Red Riding Hood

Raider · Thu 04/05/2006 09:12:30

Okay, so I am about to start shooting a movie trailer/teaser for my media studies assignment and I have an idea about a plot.
I wanted to take little red riding hood (the nursary rhyme) and turn it into a serious horror.
So It starts out with Red Riding Hood (RRH) walking through the forest along a path (it is raining heavy)
A wolf, (a real wolf not one dressed in grandma's PJ's) is seen in the shadows of a tree/cave/shadow and runs out to attack RRH.

She falls down and gets mauled and dies.
A wood cutter/man sees this happen and rushes in after the wolf leaves/finishes eating her $:-\$
He checks to see if shes alive and as this happens, her eyes burst open (with white contact lenses in) and she grabs his throat and kills him.
She goes on a rampage in a small town near by.
Then the title comes up...

What do you guys think? A demonic Red Riding Hood?

Cheers

pslim · Thu 04/05/2006 10:11:22

You might be interested in reading up on what is (to my knowledge) the most famous variation on the Red-Riding-Hood-as-horror theme, which is Angela Carter's The Company of Wolves. There is also a film version with the same title.

It's a combination of the classic werewolf myth and a dark, feminist interpretation of the coming of age motif.

The film Freeway is also a dark, scary interpretation of the Red Riding Hood story, but it's less literal (there aren't any actual wolves).

At first glance I like the twist that has Riding Hood becoming a villain as a result of the wolf attack, but I think it would be worth considering exactly what message that is intended to convey. Has she been "corrupted" by exposure to "evil"? Is this a cautionary tale ("That's what happens to little girls who don't mind their mommies")?

Raider · Thu 04/05/2006 10:25:05

Wow I wasn't acctually aware that there were films about this...
Yeah it's only a trailer so I don't really need to get deep into plot too much so I havn't thought about it yet.
Thanks for the response and links!

Ashen · Thu 04/05/2006 10:47:26

QuoteI think it would be worth considering exactly what message that is intended to convey.

Horror films have/need messages now? When did that happen? (And why - particularly if the assignment is just the trailer - does it even matter?)

First glance, it makes me think a little of Ginger Snaps, but since I've not seen the whole film that might just be the 'young girl / werewolf' angle rather than any actual similarity. It was the first thing that sprang to mind, though.

CaptainBinky · Thu 04/05/2006 13:21:37

Quote from: Ashen on Thu 04/05/2006 10:47:26
Horror films have/need messages now? When did that happen?

Horror films always have had messages. Teens who have sex get murdered, the pure ones survive etc. Dawn of the Dead is almost entirely about social commentary.

However, there's no real need to worry about it within the confines of a trailer, but it would be worth bearing in mind should it ever be made into a film.

pslim · Thu 04/05/2006 18:26:20

Quote from: CaptainBinky on Thu 04/05/2006 13:21:37
Quote from: Ashen on Thu 04/05/2006 10:47:26
Horror films have/need messages now? When did that happen?

Horror films always have had messages. Teens who have sex get murdered, the pure ones survive etc. Dawn of the Dead is almost entirely about social commentary.

And of course the cult classic Night of the Living Dead is very much about the Viet Nam war (and I didn't just read way too much into it--George Romero has said so explicitly), in addition to making a progressive (for the time) statement on racial issues in the US. The idea of a black man (Duane Jones) starring in a "white" film where the main character was not an obvious racial stereotype was virtually unheard of in 1968.

IMO it's never a waste of time to consider what message is being conveyed by any work of art, particularly if it's your own work. The idea that you can somehow not convey a message is debatable. If you don't think about what message you're conveying, that's a message, too. Everything you create is going to be informed by your own opinions, biases, and aesthetics and all of those will come through if you make no attempt to shape them into something specific. Art is a communicative endeavor, and as the artist you have control (to a point) over what is being communicated, whether you exercise it consciously or not.

Actually, saying that whether or not it's possible to not convey a message is debatable is very generous; anthropologically speaking it absolutely is not possible. Every human is, in some way and to some degree, a product of his or her culture and experience, and is therefore incapable of being 100% objective about anything. The subjectivity will come through in your art and it will be your statement unless you choose to make a different one.

Raider · Fri 05/05/2006 04:56:17

Very well put and I see your point. So you think I should spend more time on the trailer thinking about the type of message I want to portray because it reflects my attitude and opinions?
I like that

pslim · Fri 05/05/2006 08:16:59

I'm glad it's something you're interested in thinking about, because otherwise I would feel bad for clogging up the thread since it's yours and everything.

I'm not suggesting you spend more time considering the message than makes sense given the scope of the assignment, but my main reason for bringing it up is that what you've proposed is different in an important way (RRH evolving from prey to predator) from the traditional Red Riding Hood interpretations while still being recognizeable as a variation on that story. That difference is going to stand out very clearly. Thoughtful people are going to ponder the why without even meaning to, and even if you as the artist aren't intending to point them in a specific direction, it seems worthwhile to at least refrain from doing so consciously instead of accidentally. It's your work, after all.