Red Riding Hood Film Review

Trinoma Mall, Cinema 1
Press Screening, 03.08.2010

Last night, I was able to catch the press screening of the Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, Billy Burke and more... I will be re-posting the Pinoy Exchange review once they posted it.

Red Riding Hood is the tale of a young lady named Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) who is in love with the woodcutter Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) but was arranged to marry the wealthy Henry (Played by Max Irons). Unwilling to marry Henry, Valerie and Peter plan to runaway just when her sister was found slaughtered by the wolf that has been lurking around their village for years. With this, famed wolf hunter Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) was asked to kill the beast.

As the death toll rises, Father Solomon warns the villagers that the beast maybe one of them. Valerie then discovers that she has a special connection with the wolf, suspecting that the creature could be someone she loves.

The start was very fast-paced. From the moment that they found out that Valerie’s sister was slaughtered, the villagers plotted to kill the wolf themselves but were unsuccessful that it even causes more deaths. With Father Solomon’s arrival, which kind of gave me that “Van Helsing Just Arrived” vibes, it was apparent that he’ll be the one to actually create havoc in the village rather than the wolf itself. I just don’t get his character. Why is he bossing around people in the village when in fact it is obvious that it was not the majorities who called for him to be summoned and kill the beast?

When the wolf arrived and cornered Valerie and talked to her, the guessing game furiously started as everybody she loves was a suspect. That guessing part was almost good and suspenseful; I just wish that there’s more action to the narrative rather than just a plain explanation because it kind of lacks the connection. The big reveal was almost anti-climactic but it was still good given that it was not too much of a giveaway.

In conclusion, I think the film was trying too hard to be darker than what it shows in its trailer and was not very successful. It was still a good two hours guessing who the werewolf is and lamenting how some scenes could’ve been executed better.

Overall, I’d give it a 6/10 rating.

-this is an excerpt of my review courtesy of PinoyExchange Official Movie Reviews. -please visit link for a more detailed review and join in the community as well.

-paddylast