Red Riding Hood
The new, updated version of Red Riding Hood manages to be an almost exact replica of the Twilight films without featuring one single vampire.
The initial installment of the Twilight series was directed by Catherine Hardwicke, as is Hood. Actor Billy Burke plays the father to both Bella (Twilight’s mopey heroine) and Valerie (Hood’s mopey heroine) and the girls each have to deal with menacing werewolves. Bella and Valerie are involved in love triangles that feature a brooding, dark haired hunk and a brooding fair haired hunk and the audience will, no doubt, argue the qualities of both of Hood’s young gentlemen with the majority choosing Team Peter. And, finally, each film presents many a dazed gaze worn by its young cast as they spout slow-paced, awkward dialogue that is supposed to equate to romantic communication. This modern retelling feels too familiar to be considered fresh or new.
In a small town deeply embedded in a lush forest (Twilight takes place in similar surroundings) the townsfolk live in constant fear of a werewolf. It had been nearly twenty years since the beast has taken a human life. It is a long stretch that comes to an end with the discovery of a young girl’s corpse. The townsfolk is whipped into hysterics, vengeance will be had.
The dead girl is the sister to Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) and, after a brief encounter with the monstrosity, it seems that our little red hood wearing lass is next on the werewolf list. The crooked and cruel Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) comes to the village’s rescue and proves to be more of a threat than the monster roaming the land. Solomon explains that this is the season of the Red Moon and that one bite from the creature will turn the victim into a werewolf as well. Although it doesn’t seem like the best time for a jaunt to Grandmother’s (Julie Christie) house, Red makes the trek with basket in tow, only to comment on the enormous size of Grandma’s various body parts.
The film has a smugness about it that is hard to ignore or enjoy. This attitude is personified by the look on the young casts faces throughout. Scenes come and go without much consequence and too much time is spent with Valerie wandering about glaring suspiciously at everyone around.
Seyfried looks the part, her pale skin plays nice next to her red cloak and what big eyes she has, but she does little in the “speaking and emoting” area. Gary Oldman is in standard mode with intense bursts of screamed dialogue and a strange dialect that has hints of his Dracula accent. He gives the movie a slight bump when he arrives but that, like everything else up on screen, fizzles out before too long. Interesting note: The film is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio who came up with the idea that probably looked good on paper. Unfortunately, Hood is a lazy clone, mixing and matching borrowed elements with no real style or statement to call its own.