Red Riding Hood (2011)
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A young woman must confront a terrifying werewolf curse that threatens her village and her own family.
The story
Valerie lives in Daggerhorn, a village plagued by a werewolf that has broken its truce with the townspeople. While she plans to elope with her childhood friend Peter, her parents have arranged a marriage to Henry, the son of a wealthy blacksmith. The peace is shattered when the Wolf murders Valerie's sister, Lucie. As the village prepares to hunt the beast, the preacher calls upon a famous witch hunter, Father Solomon. However, the townspeople decide to venture into the Wolf's lair themselves, leading to a tense atmosphere of fear and suspicion as the village is isolated to uncover the Wolf's identity.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Valerie lives in Daggerhorn, a village plagued by a werewolf. While she plans to elope with Peter, her parents arrange a marriage to Henry. The Wolf murders her sister Lucie, prompting the village to hunt it. Father Solomon, a witch hunter, arrives but the villagers attack the lair first. Later, Solomon's men isolate the village to find the Wolf. During an attack, Valerie discovers she can communicate with the Wolf, who threatens to destroy the village unless she leaves with him. Solomon labels her a witch and displays her in the town square. Henry and Peter help her escape. During a confrontation, the Wolf bites Solomon's hand, and he is killed by the Captain. Valerie later discovers her father, Cesaire, is the Wolf, cursed by his own father. He killed Lucie because she couldn't understand him in wolf form. Valerie refuses to accept the curse. Peter arrives, is bitten by Cesaire, but manages to throw an axe into Cesaire's back, allowing Valerie to kill him. They hide his body in a lake. Years later, Daggerhorn returns to normal, and Henry becomes a witch hunter. Valerie lives alone in the forest until Peter returns to her, now transformed into a werewolf but in full control of his abilities.
- Original title
- The Girl with the Red Riding Hood
- First release year
- 2011
- Runtime (minutes)
- 100
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Catherine Hardwicke
- Writers
- David Leslie Johnson · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Amanda Seyfried · Valerie; Gary Oldman · Father Solomon; Billy Burke · Cesaire; Shiloh Fernandez · Peter; Max Irons · Henry Lazar; Julie Christie · Grandmother; Virginia Madsen · Suzette; Lukas Haas · Father Auguste
- Genres
- romantic fantasy; horror; supernatural horror; romance; fantasy; dark fantasy
- Themes
- Family secrets; Curse; Sacrifice; Identity; Tradition vs. Independence
- Tone and mood
- Dark; Romantic; Somber; Tense
- Premise and plot tags
- Werewolf; Witch Hunter; Folk Tale Adaptation; Forbidden Love
- Source material / true-story basis
- Little Red Riding Hood by Charles Perrault and by Brothers Grimm
- Reception
- The film received negative reviews but was a box-office success, grossing $98 million worldwide against its $42 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 10% · review count: 208; Metacritic · score: 29 · scale: 100 · review count: 36
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled The Girl with the Red Riding Hood.; Director Catherine Hardwicke had to persuade Amanda Seyfried to give Billy Burke a chance because Seyfried did not like him.; The teaser trailer and poster featured a new song written exclusively for the film by Swedish act Fever Ray.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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