Terror on the Thirteenth: Red

Next month is October, and we'll once again be bringing you short horror films along with commentary, music videos, art gallery posts, and perhaps one or two other things to get you in a proper mood for Halloween. As in years past, there's going to be Halloween material at the Shades of Gray blog as well, but today, the cross-over is going the other direction.

September is Red Riding Hood month at Shades of Gray, and each week there will be a post featuring commentary about an included song, animated short film, or artwork inspired by the famous fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood". Click here to see those posts at Shades of Gray.

Red (2008)

Starring: Sadie Franck and Shawn Jennings

Director: Shawn Jennings

Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Red Riding Hood (Franck) is on her way to Grandma's house with the intent of bringing her some desperately needed medicine. The Big Bad Wolf (Jennings) has other plans.

"Red" is a well-staged and expertly executed adaptation of a familiar story. It probably goes without saying, but there's a couple startling twists along the way that end up pushing a mildly creepy film solidly and chillingly into the horror genre (even if you can almost hear the Crypt Keeper cackling in the background as the film comes to its conclusion). The gimmick of having the film be in shades of gray except for things that are red is surprisingly effective--and grows increasingly so as the film unfolds. And if you're really paying attention to what's going on, you'll have a "what the heck is going on here?" moment just as the film gets really good.

Bor all the things that was done right in "Red", the few things that were done wrong caused me to knock it down to a Six Rating instead of a High Seven. The biggest drawback is the Big Bad Wolf costume; it's big and rather bad. It's not terrible, but the film would have been better served if it had been hidden in shadows, or only caught in glimpses. While the visual effects on the fangs were interesting, the overall impact of the costume detracts from an otherwise stylish film, because it's not at the same level of quality as everything around it. Secondly, the film could have benefitted from a more effective use of the black-and-white medium. Things are lit to brightly and seem a bit flat because of it. Further, the scenes as Red Riding Hood is being chased through the forest and the climactic moments at Grandma's house would have been far better served if they had featured more and deeper shadows than they do.

All-in-all, though, this is a highly entertaining spin on a familiar tale, and it's well worth spending the six or so minutes it'll take you to watch it.