Red Riding Hood (2011) Review

I never thought I would see the day where a not-so-little Red Riding Hood, in her conservative medieval outfit, dance promiscuously to modern alternative music and make-out with a guy upon a haystack.

But I did. Yesterday. And, honestly, it wasn't as bad as I expected.

The wolf is at it again, killing innocent maidens in the remote village of Medieval Clichedom, complete with straw houses, wheelbarrows and 14th century wardrobe. Amanda Seyfried's character Valerie is in love with her childhood friend while engaged to another man by her parents' will. Her sister had just been killed by the werewolf and the world is all black and gloomy. This is accentuated by a run through thorny trees.

Enter a Priest slash Werewolf Expert with two surprisingly black bodyguards and the plot takes off into this whirlwind of betrayal, seduction and emo music.

Unfortunately, the movie fails in most parts. The characters are flat and the performances of the actors are lackluster, I didn't really connect with them and did not care whether one lives or dies. The set looks amateurish and fake and the music and cinematography are Twilight rip offs. Wait, with the out-of-context and somehow forced almost-sex-scene in the middle of the movie, I felt like I must be watching a Breaking Dawn dream scene.

The film's strength lies on its Who-Is-The-Werewolf plot. And I must say, the ending was pretty unexpected for most viewers (unless you happen to unintentionally spoil yourself while reading a friend's status on Facebook, like me). The seemingly insignificant scenes wrapped up nicely into this matrix of lies and cunning plans that brought everyone in their proper place at the end is admirable at best.

In the end, it's a fairly decent movie, if you don't mind the Emo-Sappy Twilight feel and doze-worthy characterization. It's a refreshingly dark twist to a fairy tale loved by many. I, for one, is looking forward to a Gothic take on the classic Cinderella tale, preferably from the original Brothers Grimm version, where one of the stepsisters eye gets eaten by a bird and the stepmother commands her daughter to cut off her toes for her foot to be able to fit in the glass slipper. But that's just me.

Orchestr-o-meter: B-