Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson) lives in a big bohemian country pile with her equally posh parents and her annoying older sister. Neither the situation or the location is important though, for the entire film plays out in an alternate dreamt fantasy world as Rosaleen sleeps in her room. We’re whisked away into the woods, where she’s reimagines herself in a gothic time of horse drawn carriages, petticoats and wild beasts. Dangers that she’s warned of by Granny (Angela Lansbury). On the surface it’s like Labyrinth meets Little Red Riding Hood. Stories are told within dreams, fiddles are played and wolves howl. All a bit dull honestly, until a very young Stephen Rea starts tearing his flesh off and turns into a werewolf. That’s essentially the premise. Fairy tales told, loosely around the dangers of men with a reasonably hefty dose of gore here and there. It’s saving grace for all it’s clunky plot, is it’s pretty well acted and the sets although of their time are well put together. It’s just that the fantasy probably puts off the horror fans and vice versa. It doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. It’s a curious film of patchwork scenes, one featuring Terrance Stamp apparently as the devil, but it doesn’t tie together very well and limps toward an unsatisfying finish. The dogs masquerading as wolves are cute though.
3/10
