Molly Smith

Draft 1 of Review (Little White Lies)

What’s that? You want to hear me ramble about Little Red Riding Hood again? After Catherine Hardwicke’s success with ‘Red Riding Hood’ (in 2011) I bet you thought we wouldn’t have another bloodcurdling red-hot fairy tale for a long time, yet this chilling fairy tale, ‘Redemption’, will make the hairs on your back stand up.

People thought they saw the best of Emily Redif in the award-winning drama ‘The Diary of Molly-Ann’, yet she amazed us with her huge come-back in Redemption. This time Smith, Hamid and Sivalingam are back after their magnificent action-packed film franchise ‘Avoidance’ in this deep, dark, daunting fantasy turning Emily Redif into a kind, defenceless teenager with a spine-chilling shadow lurking behind her.

You thought that in the story of Little Red Riding Hood there would be a wolf? Well in this film you don’t have to have razor sharp claws and a huge mouth filled with cut-throat penetrating teeth to be one; you just need to be a cold-hearted, manipulative, delusional maniac.

This gnashing fairy-tale has a few conventions of Little Red Riding Hood, but it seems to manipulate the glory and pleasantness, in a way that still allows us to peek through our guarding palms. Young, vulnerable teenager Emily is in modern-day society and is distressed that her Grandma is dying in hospital. Her journey to see her Grandma is interrupted by a so-called ‘friend’ from school. Due to Emily’s distressing time, Emily gets talking to ‘Rak’ but ends up taking the some drugs, also known as ‘Fairy Dust’. I really hope you’re seeing the fairy-tale in this now! She passes out and then wakes up ‘an enchanted’ forest wearing a Red Riding Hood outfit. With any reaction where you find yourself dressed as Little Red Riding Hood in the forest, Emily was definitely confused. Her journey through the forest then begins.

The cinematography in this film is gripping and the use of non-diegetic sounds gets you on your feet with it’s realistically, intense sounding effects. The intense thing about this film is that the audience doesn’t realise until the end that Emily has created this imaginary world to eliminate the pain she is actually going through of ‘Rak’ attacking her in the forest. Thankfully like most fairy-tales the girl gets saved, but the real twist is that it isn’t a prince. Smith, Hamid and Sivalingam support feminism in this gruesome tale and the saviour is a female runner. This film will definitely entice you to watch more and maybe even make you tremble like a leaf. In future I suggest you think twice about a walk in the forest. And most of all this film will make you look behind you when walking down the streets at night…

Anticipation; Smith, Hamid and Sivalingam take an unexpected turn in this fairy-tale. (4)

Enjoyment: Rak’s creepy, dead-eyed coldness will surely make you re-think your friends. (3)

Molly Smith

In retrospect: Who let the dogs out? (3)