Red Riding Hood

Loosely inspired by the infamous fairy tale, Red Riding Hood follows Amanda Seyfried’s Valerie as she attempts to choose between her secret lover (Shiloh Fernandez’s Peter) and her betrothed (Max Irons’ Henry) – with complications ensuing as her medieval village is repeatedly attacked by a vicious werewolf. It’s clear right from the outset that Red Riding Hood suffers from a vibe of pervasive incompetence that’s reflected in everything from its chintzy sets to the stagy dialogue to the charmless performances, with the film’s less-than-gripping atmosphere ensuring that there’s simply never a point at which one is able to work up any interest in the various characters’ exploits. Director Catherine Hardwicke proves utterly unable to infuse the proceedings with even an iota of momentum, as the filmmaker, working from David Johnson’s screenplay, places a consistent emphasis on sequences of a tedious and absolutely interminable nature (eg the villagers celebrate after supposedly defeating the beast). Even the romantic subplot between Valerie and her would-be suitors, which should have been a highlight, falls completely flat, with the total lack of character development preventing the viewer from wholeheartedly (or even partially) embracing the fates of the film’s one-dimensional figures. By the time the narrative segues into its seemingly endless witch-hunt phase, Red Riding Hood has certainly established itself as a turkey of almost impressive proportions – which is rather surprising, really, given that the cast includes several noted scene-stealers (including Gary Oldman!)

* out of ****