New Review: Red Riding Hood

From the moment the film opens I was thinking how much it reminded me of a better film called The Company of Wolves. There were so many similarities that I wondered if it was supposed to be a remake and I missed that memo. But then they are both loosely based on the same fairytale, so there ya go.

The tiny village of Daggerhorn is nestled deep in the woods, cut off from civilization. For years it has been plagued by attacks from a werewolf so that it has become ingrained in their daily lives. Girls are not to roam the woods alone, nor should anyone. Every full moon they set out their best livestock to keep The Nothing at bay. I guess Daggerhorn is where he goes when he tires of wiping out Fantasia. There hasn't been an attack on human life in more than twenty years but now there is a blood moon which only occurs every thirteen years. Usually a werewolf bite is certain death but during a blood moon, "a man bitten is a man cursed." We learn that bit of info from legendary werewolf hunter Father Solomon (Gary Oldman). He also shares with us the story of his first werewolf kill upon his arrival, a story we've sadly all heard before. In order to stop the beast, we must discover who is the beast. Is it "guy who looks like John McCain?" Is it Robert Patt...I mean Shiloh Fernandez (Deadgirl)? Is it Grandmother? Is it Oldman? Is it Lukas Haas as the local priest who often skulks around his werewolf adorned doorway? It's a mystery. And though I wasn't as charmed as those half my age by this film, I do have to admit that they got me. There were red herrings all over the place and I failed to figure it out so kudos for that bit.

As far as the film itself, it was lovely but not as I had wished. I was hoping for more of an ethereal quality. I wanted it to be straight from a storybook with vivid visuals. I guess what I wanted was something like The Company of Wolves. This film did attempt to have a similar quality but most of it ended up more closely resembling a Penthouse photo spread (sans nudity) with its pretty people and fuzzy edges. To put that another way, it looked as if Catherine Hardwicke tried really hard to make it pretty. For me, though, it comes off looking contrived, just like Twilight. As long as I'm going that route, I'll just flat out say that it's Werewolf Twilight and considering it has the same director, I'm not really sure why I hoped for anything else. The beast itself is pretty impressive until you get close up but there were far too few scenes with the werewolf to suit the taste of genre fans.

Two things I did enjoy about the film are the cast and the story. Amanda Seyfried is adorable as always. Virginia Madsen looks particularly pretty while lit from within with fuzzy edges. Gary Oldman is always a joy and the two boy-rivals (Fernandez and Max Irons) are cute but a little too pretty. Eh, think Pattinson and you've got it nailed. As for the story, this is where it shines. Not only is the werewolf itself a well kept secret, but there are subtle nods to the original fairytale that I found priceless. Sadly, they will be lost on those who have failed to keep up with the original versions of old stories. You know, the nasty ones.

Finally, I wish there was more gore. Hell, I wish there was any gore. I realize it's PG-13 but I've never seen a tamer werewolf movie. I think there was more blood in the Tex Avery version of the story and the audience often finds itself looking just above what is going on. I felt like I was trying to catch the Golden Snitch as it whizzed by, staying just out of reach. That can be frustrating to anyone wishing for more action. It's not for grownups who want more from their viewing time but it's not bad. If you are attempting to introduce a young one to semi-horror, this would be a decent transitional film and if they already love Twilight, it's a must. But if it's fairytale werewolfery you want, have I mentioned a film called The Company of Wolves?