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“Snow White” is a tale with plenty of gothic horror elements, even in its most Disneyfied form. As such, it’s no surprise that the story has been reimagined into a horror movie on occasion. Granted, this is the type of thing that evokes images of Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s 2023 feature “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” and the ever-expanding Twisted Childhood Universe it has spawned … and indeed, Snow White’s horror history includes films like the less than exemplary 2012 teen camp slasher, “Snow White: A Deadly Summer.”
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However, the subject matter has also spawned a truly fascinating gothic horror film starring none other than Sigourney Weaver. 1997’s “Snow White: A Tale of Terror” removes all the frills and cutesy aspects of the story, focusing instead on the lean, mean horror at its heart. As it turns out, adopting a comparatively realistic approach to a tale that features a murderous stepmother with supernatural powers provides ample moments of terror — especially with a talent like Weaver playing said stepmother.
Weaver clearly relishes the chance to portray the evil and surprisingly tragic Claudia Hoffman, and her impressively monstrous “old crone” makeup makes Gal Gadot’s version in the 2025 live-action “Snow White” look like a supporting character on “The Golden Girls.” Combine the star’s amazing look and stellar performance with capable fire support from Monica Keena and Sam Neill (who, between this movie and “Event Horizon,” had a bit of a banner year in 1997 when it comes to guilty pleasure horror), and the movie’s somewhat underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score of 58% hides a true diamond in the rough.
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Weaver relished the opportunity to play the villain in Snow White
Contrary to what some people might assume, Sigourney Weaver’s career was doing just fine when she took this horror movie role. She was working just as steadily as you’d assume from someone who scored three Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominations in the late 1980s. In fact, the year 1997 also marked the release of two other notable Weaver films: “Alien: Resurrection” and Ang Lee’s “The Ice Storm.”
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No, she took the job simply because she felt it would be a great opportunity to showcase her skill set, and the Primetime Emmy nomination she received for the role proved her right. In a 1996 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Weaver discussed filming the movie’s version of the iconic apple scene — which, suffice it to say, is vastly different from the Disney version — and how going all out in “Snow White: A Tale of Terror” allowed her to use a bigger tool kit than her usual movie roles allowed:
“Claudia’s just a great character. She’s diabolic. The wicked part of her is just delicious to play. This apple scene is really my favorite scene in the movie, because it has everything there — love, food, death, sex — it’s great fun. This role gives me a chance to do all that stuff I used to do in the theater that no one would conceivably cast me in now that I’ve done ‘Alien’ and ‘Ghostbusters’ and all that.”
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As a major industry name with a fascination for alternative interpretations of the classic fairy tale, Weaver is hardly alone, or course. For instance, Dario Argento’s 1977 Giallo classic “Suspiria” was inspired by Disney’s “Snow White,” and even Steven Spielberg once had a wild “Snow White” movie pitch that never got made. Solana Token Creator
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