Red Riding Hood

Catherine Hardwhicke’s first movie since Twilight is a twist on the children’s story Little Red Riding Hood. The film is set in a medieval mountain village, where the townsfolk have lived in fear for many years because of the presence of a deadly werewolf. A not so little red riding hood, known in this story as Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) is mixed up in all the werewolf drama when her younger sister is killed by the wolf. Now Valerie not only has to deal with the choice between being with arranged fiancé Henry (Max Irons) or childhood lover Peter (Shiloh Fernandez); she also has to fight against the wolf and its desires for her. The mystery of the film lies with the identity of the werewolf, which could be anyone in the village.
The first issue with this film is that it will immediately be compared to Twilight because of the notable Catherine Hardwhicke style, but at the end of the day these are two completely different films. The story itself is a bit shaky, mainly due to the heavy Bold and the Beautiful dialogue. The introduction of Gary Oldman’s character breathes life into the film, and you almost forget how obscene the dialogue is when Oldman performs it. The film does have a good enough twist and attempts an emotional ending, but it’s all a bit underdeveloped. The art direction and cinematography is the highlight. The red cloak against the snow is beautiful, but this alone cannot save the film.
Pure escapism and a bit of fun.
2.5/5