Review of Red Riding Hood (2011) by Adam F — 13 Mar 2013

The theatrical cut of "Red Riding Hood" (found on the Dvd) delivers a weak mystery plot, full of clues that don't lead anywhere or that don't make sense but that's just one of the problems. It's not that the film isn't entertaining (because the audience will be interested in knowing who the monster is) but it's crippled by bad acting, cheap sets, and a poorly written story. The whole film feels like it was quickly put together to cash in on the "Twilight" craze by transforming the "Little Red Riding Hood" bedtime story into a mystery thriller with aspects of a romantic drama. The sets and props look very cheap (there's a severed wolf head at the beginning of the movie that looks like a stuffed toy) and some elements feel thrown in just because they would be cool, not because they would add anything to the story (for example the werewolf hunter's big elephant shaped cage, which ultimately could have been a hole in the ground with a rock put over it) and there's at least one character that knows what happened in a location he/she was never present in just to throw off the audience. There are actually several moments where red herrings are thrown in to keep you guessing and once you finish the movie you'll realize that several of them don't make any sense (for example the escape from the previously mentionned elephant cage). Throughout the film the characters act inconsistently, just so the mystery plot can keep going. The werewolf hunter for example somehow doesn't know that to kill a werewolf all you need to do is prick it with a silver object. Well he might know this but he never implements this knowledge. If he took five minutes and pricked everyone in the village the movie would be over right away. The love story feels showhorned in and often feels like a minor side plot that could have been dropped if the ending didn't tells us that the whole story was building towards a young woman's choice between the two most handsome guys in the village. The love plot doesn't have a thing on the references to the fairytale that are thrown in though, you'll groan loudly when you hear Amanda Seyfried say "What big eyes you have".

The film feels like there is a lot of footage that was hastily edited out (particularly near the end) so if you're interested, best to check out the "Alternate Cut" found on the Blu-ray where hopefully you'll have more luck. If you're just desperate for more material along the lines of the "supernatural forbidden love story" you get in the "Twilight" films, sure you'll probably enjoy this one but for anyone else it's just bad drama. (Theatrical cut on Dvd, June 15th, 2012).