By Peter Covino

Lifestyles Editor

There are three good reasons to see Hansel & Gretel, a fairy tale film getting a head-start on the bigger budget version of the movie coming out in March.

The reasons: Dee Wallace, Dee Wallace and Dee Wallace.

If Jamie Lee Curtis is “the Queen of Scream” Wallace must be, at the very least, a princess.

Her acting resume includes  such films as E.T. The Extra-terrestrial, The Hills Have Eyes, Cujo and The Howling.

But Wallace takes her acting or overacting to a whole new level in Hansel & Gretel.

Wallace plays Lilith, the sweet lady in town who operates the Gingerbread House a popular place in her little town, where sells her “world famous” meat pies and other treats.

Everybody stops at her Gingerbread House, including the local law enforcement. She gleefully serves up her meat pies to them, so it is obvious something must be up with those pies.

Enter Hansel & Gretel, an unfortunately named late-teens brother and sister (Brent Lydic, Stephanie Greco). Both are having some domestic problems with their dad and his new young wife. Gretel works at the Gingerbread House. Hansel mostly sulks and plays video games until he gets his foot caught in a trap in the forest, not too far from Lilith’s cottage hideaway.

Yes, Hansel has literally stumbled upon the place where Lilith makes those pies, and soon he is in the basement with a few other unfortunates being fattened for the oven.

Gretel is hot on his trail though, as is law enforcement  since other teens have gone missing in those woods.

This is mostly formula stuff, lots of gore, some interesting hallucegenic scenes, (thanks to the special sweets Lilith serves up) and more.

But it is Wallace who steals the show in the second half of the film as she switches into high gear with many bounts of craziness. Plus, she is a witch, after all.

The Asylum rushed this out on DVD Blu-ray and VOD Tuesday to get a jump start on the bigger budgeted Hansel & Gretel: Witchhunters.

But I wouldn’t be all that surprised if this turns out to be the more entertaining film.

Hansel & Gretel is directed by Anthony C. Ferrante and written by Jose Prendes.