team his senior year, 1984... |
Conrad |
| Frances Cuka Frances Cuka Frances Cuka is a British actress, principally on television, whose career has spanned nearly fifty years.Cuka was born in London, England, the daughter of Letitia Alice Annie , a tailor, and Joseph Cuka, a process engraver. On stage, she created the role of Jo in Shelagh Delaney's play A Taste of... |
Nannau |
| Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle Bryan Pringle was a British actor who appeared in television, film and theatre productions.Born in Tamworth, Staffordshire but raised in the Lancashire town of Bolton he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1958, he married character actress Anne Jameson; together they had... |
Father Gilbert |
| Taryn Davis | Young Lily |
| Joanna Roth Joanna Roth Joanna Roth born 1965 in Århus, Denmark is an actress.She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has appeared in film, TV, video games and theatre, in roles such as Ophelia in the film Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.... |
Lilliana Hoffman |