(Not Little) Red Riding Hood

Movie Title: Red Riding Hood
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Released: March 11, 2011


Hoot Rating: I give this film One Hoot. It is classified as a horror film, but I never really felt like it was one either time I saw it. The film was mostly a fantasy-romance flick. It was enjoyable and it did keep me guessing as to who the wolf was till the very end which kept me intrigued. Some of the acting was a little laughable on the supporting end as well as some of the plot. Some of it was just a bit of a stretch. I do think it is worth seeing, but don't expect it to be the best movie you've seen in a long time or to be very traditional when it comes to the story.

The Critical Eye: "Red Riding Hood' is not the fairytale you were read as a kid. It takes the usual cautionary story and turns it into a romance. Amanda Seyfried stars as Valerie, who lives in a small village that lives in fear of the wolf. This fear is so strong the villagers sacrifice their best animals to it in order to stay safe from its wrath. This however, does not seem to worry Valerie, who is more focused on her love affair with Peter (Shilo Fernandez), who she is in love with but cannot be with because she is to marry Henry (Max Irons). As Valerie is frolicking in the woods with Peter, the Wolf defies the village's agreement and kills someone close to Valerie. This causes the village priest to seek the help of Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), who is an expert at hunting werewolves. Before he arrives, the villagers go do some wolf hunting of their own and are lead to believe they were victorious when they have only killed a normal wolf. Father Solomon arrives and tells them they have made a mistake, but they ignore his warnings and celebrate anyway. When they learn they are still in danger, they turn all power over to Father Solomon, who conducts a Salem Witch Trial-esque hunt. He informs the village that the wolf could be anyone, even those you are closest to. This makes Valerie suspicious of everyone and even places Valerie in danger herself.

"Red Riding Hood" is, overall, an entertaining movie. Although it focuses on the forbidden romance between Valerie and Peter, it does provide suspense about who the wolf is. We get the sense that Valerie knows it is someone close to her and therefor she is conflicted throughout the movie as to who to trust and love. It is directed by the same woman who directed "Twilight," so that says something about the movie. The camerawork is better in this than in "Twilight," though. I had a similar feel as "Twilight" which could be attributed to the soundtrack. The special effects are good (minus one obvious puppet wolf head) and there is little gore, which is good for some people and disappointing for others. There are some humorous parts, whether they were intentional or not is hard to say. The plot is pretty simple and straightforward, until the ending, which I find problematic in terms of Valerie's emotions, but I won't get into it because I would have to spoil the ending. I would say, though, that the end leaves room for sequels, if they choose to go the saga route.

The Bottom Line: The movie is entertaining, but if you want 'can't sleep for weeks' horror and 'pee your pants' thrills, that is not what you are going to get. It is more so a movie about relationships and trust with a CGI wolf thrown in. It is worth seeing once, but you might want to wait to rent it. Don't see it twice. The second time is quite boring. If you want to take kids to see this, I would say it is okay if you are worried about gore, but be careful because there are a few parts (maybe two parts) that are quite sexual, especially during the village celebration, which is a bit like Mardi Gras.