Kevin Jackson Reviews: The Girl with the Red Riding Hood
The Girl with the Red Riding Hood by David Leslie Johnson (a 120 page revised first draft) is a horror and romance Gothic reimagining of the classic fairy tale in which a young woman is confronted by a werewolf. This time a teenage love triangle is at its center.
SYNOPISIS
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We are in rural France in the year 1324. ISABELLE’S, 17, boyfriend, PETER, 21, confronts her about being engaged to be married to HENRI SMITH, 18. She thinks he is joking but her father told him the news; it’s an arrangement to settle a debt. Peter ends up breaking-up with Isabelle.
Isabelle’s mother SUZETTE, late 30’s, explains to Isabelle: “…you have adult responsibilities now. That means putting your family’s interests ahead of your own…there’s more to marriage than being in love. Love doesn’t always last and it certainly doesn’t fill your children’s bellies in the winter.”
One night LUCIE, 18, Isabelle’s sister, heads to a grassy meadow. She strips naked and is later found dead apparently killed by an animal. Her GRANDMOTHER finds human hair clutched in Lucie’s hand. A conclusion is drawn that a man and, perhaps, a wolf, maybe one in the same, a werewolf may be the culprit.
CESAIRE, Isabelle’s father, leads a drunken group to find and kill this werewolf. They find a wolf and kill it.
Isabelle and her mother argue that perhaps Lucie was committing some type of suicide, because she was in love with Henri. Isabelle’s mother tells her that they could have never married because Lucie was Henri’s half-sister.
FATHER SOLOMAN arrives and explains that “when a werewolf dies, it returns to its human form. If what you killed was a werewolf, then you would have a human head skewered atop that pole.” Also, that “the werewolf does not live in the forest as you have rather naïvely assumed; it lives here in the village. Among you.” Moreover, “A man can inherit the curse. Or he can be turned simply by being bitten. But women…” NO SPOILERS HERE!
Peter and Isabelle make-up, get back together and make-out.
The WOLF attacks during a festival. Isabelle and ROXANNE, Isabelle’s friend, are cornered by the Wolf. The wolf speaks! The wolf tells Isabelle: “We are the same, you and I. We are both wild things. You show one face to the world, but there is another face that you hide. A fire burning inside you, waiting to be released. What about your fat friend here? Do you think she would rather die? Come away with me. Or I will kill her. And I will keep killing until you agree to leave with me.” The Wolf gets distracted as Isabelle and Roxanne escape.
Isabelle tells her Grandmother what the Wolf said. The Grandmother implores Isabelle to leave the village, before the Wolf returns.
Father Solomon is going to hang Roxanne’s little brother, thinking he is of the devil. In exchange for his release Roxanne tells Father Solomon about the Wolf talking to Isabelle. Solomon’s knights arrest Isabelle.
The Grandmother suspects that Henri is the Wolf; however, Henri turns the table on her and says that she is the Wolf.
Night falls and Isabelle is placed in the stocks.
Henri comes to Isabelle’s aid. Henri releases her and begins to run as the Wolf appears and chases after them. The Wolf catches them and asks Isabelle what her decision is, will she take her place with him. Henri and the villagers surround the Wolf throwing rocks at him, he flees. The villagers take chase but lose him in the forest.
The next day Isabelle heads to her Grandmother’s, walking through the village wearing Lucie’s red riding hood and carrying a basket of food.
Isabelle arrives and finds Grandmother in bed and tells Isabelle to feeds herself some soup (a thick broth with chunks of white meat) in the kitchen. As she is eating she pours herself a cup of supposedly wine, but it turns out to be blood.
It’s not Grandmother in bed it’s… NO SPOLIERS! Isabelle startled asks where Grandmother is. The intruder ate most of her and Isabelle apparently just ate the rest. Grandmother was killed because she learned the identity of the Wolf.
Who and how the werewolf came to be. Why Lucie was killed (a great twist right here) and how they stayed under the radar are explained to Isabelle. What ensues after will not be spoiled here. Though, someone dies, someone leaves, someone weds.
I did not want to spoil the story for anyone, it’s just that great of an ending.
COMMENTS
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What makes the script unique is the merging of the two tales of Red Riding Hood and the Werewolf. The script does need some revision work to give it a marketable directorial vision. I cannot say that this is a must be made story but it does make for a compelling read.
The story is quite original given the Red Riding Hood twist. I did not find it all that predictable and found it quite believable. There were no big plot holes to be found; however there are some unanswered questions that were not explained. With the right directorial direction the visual potential can be quite stunning.
The inciting incident and midpoint came in about ten pages later than it should have, but the latter half of the script had no structural problems. Some descriptions sound like they should be dialogue. The format is fair, given that there were numerous pages with blocks of descriptions and no dialogue. Furthermore, would a grandmother in 1300’s France say “shit?” Some character names do not fit the time period nor local.
In the first act there was a few pieces of dialogue and descriptions that gave the impression that there would be a Catholic undertone in the theme but as the story went on that was not prevalent. That might be something to look at to see if it was forgotten or is not well integrated into the rest of the story.
The story is not necessarily a mystery in terms of genre, however if the script took that direction with a storyline, it could make for an even better read. As it stands the revelation in the script, which can be construed as a mystery plot point, can be better written to keep it from being a plot hole that it nearly is.
It would also be nice to give some of the scenes more suspenseful tension/fear and/or excitement. Also, comedy of manners and/or romantic comedy elements into the dialogue would be a nice touch.
Overall, the premise, story and theme are all quite good. The characterizations and pacing keeps the reader interested. The dialogue and writing style is not bad. The descriptions are done well. The high concept ability is what made this a script worth picking-up.
The writer is creative with what he came up with to make this unique concept. Therefore I would not necessarily pass on him.
I recommend this script as a “consider” and not as a pass because of the potential that it can garner with the right talent attached to it, to revise it and direct it. But this story really excited me to the point that I hope that my comments are taken under consideration, because I really do want to see this movie.
COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL
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This can be a theatrical film. The audience is for teenagers and young adults. The MPAA rating would be an R. A director that would do the script justice would be Tim Burton, Guillermo Del Toro or someone like-minded.
BUDGET: High. Referring to The-Numbers.com, I looked at Werewolf and costumed dramas such as, Van Helsing, Wolf and Underworld: Evolution are the only movies to gross over $50 million domestically. However, worldwide the numbers are better. The budget, in all probability, can be under $40 million.
Script Recommendation: [ ] Recommended, [X] Consider, [ ] Pass.
Of Note: In thinking about how this script could be made and I thought of Enchanted. Now if the script was revised and produced like an Enchantedesque feature, the film can really pop. It would be an instant blockbuster, in my opinion. You can almost envision the poster and the trailer with this in mind. Also, think about this: what would Enchanted had looked like if Tim Burton had directed it? The licensing possibilities would be endless and this would make for an everlasting feature. Just a thought here!
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