Red Riding Hood (Film Review)

Hi there! Time for another movie review. Today I’ll look at Red Riding hood (2011). It’s a twelve plus film based on the book of the same name by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright. I will review the book another time. The movie follows the same plot as the book does.

The movie is set in the village called Daggerhorn. Many years the villagers have lived in fear because a werewolf haunts their area every full moon. They leave an animal sacrifice out every moon to be eaten. But one night something terrible happened which changed the stakes – the wolf kills the younger sister of Valerie (Amanda Seyfried). Valerie is promised in marriage to Henry (Max Irons) while in love with another (Shiloh Haas). Valerie puzzles between the two as she tries to figure out who the werewolf is, and why they are so interested in her and her family.

 

This film had a great use of scenery; it is set with a perfect match as to how it is described in the book. The costumes were perfect too, and because everyone else was wearing dark colours, it made Red Riding Hood’s blood red cape stand out even more.

I had seen Amanda Seyfried act wonderfully in Les Miserables, and although I did not like the film Mama Mia I saw she did a good job. Again, she acts just as well in this film, bringing the character of Valerie to life in the exact way it should be. I was not as pleased with the impersonation of Peter. I thought Shiloh could’ve had a bit more expression, and I didn’t think he did such a good job in this role. Henry, played by Max Irons was great, but he is not a character you get to see very much of.

Judging by its title you can tell this film is loosely based on the tale of Red Riding Hood. The film managed to incorporate the classic lines of “what teeth you have, Grandma … all the better to eat you with.” So they did not stray completely from the fairytale.

Rotten Tomatoes (a known movie critic website) says: "Amanda Seyfried is magnetic in Red Riding Hood's starring role, but she's let down by her uninspired leading men and a painfully cliched script."

The film is much compared to Twilight, and it’s often suggested that if you liked that movie, you will like that one. True, it has been directed by the same person. But I really liked the Twilight movies, and personally I found this movie did not match up. It didn’t have enough drama and it, and it seemed much too cliched. There was nothing different or special about this movie that was exceptionally capturing enough for my attention.

The film ran for 96 minutes approximately. It’s a Warner Bros production. It was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, who also directed Twilight. It was also produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Julie Yorn and Jennifer Davisson Killoran.

I would rate this film a two out of five.

I hope this helped you decide whether it’s something you would like to watch or not! Have you seen it? What did you think?

Buy it here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Red-Riding-Hood-Amanda-Seyfried/dp/B004NBYRX8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390053116&sr=8-1&keywords=red+riding+hood

Olivia-Savannah x