Red Riding Hood

The trailer for Summit’s Red Riding Hood was recently released and boy, this is definitely not the Little Red of your childhood.

Because if you were like me, the version that was read to you many times tells the story of a little girl in a bright red hood who meets a wolf in the middle of woods en route to her granny’s house. Little Red tells Mr. Wolf of her plans, and because he’s a big bad hungry wolf (they always are), he hurries to grandma’s house, gets there before the girl does, eats grandma, wears her clothes, and waits for the girl. When she gets there she goes “Oh what big teeth you have”. Aaand he eats her.

In the end though they were deus ex machinally (yes, I just used that as an adverb) saved by a hunter who just happen to passed by. He cuts the wolf’s belly and saves Little Red and Grandma.

Also. If you were like me, my Little Red Riding Hood story-telling experience involved a creepy topsy turvy doll. On one side, it’s granny. On the back side, it’s the wolf in granny’s clothes. Now if you flip the skirt, surprise! It turns into Little Red. SO DISTURBING.

Anyhoo. This new film starring Amanda Seyfreid is more of a retelling of the classic tale.

Ooh I love using that word, “retelling”. It’s something that I picked up in college along with the knowledge that wolves don’t talk and they don’t eat their prey like a boa constrictor does.

You know what else college teaches you aside from procrastination, weed, caffeine, weed, beer bong, weed, and Foucault? It teaches you that fairy tales and children stories are not what they always deemed to be. Mice won’t make ball dresses for you. Princes can and will have sex with you while you’re in a coma. And in the case of Little Red… there is bestiality.

So you see. There was a reason why Retelling was such a popular elective back in my university.

In this 2011 version, the film opts for a darker and more-Gothic tone. I like it. The cinematography looks beautiful. Gary Oldman is in it! And no, there is no bestiality. But yes, there is a hint of sex. With a smexy hunter. And because I have a feeling this story would take the Angela Carter route, then that boy is the mystery werewolf. Spoiler schmoiler. It makes sense, right? Because if there’s anything that Taylor Lautner has taught us… 

Hmmm. Wait. What? Oh yeah, so as I was saying before I got distracted with abs is that…

GAH! khdflkgjh;gdjskfhlfwrypjhlhng;'jfhl. Anyway, this adaptation is directed by Catherine Hardwicke of the Twilight fame. You could easily sense that from the sweeping shots of landscapes with tall coniferous trees and the cheesy googly-eyed Bella-Edward exchange between Amanda Seyfreid and Shiloh Fernandez when he said “I’m wrong for you” and she goes, “I don’t care” and omg I am tempted to add another Taylor Lautner pic. But I don’t want to lose the two people who actually bother to read this blog. So here’s the trailer. Enjoy.



What do you think? Do you like it? What versions of this story have you read, liked, or found interesting? If you ask me, this version is my favorite: