Red Riding Hood
Tags: fantasy

Plot synopsis:
Valerie is a young woman who lives in the village of Daggerhorn, on the edge of a forest plagued by a werewolf, with her parents, Cesaire and Suzette, and older sister Lucie. She is in love with the town woodcutter Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry Henry Lazar, son of the wealthy blacksmith Adrien Lazar. Valerie and Peter plan to run away together, only to learn that the Wolf has broken its truce not to prey on the townspeople in exchange for cattle stock sacrifices and has murdered Lucie, who is revealed to have had a crush on Henry Lazar.
Suzette learns of Peter and Valerie's love, telling Valerie she too did not love her husband at first, but learned to love him – that she had loved another. Father August, the local preacher, calls for the famous witch hunter, Father Solomon, to help them but the townspeople decide to venture into the Wolf's lair to destroy it. They divide into groups, with one consisting of Peter, Henry, and Adrien. Peter separates from them moments before the Wolf attacks and murders Adrien. The Wolf is cornered by the men and killed. Valerie finds Suzette mourning Adrien and figures out that he was her love. She also realizes that Lucie, being the older daughter, should've been the first to wed and should have been engaged to Henry, but could not as she was the illegitimate daughter of Adrien, making her Henry's half-sister.
The following day, as the people celebrate, Father Solomon arrives and reveals that, had they killed the Wolf, it would have returned to its human form as it is a werewolf, but what they slew was a common grey wolf. He also reveals that they've entered the Blood Moon Week, an event that happens every thirteen years, in which whoever is bitten by the Wolf is cursed to become one as well. Father Solomon's men, led by The Captain (Adrian Holmes), isolate Daggerhorn and begin to investigate its people in search of the Wolf. That night, the Wolf attacks and, while the townspeople rush to the Church (as the Wolf is unable to step onto holy ground), Valerie and her friend Roxanne venture into the village to search for Roxanne's autistic brother, Claude. They are cornered by the creature and Valerie discovers that she is able to understand the Wolf's sounds. It threatens to kill Roxanne and destroy the village if Valerie doesn't leave with it. The Wolf then escapes, vowing to return to learn Valerie's decision.
The following day, Claude is captured by Father Solomon's men. Having witnessed Claude performing a card trick earlier, Father Solomon claims he's a student of the dark arts and attempts to force the frightened Claude to reveal the Wolf's identity. When Claude is unable to do so, Father Solomon locks him up in a large iron elephant brazen bull. In exchange for Claude's release, Roxanne reveals that Valerie is able to communicate with the Wolf but Claude is already dead by the time the Captain opens the elephant. Believing Valerie to be a witch, Father Solomon has her captured and displayed at the town's square in order to lure the Wolf out so he can kill it. Henry and Peter join forces and help Valerie to escape. Peter is captured by the Captain and thrown into the elephant, while Father Solomon orders Henry to be killed for helping Valerie. Father Auguste saves Henry and is then killed by Father Solomon.
Henry takes Valerie to the church, but they are attacked by the Wolf, who bites off Father Solomon's hand, which contains silver-coated fingernails. The townspeople shield Valerie from the Wolf, who is once again forced to flee, but not before burning a paw by touching holy land. Valerie dreams that the Wolf is her grandmother, who lives in a cabin in the nearby woods, so she goes to check on her. Father Solomon, having been cursed, is killed by the Captain.
After retrieving Father Solomon's hand, Valerie rushes to her grandmother's cabin, but is confronted on the way by Peter. She then notices that he is wearing a glove on his right hand, the same paw that the Wolf burned trying to enter the church, Valerie assumes Peter is the Wolf and stabs him. Arriving at Grandmother's house, Valerie is horrified to find her dead, and learns that the Wolf is her father, Cesaire. He reveals that the curse was passed to him by his own father, and he intended to leave the village but wanted to take his children with him. He sent a note to Lucie pretending to be Henry to meet him at night so he could ask her to accept her "gift". However, when he confronted her, she couldn't understand him. Realizing Lucie was not his daughter, he murdered her in a fit of rage. He then took revenge against Adrien, his wife's lover, and now wants Valerie to accept the curse.
Valerie refuses, just as Peter appears and confronts Cesaire, who bites Peter (thus giving him the curse) and tosses him aside. Peter is able to throw an axe into Cesaire's back, distracting him. Valerie stabs Cesaire to death with Father Solomon's hand. Valerie and Peter fill Cesaire's body with rocks so he can never be found and dump the body in the lake. Peter departs in order to learn how to control his curse, vowing to return only when he's able to ensure Valerie's safety. Valerie narrates that Henry found his courage and joins the ranks of the Captain's monster hunters. Valerie's mother finally accepts that her husband will never come home, and the village continues to live in fear even though the wolf never returned. She then moves to her grandmother's house, leaving her old life behind as she can't go back to the village because she is married to the wolf (Peter) and wants to keep that a secret.
The last scene shows Valerie outside the cabin on a full moon. She hears a slight growl, turns around and sees Peter in wolf form as she begins to smile. In an alternate ending, Valerie is seen holding a baby, which is her baby with Peter.

Review: The creativeness of this movie was lost from the beginning when the writers and directors left out a good story line, only to substitute with horrible special affects.
"Red Riding Hood" (2006) is a silly version of the Grimm Brothers tale with annoying songs.
I watched this movie with a girl I was babysitting and I found it surprisingly inappropriate.
First, an eleven-year-old looking "Red" plans on sneaking out of the house wearing lots of make-up and little clothes.
Also, the "wolf" sings a song about "red" that is filled with sexual innuendos.
Otherwise, the special effects are terrible and it seems that the WHOLE movie was shot in front of a green screen.
The theater was packed, apparently with friends and families of the production crew, because only a few of us walked out by the first hour.The songs were the most literal I've ever heard in a musical  "don't take the short cut, honey, there's a wolf in the woods..".
You know, it is possible to write for adults and children at the same time  see under "Pixar".On the positive side, the virtual sets looked nice and were well-integrated with the actors.
For me, the best reason to watch this Red Riding Hood version is the Hunter played by Henry Cavill.
If I like watching a movie, I do not care if someone else puts it down so much.
If you want to view an incredible wonderful and handsome man like this Henry Cavill, then you will almost certainly want to rent this movie.
Gross, glad I was watching this with my daughter, I don't want her to think it's normal for families to view quasi kiddie porn together.
Very bad, Very sad it's sold as a family film, Joey Fatone will probably be embarrassed he was in it.
Great children's movies are wicked, smart and full of wit - films like Shrek and Toy Story in recent years, Willie Wonka and The Witches to mention two of the past.
But in the continual dumbing-down of American more are flocking to dreck like Finding Nemo (yes, that's right), the recent Charlie & The Chocolate Factory and eye-crossing trash like Red Riding Hood..
Worse, she insists that Claire and Matt listen to her reworking of the Brothers Grimm classic tale "Little Red Riding Hood".
Claire imagines herself as Red, and her brother, parents and grandma as....her brother, parents and grandma.Although this movie's star drawing power is represented by Lainie Kazan as Grandma, singer Joey Fatone as the werewolf and Cassandra Peterson (a.k.a. Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark) in a small role, the real fun is watching freckle-faced Thompson and Sam Stone (who plays Matt and Rusty) reciting their one-liners.
(When the werewolf as Grandma tells Red that she must eat to "fill out", Red looks at her chest and says, "Yeah, I know.") Undeniably the funniest version of this story that I've seen.IMDb and other web sites claim 2004 as the year of release, however Key DVD (20th Century Fox's revival of Key Home Video, the company Fox created to distribute movies it was too embarrassed to put it's name on) claims both 2005 and 2006 copyright dates on the box, while the film itself states 2006.For the record, this is my fourth and final "Little Red Riding Hood" review..
This movie, obviously, is not a Hollywood blockbuster, and its target audience is kids, so it should be judged accordingly.
That said, my daughters, ages 6 and 8, are absolutely delighted by this movie, and when I finally gave in to their insistent pleas that I watch it with them, I could see why.
All the actors, including the kids, have a great time with their parts, and ham it up at every opportunity.
The gags surrounding the juxtaposition between modern life and the classic tale of Red Riding Hood fly by so quickly that before you are finished appreciating one, you've missed two or three more.
Anyone who rates this movie poorly didn't watch it with an 8-year-old.
Like all adaptations there are varying degrees of differences to the original text, however the reviews some of the others are ridiculously narrow-minded, this adaptation is a new / novel approach to an old theme.
I found the look of it quite attractive and colorful particularly the background as Red was cycling through the landscape on her way to Grandma's house.
I thought the idea of Laine Kazan engaging her two grandchildren's attention by reading to them, especially as the girl wanted to go out with her friends, was very nice and affirming showing the power of a good story and encouraging reading as well as family bonding.
also the girl playing Red was very good and has a promising future ahead of her as an actress..
I watched this as preparation for the Tim Burton "Alice in Wonderland." That and "Riding Hood" are surely among the most stretched, adapted and versioned stories ever told.
Red is particularly interesting because the versions all contain the same elements: girl, wolf, grandma, hunter.
Hey, you should have seen the last red Riding Hood I saw: the very clever porn version.Other commentors are offended by the flamboyant staging and effects.
Every effect was deliberately shown to be an effect within a story.The framing is that Lainie Kazan plays a grandmother who reads the story featuring her two grandkids — one of whom is Red. The wolf is a werewolf who can assume the appearance of his victims.
I expect it will be no more scrambled, excessive, stereotypical and sexual than Burton's Alice.Red's cloak/hood is often a dramatic character itself.
Everything about it was funny and i thought Morgan Thompson was absolutely fantastic, and the fact that she was born in Australia is even better.So aside from the obvious low budget appearance, I think to enjoy this film is to appreciate its simplicity rather then looking for sexual innuendos, special effects, etc...It's a family film, aimed majority at kids who don't absorb this kind of nonsense.
I really want to watch the rest of the film because from what i've seen so far, it looks like a good film to have a hearty laugh at..
Morgan Thompson is a natural for Red. Lainie Kazan, Debi Mazar and Joey Fatone work well in this lively musical.
Andrea Bowen, Daniel Roebuck, and Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira) are more than film worthy.Music is up-beat and with staying power for this genre.
The rich and vibrant scores flow well and may be the strongest feature of this colorful musical that is both avant-guard and mainstream family entertainment.Randal Kleiser and David Stump are perfect for the production skill requirements.
High Def Magazine Volume 5, Issue 4 cover is Morgan Thompson in "Red Riding Hood" with a full cover story by Jack Serino.Sandman Studios was over six months building the virtual sets for the 3D special effects and over two years in post production.
Baytech Cinema and FotoKem complete the new era technology by making "Red Riding Hood" the first-time-on-film do...
I think this movie to be distributed by 20th Century Fox will be closely watched by High Def people."Red Riding Hood" with Director Randal Kleiser is designed to take you on a journey that leaves "hum-drum reality" floating somewhere in the imaginary forest.
Red Riding Hood (2005); Motion Picture Production Enters A New Paradigm.
This modern day "Red Riding Hood" rolls along luxurious celluloid never deamed of before...Over the bridge and through the dell will lead to Grandmother's house in a new way.
Enter the dewy "rainbow" of film technology seen with this Red Riding Hood.
Advanced photographic systems are pegged to computers that house the real time production of virtual effects, easily allowing viewers to enter a "dance along" three dimensional fantasy world.Red Riding Hood (2005) distributed by 20th Century Fox may be thought of as the first motion picture in an improved era of film making.Randal Kleiser's directorship of Debi Mazar, Lainie Kazan, Joey Fatone, Henry Cavill, Ashley Rose Orr, Andrea Bowen, Morgan Thompson and many others augments the lavish musical style of this Red Riding Hood production.
Sean Fairburn who is respected by his peers as one of the most talented and knowledgeable High Definition Directors of Photography in the business, and Steve Sobisky (Effects Supervisor of Aritfical Intelligence AI and Shrek) who came from DreamWorks to plan and help produce the special effects, all benefit much to the final excellent film qualities shown in Red Riding Hood.The total effect of a movie like this creates a lasting memory..
State Of The Art Special Effects With Creative Musical.
"Red Riding Hood" empires battle-worthy "new technology" special effects arranged, photographed, and completed by experts from twelve countries.The mostly virtual reality sets are very creative.
Multi-layered virtual effects were live-on-demand programmed into the sets, creating a 3D look that is enhanced by expert Director of Photography David Stump and cameraman B.
Sean Fairburn.Bruce Robert's music is lively and works well with the action line.Randal Kleiser who directed "Grease" also directs this film musical..."Red Riding Hood" features a "previously unknown" as Red who is likable with both kids and adults.Joey Fatone, Debbie Mazar, and Lainie Kazan work well in this musical drama.
I didn't think I would enjoy this movie.
It's low-budget, and the trailer looked like something a 13-year-old could put together in Windows Movie Maker.
I think the cheesy, low-budget special effects were priceless.The story is timeless -- but this movie gives it a more modern edge and a unique flair.
Morgan Thompson as Claire was delightful, Joey Fatone was hilarious as the Wolf, and Henry Cavill was delicious as the Hunter.
It's a great movie to watch with your family.
Once upon a time there was a cute, musical, and imaginative new version of an old story.
But, first Grandma suggests that she be allowed to read them a fairy tale and, perhaps, Claire will be able to go meet her friends.
Yet, G-mama insists and suggests that the two younger folks invent new aspects for the chosen tale, Red Riding Hood.
Claire, who turns into Red, wants the family to live in a lighthouse at the edge of the woods and Rusty is avid for the wolf to become a werewolf (Joey Fatone).
Red starts out bicycling up a beautiful coastline, then turns into the forest which leads to Grandmas house.
Meanwhile, the werewolf devours a fisherman plus three nagging girls in charge of a toll bridge and he has his eyes on Red but his alter ego suggests he go to Grandma's first, eat her, and then wait for RRH, thus having a multi-course dinner.
All the while, Red sings some songs, the WW sings some songs and the rest of the family members chime in, too, to add in the fun.
Will someone step out to rescue Red from the Wolf, as in the original story?
This fun little musical version of a classic has something for most viewers.
Very important, too, is the fact that the film subtly encourages reading and the use of the imagination, both good values.
Families, you haven't seen it all if you haven't caught this new version of an old, old tale..
"Red Riding Hood" dances across new boundaries.
Art Film lovers will find solace here in the modern rendition of "Red Riding Hood" that uses state-of-the-art digital photography technique to capture a somewhat three dimensional look with an at times ethereal transience.
The "Welcome" mat is laid out as well for the entire family, as "Red Riding Hood" moves gracefully from each visually carpeted scene augmented with creative use of acting style that is both exasperating and subtle.Adept camera usage exaggerate the scenario and dramatic musical release explain the quality look rendered by advanced technology whose revolutionary use attracted some of the world's most skillful cinematographers and digital sleuths.Even with the wealth of special effects, the use of mood is most highlighted by the cast of talented actors, many of whom are just now becoming "known." Morgan Thompson perfectly fulfilled the leading role.
Henry Cavill while enjoying quite a following of young ladies in European movie theaters is until now a relative unknown in "The States." The two made for an entertaining duet.
Joey Fatone portrays a vividly animated wolf and somewhat (in a Wolfy way) likable fun-loving antagonist.The music is robust and may make inroads across the media due to unusual yet catchy melodic sounds moved upon by these talented singers.
Several "Red Riding Hood" acting performers are well followed on Broadway and music concert stages.It can not be overlooked how much the project has evolved into a "flagship" adventure.
This "Red Riding Hood" will have been defined into a modern-day "Fine Arts Film" when it is ultimately released.Overall, the motion picture has a rightful claim to being one of the most interesting productions of the year.
Watch and see if "Red Riding Hood" Oscar consideration is increasingly apparent..
She sounds like the mean old lady down the street and is completely clueless when it comes to kid's movies.
I saw Randall Kleiser's "Red Riding Hood" at digital screening in Hollywood with an industry audience who laughed and applauded the jokes - which update and parody the classic Grimm's fairy tale.
This movie is utterly charming, witty, campy and fun.
Children, especially girls, will love this movie --- unless they are given a poisoned apple from an evil witch, like Fleetmind..
A great family movie.
A great family movie.
This is a modern retelling of the classic "Little Red Riding Hood" fairy tale as a musical.
A grandmother of two kids baby-sits one night and manages to invite the modern children to a world of imagination by reading the old tale from an old book.
I wouldn't be surprised if the real world children get drawn into the story the same way as they do in the film and experience the same transformation.Since I never was a great N'Sync fan - no offense, just not my genre - Joey was a pleasant surprise as the villain.
A good choice to play the wolf, right blend of funny and scary.
One might expect a high tech looking Riding Hood, but instead the technology was used to create a beautiful, old world, fantasy where unexpected things can happen.
This movie is the ultimate parody of a classic story line, but set in modern times.
The lead character, Red, is just a complete darling, and the Big Bad Wolf is side-splitting funny.
My young daughters just loved it, and my wife and I laughed throughout the whole movie.
We liked it so much that we bought it, and our girls have watched it many times.
They know all the songs by heart.For those who get hung-up on special effects realism and need first rate acting, maybe this film isn't for you.
And yeah, the special effects are crude, but this film doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is.
This film is 10x better than a whole slew of other family movies..
Much Fun. I admit; I looked for the sound track to the movie after I rented it.
They went for the music and story over visual effects.
When you make a movie out of a fairy tale, you have to pad it.
I was lucky enough to see Randal Kleiser's "Red Riding Hood", a technological breakthrough in shooting full stream HD with the Viper camera on a virtual reality stage.
With outstanding performances from Joey Fatone (the N'Sync star portrays a sharp dancing wolf), Laine Kazan and a host of newcomers, this picture entertains very young audiences in the sure way that only the master Kleiser can.
I watched this movie last night with some friends.
They warned us previously that it was the worst movie ever made, but because of that reason it was hilarious.
The movie had everyone screaming while Red was in her grandmother's bedroom with the wolf in disguise.
The biggest problem for me was Red Riding Hood's extremely short skirt.
So if you can stand watching this sort of movie and are in need of a good laugh, I highly recommend this one..
It plays like a music video for the most part.
The young lady that plays Red Riding Hood is great, hopefully this film will get her many roles to come.
Extremely Funny & Child Inappropriate Movie.
I loved this movie.
If you think you're going to be watching something along the lines of Rogers & Hammersteins' Cinderella you're going to be disappointed.If you think you're going to be watching a Buffy-esque, snarky version of Red Riding Hood, you'll enjoy it..
Little Red Meets Joey "the fat one" Fatone.
i happen to like the film very much and think it's surprisingly well done for what it is and it's ambitions(which are few)are.
i think people are a little "put off" by this movie because the end result is unintentionally bizarre and way over the top.
Joey Fatone is way too young of a performer to seem like such a has-been, washed out, Las Vegas, Wayne Newton type.
i doubt Fatone will ever enjoy the respectability that N'Sync buddy Justin Timberlake is enjoying now as a serious actor.the two best performers are the girl portraying 'Red' herself, and Lanie Kazan, who is delightfully ditzy as the yoga loving, hippie, liberal grandmother.
the only thing that parents should be strongly cautioned about is the age inappropriate love interest for Red Riding Hood.
that's an age difference that's bound to make any uptight father of a tween girl cringe.i'm not going to pretend this movie is great cinema.
but it is a musical and a fairy tale, two things i absolutely love.
it's an unintentionally strange film (probably due to it's being a musical), but i think it's fun and it was directed by Hollywood pro Randal Kleiser who always turns in a polished looking production even when the material is kind of junk.