The setting of this movie makes it very obvious that it is going to be a thriller. It is set in a village in the middle of the woods, before the technological age. The people are all filled with anxiety, lest the werewolf attack the village again. The trees are full of spikes and the charge of the priests is to keep evil away - including witches and werewolves.
The camera work is very smooth, except for the moments when it is supposed to simulate someone sneaking up on what is going on. Suspicion is cast on many different people to be the werewolf, making it hard to determine who the wolf might actually be until the time is right. Sometimes the person sneaking up is actually the werewolf, sometimes it is someone else, someone we are supposed to suspect might be the wolf. The time period of the wolf's ability to bite his heir is condensed so that the panic and fear is higher, making it much more of a thriller.
The central character Valerie has most of the drama happen to her. She can't marry the man that she loves because she is betrothed to another man. The day she finds out is also the day that her sister is found dead, and it is then that she discovers hat the man that she is betrothed to is the man that her sister loved and that her sister found out about the betrothal just before she died. Valerie's suspicion is cast all around her - on the man that she loves, on her grandmother. On top of it all, she finds out that the wolf wants to make her a werewolf. When it is discovered that Valerie can understand the werewolf (as she is betrayed by her friend), she is offered to the wolf to be taken, as she is believed to be a witch.
One of the most brilliant parts of the story is also one of the saddest. One of the characters is severely autistic. The way that he acts and his affinity for tricks is taken by Father Solomon to mean that he communes with the devil. In such a time period, mental deficiencies were often taken to mean that someone was possessed. It is sad that ignorant people are capable of doing.
The images in this movie are very striking. The strongest color of red is worn by the central character. The darkest black belongs to the fur of the werewolf. Everyone else - save the Father in his purple garb - wears fairly neutral colors. Everything stands out against the pure white of the snow. The film is a beautiful piece to watch.
I really don't know what the current obsession is that people have with taking old fairy tales and making them into thrillers. I guess people are just really out of ideas. However, Red Riding Hood was the first, and I believe that it is the best one.
