Directed by: Jared Cohn
Starring: Eric Balfour, Bianca A. Santos, Romeo Miller, Patrick Muldoon
Studio: The Asylum
Runtime: 1h 28min
Little Dead Rotting Hood is exactly what it sounds like — a low-budget, horror reimagining of the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale, complete with werewolves, clichés, and cheesy gore. Released by The Asylum, the studio best known for intentionally outrageous B-movies like Sharknado, this film delivers a mashup of fantasy and horror that’s entertaining in parts, but largely collapses under its own absurdity.
Set in a small, foggy town bordering a mysterious forest, the story follows the aftermath of a young girl’s death — Red (Bianca A. Santos) — and the strange creature attacks that begin shortly afterward. As bodies pile up, the local sheriff (Eric Balfour) must unravel the truth behind an ancient curse, one that involves Red’s grandmother, dark forest rituals, and the return of a werewolf-like creature with glowing eyes and a thirst for blood.
But the real twist? Red doesn’t stay dead. She returns — changed. Now part-human, part-monster, she must decide whether to destroy the evil or become part of it.
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Bianca A. Santos gives it her best as Red, but is let down by a script that doesn't give her much to do beyond growling and glaring.
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Eric Balfour delivers a wooden performance as the sheriff, whose main job is to look confused and hold a shotgun.
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Patrick Muldoon, as the town mayor, seems to enjoy chewing through his scenes with melodramatic flair.
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Romeo Miller plays a deputy with zero development — mostly present to be wolf bait.
Being a The Asylum production, expectations for CGI and effects should be kept low. The werewolf costumes and transformation scenes are more laughable than frightening, with rubbery makeup, awkward editing, and dim lighting used to hide the flaws.
Director Jared Cohn tries to inject some tension through tight shots and slow reveals, but the result feels clunky and uneven. The pacing sags in the middle, and jump scares come off as predictable rather than effective.
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Subversion of fairy tales
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Female transformation and revenge
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Nature vs. civilization
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Ancient curses and small-town ignorance
While the film does attempt to modernize the tale of Little Red Riding Hood by turning her into a vengeful undead anti-hero, the execution is too shallow to land any real thematic weight.
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Fun concept with campy horror potential
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A few entertaining kills for creature-feature fans
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Occasionally eerie setting (the misty forest)
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Short runtime keeps things moving
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Weak acting and dialogue
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Unconvincing creature effects
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Paper-thin character development
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Tonal inconsistency (too serious for a spoof, too silly for real horror)
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Predictable and cliché-ridden plot
Little Dead Rotting Hood tries to ride the wave of horror fairy tale reimaginings but ends up being more of a howl of frustration than a scream of terror. Unless you’re a fan of so-bad-it’s-good creature features, this movie is unlikely to satisfy horror buffs or fantasy fans.
It’s a film that could’ve embraced its absurdity more fully but instead takes itself just seriously enough to be boring at times. Watch it with friends, some popcorn, and very low expectations — you might find a laugh or two in the woods
