Red Riding Hood

After having to give up her place in the director's chair after the first part of the Twilight saga, Catherine Hardwicke is now trying to build on her success with Twilight with Red Riding Hood, a modern twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story. The result, however, is more than mixed.

Once upon a time... in the village of Daggerhorn. There, the inhabitants had lived for years in constant fear of a bloodthirsty werewolf, to whom an animal is sacrificed month after month on the full moon, lest he harm the people of the village. Also living in Daggerhorn is the beautiful Valerie (Amanda Seyfried), who has given her heart to the poor lumberjack Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) since early childhood. Up until now, she has led a fairly carefree life, but now fate strikes mercilessly. First she learns that her parents (Billy Burke, Virginia Madsen) have arranged for her to marry the wealthy Henry (Max Irons). And then her older sister is killed by the evil wolf. Now the werewolf hunter Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) is supposed to put an end to the haunting for good. But that could be especially dangerous for Valerie, because she seems to be inexplicably closely connected to the werewolf. And that makes her not only highly suspicious in Solomon's eyes, but also the perfect decoy...

Red Riding Hood tries spasmodically to copy the successful elements of the Twilight saga. So this time the female viewers have to decide whether they would rather play on Team Peter or Team Henry. Peter then also sports a haircut very similar to an Edward and the evil wolf is very reminiscent of the four-legged Jacob. And as if that wasn't enough, Billy Burke, actor of Bella's father, gets to play the heroine's sire again. Unintentionally funny dialogues, a barely existing tension arc and quite cheap-looking design don't exactly ensure that Red Riding Hood can collect quality points.

A completely out-of-place party scene in which villagers who look like junior models dance to modern pop tunes, and the almost embarrassing way in which the famous grandmother what have you big eyes scene has been worked into the film, really only leave you shaking your head in disbelief. But there are bright spots, too. Gary Oldman provides some genuinely successful moments as the werewolf hunter, and Amanda Seyfried does a pretty good job too - from how one-dimensional her role has been drawn.

It's a shame that Hardwicke, who so poignantly conveyed the problems of adolescent girls to the screen with Thirteen, has given away the chance to turn the Little Red Riding Hood myth into something quite special for some uninspired audience pandering. It may be that their Red Riding Hood will make some girls' hearts beat faster. Because all the ingredients that made Twilight so successful can be found here as well. But that doesn't make it a good movie and in view of the wasted potential of story, actors and the talents behind the camera only one conclusion can be given: Unfortunately only very conditionally worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp