Film Reviews

Red Riding Hood

• Rating:
• Director: Catherine Hardwicke
• Starring: Amanda Seyfried
• Details: US/99mins (12A)

Emotionally contrived and generally ridiculous, this is a transparent attempt from Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke to transfer the popularity of that franchise to a new set of characters. The setting may be completely different, but the angst is there in grating abundance. Red Riding Hood may have some luscious cinematography, but not even a showboating Gary Oldman can make this garbage watchable.
The wide-eyed Amanda Seyfried is Valarie, a member of a small village constantly living in terror of a wolf that had cut down on the eating of people up until recently. After her sister is slain, she and her true love Peter (Fernandez) a broody woodcutting orphan, plan on legging it together; but a spanner in the works appears in the form of rich and swish, Henry (Max Irons) who Valerie's perpetually flustered mother wants her to shack up with instead. Whilst all of this behoving is going on, Gary Oldman's mental wolf slayer turns up, and begins the Bush Administration tactics of liberating information from the village inhabitants.
Who thought crossing Twilight with the dire M. Night Shyamalan effort The Village was a wise move? Mixing soap opera style theatrics with a giant werewolf that turns up everyone once and a while to eat someone - then have a chat with Seyfried - is beyond the realms of hilarious. How is the Mamma Mia actress supposed to NOT look ridiculous conversing with a giant wolf who sounds a bit like the posh Gremlin from Gremlins 2.
Proceedings are momentarily lifted when Oldman turns up; he's all unhinged swagger, spouting fire and brimstone. But Hardwicke lets him off the leash completely; that or he got bored, as the grandiose spouting's soon become tiresome. The two male leads are required to do little other than look pensive, while Seyfried never really stood a chance.
A callous attempt to cash-in on another franchise that fails unequivocally. This is a horribly conceived, very silly mess.

Review by Mike Sheridan