Snow White: A Tale of Terror
| Snow White: A Tale Of Terror | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover for Snow White: A Tale Of Terror | |
| Directed by | Michael Cohn |
| Written by | Tom Szollosi Deborah Serra |
| Produced by | Tom Engelman |
| Starring | Sigourney Weaver Sam Neill |
| Cinematography | Mike Southon |
| Edited by | Ian Crafford |
| Music by | John Ottman |
| Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures |
Release dates |  July 18, 1997 |
Running time | 100 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | Unknown |
Snow White: A Tale of Terror is a 1997 horror film based on the Snow White story. It starred Sigourney Weaver and Sam Neill. The original music score is composed by John Ottman. The film is marketed with the tagline "The fairy tale is over."
Plot summary
Lilliana Hoffman is the birth mother of the young girl, Lilli, who is later known as "Snow White". Lilliana Hoffman dies in a carriage accident. Her husband, Friederick Hoffman, is forced to perform a c-section to save his unborn daughter. The story then picks up a few years later, with the young Lilli Hoffman playing on the grounds of the Hoffman castle. She is brought inside to meet her new stepmother, Lady Claudia, whom Lilli instantly dislikes. Claudia gives Lilli a small bird and a small dog, both of which become monsters and turn against Lilli later after Claudia decides to kill her.
Claudia and Lilli vie for Friederick's attention and affections, and as Lilli grows into womanhood, Claudia deliberately keeps her dressed unbecomingly and the tension between the two women continues to grow inexorably. After Lilli tells Claudia what she thinks of her, Claudia gives birth to a stillborn baby boy, for which she blames Lilli. The doctor informs Claudia she can never have another child and the evil hidden deep inside Claudia comes to the surface. Claudia orders her mute brother to kill Lilli in the woods, but he fails and hides the truth from Claudia. When Claudia learns the truth she destroys him for his failure. Lilli escapes into the forest where she is found by seven roughneck and combative miners who grudgingly give her shelter. Their unofficial leader, Will, also manages to woo/have sex with Lilli.
When Claudia discovers that Lilli is still alive, she uses sorcery to try and kill her off, all the while keeping Friederick infirm, finding a way to resurrect her son, and afflicting the entire palace entourage with the plague by poisoning the food.
Claudia transforms herself into the kindly-seeming old peddlar woman who gives Lilli the poisoned apple in the woods. The story culminates with Lilli being found by her former fiancé, Dr. Peter Gutenberg, and led back to the castle. Claudia kills the doctor and again attempts to kill Lilli, while holding her newly-revived baby boy. Lilli manages to find Claudia's weakness, destroying the evil mirror, and thus her stepmother. Lilli leaves the castle, alive, with Will and her father.
Awards
Weaver's critically-acclaimed performance earned her an Emmy Award-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.
Main cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Sigourney Weaver | Lady Claudia Hoffman |
| Sam Neill | Lord Friederick Hoffman |
| Monica Keena | Lilli Hoffman |
| Gil Bellows | Will |
| David Conrad | Dr. Peter Gutenberg |
| Miroslav Taborsky | Gustav |
| Brian Glover | Lars |
| Andrew Tiernan | Scar |
| Anthony Brophy | Rolf |
| Chris Bauer | Conrad |
| Frances Cuka | Nannau |
| Taryn Davis | Young Lilli |
| Joanna Roth | Lilliana Hoffman |
External links
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