History Film / SnowWhiteATaleofTerror

* {{Deconstruction}}: Both Lilli and Claudia are deconstructions of the original fairytale characters. Claudia starts out as a loving woman who wants to bond with her new stepdaughter, but Lilli shies away from her, and that ends up leading to Claudia's FaceHeelTurn. Also, the miners aren't cheerful dwarves, but outcasts from the kingdom.

* BadDreams: Will [[spoiler:has nightmares about his family being killed]].

* WomanInWhite: Lilli appears at a party in pure white gown, which is visually striking as no one else does this. Plot-wise, it also spurs memories of her mother, which makes her father nostalgic and sends Claudia straight into labor.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Inverted. Snow White ''was'' a princess in the original fairytale, but is simply a daughter of a nobleman here.

* BreakTheHaughty: Lili starts off slightly bratty - though more SpoiledSweet than RichBitch. The haughtiness gets beaten out of her when she's forced to live in the woods.

* SpoiledSweet: Played with. Lilli is nice to the servants but treats Claudia very badly.

* AntiVillain: Claudia. She is only really a villain once the miscarriage drives her mad and the enchanted mirror starts manipulating her. And then what does she want? A living child and the love of her husband.
** Though this is eventually undercut by the fact that she is willing to brutally murder her husband to resurrect her child.

* DeadpanSnarker: Claudia gets some zingers. "Brought someone to keep you company" (addressed to Jesus on an inverted crucifix when he drags her husband's unconscious body into the Church).

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Mostly averted. Claudia forces herself on an injured Friederich as part of a spell. He doesn't seem to mind but it still technically counts as MaritalRapeLicense. But it's presented as a sign of Claudia's villainy and provides no Fanservice.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Inverted. Snow White ''was'' a princess in the original fairytale but is simply a daughter of a nobleman here.

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: Not quite as brutal as being forced to dance in red-hot shoes but [[spoiler: the mirror fragments fly at Claudia's face and she burns to death in her room]].
* FallenPrincess: Lilli technically. She's forced to run away and try and live in the wild.
** Implied that Will is a Fallen Prince or nobleman. They don't make big shows of killing peasant families who refuse to join the crusades.

** Inverted as when Lilli is in her coma, she hears her father saying "go away, phantom. My daughter is dead" and when she finds him again, he says just that.

** The doctor in the group is not the one [[spoiler: who revives Lilli by performing the Heimlich manoeuvre]] and tells the one who does to leave her, convinced that she's dead.

* PsychicAssistedSuicide: When Claudia discovers that Gustav faked Lili's death with a pig's heart, she uses her magic to force him to stab himself.

** [[spoiler: Lili kills Claudia by stabbing her reflection in the magic mirror]].

* ShowerOfAngst: Leads to [[spoiler: Will and Lilli's first kiss]].

* AlasPoorVillain: Claudia [[spoiler:dies because she tried to rescue her baby from the fire in the room]]. Oh. And really, you want to punch Lilli in the face for her bitchy attitude towards her stepmother. Holy hell, have you ever seen a WickedStepmother who tried to be nice and motherly to her stepdaughter? Lilli really should have tried to be nicer.

* GenreSavvy: Lilli finds a room full of mirrors and quickly starts smashing them. Then, instead of trying to attack Claudia directly with her knife, she [[spoiler: stabs her reflection in the magic mirror, killing her.]]

The film serves to deconstruct both the original fairytale and the kid-friendly one. For the kid-friendly version, themes such as rape, incest, murder and discrimination are introduced into the story and the stepmother is given proper motivation to kill her stepdaughter. And for the original, the "princess" isn't the PuritySue she was and also isn't TooDumbToLive from the attempts to kill her. The film got a limited theatrical release in Europe but went straight to television on Creator/{{Showtime}} in the U.S. and was well received by critics. Sigourney Weaver earned an Emmy nod for her portrayal of Claudia.

* CostumePorn

** "''Mmmm.'' [[ImAHumanitarian Delicious]]."

* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler:Peter.]]

* DeconReconSwitch: The first half hour puts the fairytale in a realistic setting and then, once Lilli is attacked, plays out normally.
** Realism got thrown out of the window even earlier than that, when Lilli's nanny was killed by supernatural force.
* DefrostingIceQueen
* DesignatedGirlFight: Built up throughout the entire film in fact.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Gustav]].
** PsychicAssistedSuicide: [[spoiler: Claudia was making him do it with her magic.]]

* EveryoneHasStandards: The miners are rather mean to Lilli, not feeding her and making her the butt of their jokes, but when Rolf [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil tries to rape her]], they take him up on his suggestion that he should leave--at knifepoint.

* EvilSoundsDeep[=/=]AltoVillainess: Claudia's speaking voice is notably lower than Lilli's, and her humming and singing are in the alto register.

* {{Grimmification}}

* IncestSubtext: Between Claudia and her brother Gustav.
** It's clear Frederich saw his late wife when he danced with Lilli. [[OhCrap So does Claudia.]]

* IronicEcho: The miners mockingly call Lilli "princess" when she hides with them. Near the end, when she leaves them, one of the miners says "good journey, little princess" as a sign of affection.

* {{Irony}}: Lilli rebuffs Claudia's advances for years until the miscarriage. She tries to patch things up with her afterwards. However the miscarriage is what sends Claudia over the edge and turns her against her stepdaughter.

* {{Narcissist}}: Claudia and Lilli. It's understandable because both are stunningly beautiful.

* RageAgainstTheReflection: Both by Lilli and by Claudia.

* {{Yandere}}: Claudia

* AlasPoorVillain: Claudia [[spoiler: dies because she tried to rescue her baby from the fire in the room]]. oh. and really you want punch Lilli in the face for her bitchy attitude towards her stepmother. Holy hell, have you ever seen a WickedStepmother who tried to be nice and motherly to her stepdaughter? Lilli really should have tried to be nicer.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Played with, as Will is considered an outcast by the kingdom because [[spoiler: he wouldn't join the Crusaders and so his family were killed in punishment]].

* BadDreams: Will [[spoiler: has nightmares about his family being killed.]]
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Older Lilli's first scene is her wondering what's out in the world beyond her home. Congratulations you get nearly murdered and forced to hide out in the woods with seven outcasts.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Played straight for the first half of the film. Lilli is involved in a cave-in underground and is seen with dirt all over her after they get out, but is perfectly clean the next time we see her. It's implied she washes herself in the stream. Then at the end Claudia cuts her face with a pane of glass.

* BirthDeathJuxtaposition: Lilli cries for the first time seconds after her mother dies. Later, Claudia's child is born dead. [[spoiler: Claudia later seeks to reverse this, wanting to kill Friedrich to give her child life.]]

* BrickJoke: A dark example. When discussing Lilli's dress for the ball, Claudia politely asks Lilli's maid to cover her hair. Later on, when she [[spoiler: poisons the soup]] she grabs the maid by the hair and growls "cover your hair!" At the end, when Lilli encounters [[spoiler: the now possessed maid, her hair has been hacked off.]]

* BuyThemOff: Peter's giving money Will and the other miners for their role in protecting Lilli comes across as at least partially an attempt to bribe Will to not pursue Lilli.

* DeathOfTheHypotenuse: [[spoiler: Peter]]
* {{Deconstruction}}: Both Lilli and Claudia are deconstructions of the original fairytale characters. Claudia starts out as a loving woman who wants to bond with her new stepdaughter, but Lilli shies away from her and that ends up leading to Claudia's FaceHeelTurn. Also, the miners aren't cheerful dwarves, but outcasts from the kingdom.
* DeconReconSwitch: The first half hour puts the fairytale in a realistic setting and then once Lilli is attacked, plays out normally.

The film serves to deconstruct both the original fairytale and the kid-friendly one. For the kid-friendly version, themes such as rape, incest, murder and discrimination are introduced into the story and the stepmother is given proper motivation to kill her stepdaughter. And for the original, the "princess" isn't the PuritySue she was and also isn't TooDumbToLive from the attempts to kill her. The film got a limited theatrical release in Europe but went straight to television in America and was well received by critics. Sigourney Weaver earned an Emmy nod for her portrayal of Claudia.

''Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' is a 1997 adaptation of the [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]] fairytale, attempting to take the story back to its gothic and grotesque roots. It stars Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Creator/MonicaKeena, Gill Bellows and Creator/SamNeill. The film opens with a carriage accident, fatally wounding the pregnant noblewoman Lilliana Hoffman. Her husband Lord Frederich (Neill) is forced to perform a medieval C-section to save the baby girl, who is named Lilliana after her mother. Seven years later, Lilli's father is to marry another woman, Lady Claudia (Weaver). The new stepmother is a nice woman but Lilli does not like her and turns up her nose at any attempts at friendship Claudia makes. Nine years after that, Claudia suffers a miscarriage and is rendered unable to have other children. She becomes convinced that Lilli is her enemy and tries to have her killed. Lilli escapes into the forest and hides out with seven gold miners, outcasts from the kingdom.

* WomanInBlack: Claudia tends to wear black when she is doing witchcraft. The most noteworthy instance, though, is when she is disguised as a crone, especially as she is sitting next to Lilli who is wearing white.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Mostly averted. Claudia forces herself on an injured Friederich as part of a spell. He doesn't seem to mind but it still technically counts as MaritalRape. But it's presented as a sign of Claudia's villainy and provides no Fanservice.

''Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' is a 1997 adaptation of the [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]] fairytale, attempting to take the story back to its gothic and grotesque roots. It stars Creator/SigourneyWeaver, MonicaKeena, Gill Bellows and Sam Neill. The film opens with a carriage accident, fatally wounding the pregnant noblewoman Lilliana Hoffman. Her husband Lord Frederich (Neill) is forced to perform a medieval C-section to save the baby girl, who is named Lilliana after her mother. Seven years later, Lilli's father is to marry another woman, Lady Claudia (Weaver). The new stepmother is a nice woman but Lilli does not like her and turns up her nose at any attempts at friendship Claudia makes. Nine years after that, Claudia suffers a miscarriage and is rendered unable to have other children. She becomes convinced that Lilli is her enemy and tries to have her killed. Lilli escapes into the forest and hides out with seven gold miners, outcasts from the kingdom.

* RavensAndCrows: Claudia's pet and familiar is a raven.

* BigBadassWolf: They even have glowing yellow eyes.

* DeadpanSnarker: Claudia gets some zingers. "Brought someone to keep you company" (addressed to an inverted cross when he drags her husband's unconscious body into the Church).

''Snow White: A Tale of Terror'' is a 1997 adaptation of the [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs Snow White]] fairytale, attempting to take the story back to its gothic and grotesque roots. It stars Creator/SigourneyWeaver, Gill Bellows and Sam Neill. The film opens with a carriage accident, fatally wounding the pregnant noblewoman Lilliana Hoffman. Her husband Lord Frederich (Neill) is forced to perform a medieval C-section to save the baby girl, who is named Lilliana after her mother. Seven years later, Lilli's father is to marry another woman, Lady Claudia (Weaver). The new stepmother is a nice woman but Lilli does not like her and turns up her nose at any attempts at friendship Claudia makes. Nine years after that, Claudia suffers a miscarriage and is rendered unable to have other children. She becomes convinced that Lilli is her enemy and tries to have her killed. Lilli escapes into the forest and hides out with seven gold miners, outcasts from the kingdom.

* AlasPoorVillain: Claudia [[spoiler: dies because she tried to rescue her baby from the fire in the room]].