Synopsis

David Leslie Johnson (Orphan) wrote the script, which is set in a village haunted by a werewolf. It is a Gothic retelling of the "Little Red Riding Hood story", with a teenage love triangle at its center.

Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) is a beautiful young woman torn between two men. She is in love with a brooding outsider Peter (Shiloh Fernandez), but her parents have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Max Irons). Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie and Peter are planning to run away together when they learn that Valerie's older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the dark forest surrounding their village. For years, the people have maintained an uneasy truce with the beast, offering the creature a monthly animal sacrifice. But under a blood red moon, the wolf has upped the stakes by taking a human life. Hungry for revenge, the people call on famed werewolf hunter, Father Solomon (Gary Oldman), to help them kill the wolf. But Solomon's arrival brings unintended consequences as he warns that the wolf, who takes human form by day, could be any one of them. As the death toll rises with each moon, Valerie begins to suspect that the werewolf could be someone she loves. Panic grips the town as Valerie discovers that she has a unique connection to the beast--one that inexorably draws them together, making her both suspect...and bait.

Official Review

Knowing that Catherine Hardwicke’s departure from the Twilight franchise was announced amidst a publicity tour for the first film due to budgetary and shooting schedule concerns, one has to wonder where all that extra time and money went when watching Red Riding Hood, her follow-up feature. The fairy tale, whose numerous versions have been penned by the likes of Charles Perrault and The Brothers Grimm, has traditionally been a dark story deeply rooted in feministic themes, but David Johnson’s screenplay opts for a more shallow approach, swapping sexual awakenings and the descent into womanhood with a one-sided love triangle. One needs to look no further than The Company Of Wolves to see this timeless work altered as a cinematic narrative, which is heads above Hardwicke’s desperate attempt to mine similar territory in the hopes of repeating her only undisputed box-office success. …Read More