Appian Way, Random Films, Warner Bros. Pictures
Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Shiloh Fernandez, Billy Burke, Lukas Haas, Michael Shanks, Julie Christie, Virginia Madsen, Michael Hogan
A little village in the woods has had a problem for many, many years. A fragile peace with a werewolf keeps them alive, but when there’s a full moon, no one goes out after dark. The best animal in the village is chained out as a sacrifice to the werewolf, and it’s been okay for many years. There is a family in town with a somewhat feeble minded father, so it seems, and a Mom with a dark secret. There are two daughters, The older is in love with Henry (Max Irons) but he’s in love with Valerie (Amanda Seyfried). Valerie on the other hand is in love with the woodcutter Peter (Shiloh Fernandez). Henry is wealthy, so Valerie has been betrothed to Henry against her will, so Peter and Valerie have determined to run away. Suddenly, however, the werewolf turns and kills Valerie’s older sister setting the town in a panic and dashing Valerie’s and Peter’s plan to run away. The village sets out to find and kill the werewolf, but fail, so they bring in Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) who has personal experience with fighting werewolves.
Amanda Seyfried is really cute in this role, and she plays it very well. I’ve been impressed with her in the last couple movies she’s starred in. This is a mysterious thriller, more than a horror film. It’s PG-13, so no real blood and guts. The werewolf is a fantastic wolf-like (more than human) CGI creature who is very convincing. But mostly there are flashes of what we can’t clearly see which scare the heck out of the audience. The sights and sounds are great. It’s a very suspenseful who-done-it, and fun to see it early on so you can try to figure out who the werewolf is. Of course it has to be someone who knows the village very well and they throw enough mis-clues at us to keep us guessing until the end. It was very fun to watch. But that is not to say it is perfect. Several flaws show themselves very clearly. There are some holes big enough to drive a tank through. But this is a fairy tale after all, so we’re going to have to suspend some of our critical thinking and just enjoy the film. Valerie’s mom is not very well played. It’s over acted to extreme, and her father is likewise both a dumb cluck and loser. Grandma is also a strange lady who lives out in the woods by herself, because since Valerie’s grandfather passed away, she has preferred to live all alone. That, of course, gives Red Valerie Riding Hood a chance to go on her way to Grandmother’s house through the woods. Grandmother is played very well by Julie Christie who is one of the strangest and brightest parts of the film.
All in all, it’s well directed and well played for the most part. I enjoyed it very much and it appeared most of the audience did as well. It was suspenseful, shocking at times, and very fun to watch. This was one film that was worth the money to watch on the big screen!
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
Movie Review - Red Riding Hood (2011) {PG-13},
