TBC - 100mins - Fantasy/Horror/Mystery - 15th April 2011
I am somewhat disappointed this year by the lack of original content being released with so many new movies being either sequels, comic book characters or as is the case for Red Riding Hood rehashing a concept and putting it on the big screen. Only Cowboys And Aliens (directed by Jon Favreau- Iron Man 1 & 2) and perhaps the highly advertised and hyped Super 8 (J.J.Abrams) look like they are going to give us something new to think about this year and that's a real shame.
This Red Riding Hood is based loosely on the original fable with parallels able to be drawn from it. We have a girl wearing red, a grandmother who lives in the woods and of course a wolf. The girl, Valerie, (Amanda Seyfried) lives in a small village in the mountains that is cursed by the presence of a werewolf. There has long been an understanding between the villagers and the wolf whereby they leave out their best livestock every full moon and in return the wolf does not harm them. However on this particular full moon a girl is found dead and the villagers seek revenge.
A reputable priest (Gary Oldman) who has slain werewolfs before for other villages is called in to try and rid them of their curse. He is ruthless and will stop at nothing to see daemons rid from the Earth. While these events are unfolding there is also a love triangle developing with Valerie. She is engaged to be married to a reputable man (Max Irons) but longs for the tradesman woodcutter (Shiloh Fernandez) who she often goes to visit in the woods.
I wouldn't necessarily class this as an out and out horror, I suppose it can have its moments but apart from some suspense and shadows there isn't a lot to get you jumping out of your boots. If you liked the Twilight saga on screen then I can see you liking this as well with Catherine Hardwicke giving this production a similar feel to that of her previous work. She has also, like Twilight picked relative unknowns to act the main roles- Oldman aside and I'm sure they will be popping up again and again over the next few years.
The most impressive thing about this movie is the set and backgrounds which are beautifully designed, especially the thorny trees that surround the village and 'grandmother's house'. Unfortunately that is the only thing I can think of at the moment that would make me want to see any part of this movie again and that's not enough.
It also becomes quite predictable and despite keeping me thinking for a short while, it's increasingly obvious who the werewolf is by the end.
So in conclusion, I found this to be another below par movie that doesn't offer up any real surprises or intrigue. I would not recommend going out and paying for this and even when it hits the TV's it will not be hard to find something better on.
Rating: D
So from a soon to be released 'blockbuster' to a movie that has most likely slipped under your radar when it was released in December of last year. I give you Catfish [my review]...
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