Red Riding Hood: Alternate Cut / Le Chaperon Rouge : Comprend la version cinéma (Bilingual) [Blu-ray + DVD]

Set in a medieval village there is the same old story of a young girl betrothed to the son of a rich man but secretly in love with another. There is a little layering of the story as there may have been another secret romance. Yet we have no time for those things as the wolf seems to be expanding his diet and a professional is called in for the dispatching of the misunderstood furry creature.

Seems that our hooded heroine can communicate with the wolf which does not bode well of her future.
Will she go quietly or be eaten herself. Could be we are in for a big surprise.

The movie was not brilliant but watchable. There was a wolf, a riding hood, and big teeth. There are a few scuffed and missing body parts as part of the story; however no excessive gore. It is good to see that Julie Christie (age 70 at time of filming) is keeping a hand in acting as the big eyed grandmother.

Teenage girl + sexy brooding might-be-a-monster + forbidden romance = dear Lord, it's a Twilight knockoff.

And let's not delude ourselves that "Red Riding Hood" is anything but that. Catherine Hardwicke (director of the first Twilight film) runs over very familiar territory in this disastrously dull, tepidly acted borefest, which seems to just be an excuse to show us yet more gel-haired, pouting teenagers longing after each other. It's even duller than it sounds.

Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) lives in a small village in... somewhere where they sacrifice livestock to a giant ravenous wolf. It's not explained very well. She is planning to escape an arranged marriage to the staggeringly dull Henry (Max Irons) by eloping with her staggeringly dull Edward-Cullen-haired lover Peter (Shiloh Fernandez). You know, standard love triangle stuff.

But then the wolf comes to the town and starts killing people, including Valerie's sister. According to wolf-hunter (Gary Oldman), it's not a wolf but a werewolf. Even worse, the werewolf has some kind of connection to Valerie -- meaning that it's probably someone she loves. So who is the werewolf, and does anyone in the audience actually care?

Don't worry, Team Jacob -- "Red Riding Hood" is all about the hot maybe-werewolf guy taking center stage. Catherine Hardwicke tosses aside the possibilities of a "dark" psychosexual retelling of a fairy tale, mainly so she can try to reel in all the screeching hormone-addled tweenagers who rushed to see her last gothic romance.

The problem is, "Twilight" was boring. And "Red Riding Hood" is even duller. The only competent part of the story is the plot twist involving the werewolf.

The rest of the time we're treated to pallid romantic melodrama is almost as bloodless as the CGI wolf attacks. The dialogue is ghastly ("It is time to put on your HARLOT'S ROBES!"), and the there are some staggeringly weird scenes that add absolutely nothing to the story, such as a giant metal ELEPHANT, or the medieval rave. Then again, the picturesque village looks like the love child of a RenFaire and a Medieval Times restaurant, so maybe the rave isn't too surprising.

I'll admit it: Seyfried's clear face and big wide eyes are perfect (in theory), but Hardwicke seems less interested in having her act than in having her pose dramatically as if she's in a magazine shoot. Her two paramours are so dull that they're virtually interchangeable, except for Fernandez's gelled-up hair.

And Gary Oldman is so hammy you could put him between two slices of rye -- his "evil inquisitor" role is so over-the-top that I kept expecting him to poke Seyfried with the soft cushions and scream, "Confess! Confess! CONFESS!"

"Red Riding Hood" is basically Hardwicke's attempt to snag "Twilight's" teenybopper fanbase, but she only succeeds in making a movie even more passionless and dull than that one.

I rented this out of pure curiosity for a darker version of the tale known by all children.

From the moment the movie started I was mesmorized by its gothic dark theme and knew it by then that I would enjoy it. The music is amazing and well fitted for each scene.

I thought I knew who the wolf was, be careful it isn't always as it seems...

It has been a long time since a movie surprised me, a definate addition to my library for taking a chance into turning the fairytale into something darker.

Move over twilight wolf version, cuz the wolf in this movie, totally rocks and doens't look like a puppy!

Try it, you might be surprised...