Jack Zipes sings praises for the 1996 film Freeway written by Matthew Bright, starring Reese Witherspoon and Kiefer Sunderland. This is a modern version of “Little Red Riding Hood” containing elements of tale type 333. The wolf poses as the grandmother, the wolf kills the grandmother, the wolf meets the girl on her way to her grandmother, and the wolf dies. Also, the filming and the scenes happen in fairytale-like surrealism. The characters and narrative have a flat feel. There is strange violence. Events happen that just happen.
Some scenes seem to make no sense, yet there they are full of symbolism. This film version harkens back to the tales which may have informed Perrault and Grimm. The wolf seeks to devour women and succeeds, until he meets Vanessa. Vanessa carries a cloth lined basket filled with beer and a gun, hardly what Mr. Wolverton expects. As the wolf draws Vanessa in for the kill, she turns the tables. Holding a gun to his head, Vanessa asks if Mr. Wolverton believes in Jesus Christ as his personal savior. He says yes, and she pulls the trigger. Unfortunately he does not die and the suspense thickens.
You’ll have to watch the movie to see how Vanessa ultimately outsmarts Mr. Wolverton. I agree with Zipes’ praises for this raw and poignant retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Despite all odds, Vanessa knows who she is in her core and will not let anyone take that away from her.
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