This is a modern adaptation of the legendary story of "Red Riding Hood."
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Valerie (played by Amanda Seyfried) is Red. She lives in the forest with simple people who plan to get her married to a nobleman. But there is an attack on the local village. A monster werewolf attacks the village which kills the sister of Red. The stupid village people think they can appease the magical wolf by giving it a sacrifice, offering Red, but this does not work at all. Red convinces them to avenge the death of her sister, so the bravest ones of the townspeople venture together with her to the woods. The courageous men kill a wolf, thinking it is the magical one, but in truth they only kill a regular wolf.
The village people prepare for a celebration, but this is interrupted by Father Solomon (played by Gary Oldman). Father Solomon tells them, they did not kill the magical wolf, only a simple grey one and the threat to the village still exists. The evil wolf attacks the village in the middle of the festivities. He has the strange ability to be able to communicate with Valerie. Valerie does not understand how the magical wolf is able to communicate with her. Her friend Roxanne (played by Shauna Kain) sees this. Father Solomon's only goal is to eliminate the wolf. He will stop at nothing to do so. He kills his own guard that may have been bitten by the wolf to make sure no one has been infected. He arrests the brother of Roxanne thinking he is part of the plot against him. He finds out that Valerie can communicate with the wolf and forces her to be the bait to lure the magical wolf into a trap.
While the villagers hunt for the wolf, Valerie has a dream that her grandmother is the wolf. But when Valerie goes back to her grandmother's house she learns that the wolf was not her grandmother, but was her father Cesare instead. Her father wants her to continue the legacy of the wolf, but Valerie refuses.
Best part of story, including ending:
The CGI effects in this film are spectacular and they make the transformations between humans and wolf very believable.
Best scene in story:
I like the scene when Red notices that she can communicate with the wolf that is terrorizing the village. It is the first hint we have that the wolf is more than a monster, as it first appears.
Opinion about the main character:
Red is both a victim of the circumstances, and an enabler of the solution. She finds the path to make her impact which does the least harm to everyone which is admirable.
