LITTLE RED (3-page short horror screenplay) by Daniel Piller

Alone on a rescue mission, Little Red Riding Hood ventures through a ruined fairy-tale world and encounters old enemies.

When we hear “fairy tale” being used in a sentence, it’s often used to describe something magical, surreal and fantastical – like a wondrous dream come true. Everyone wants that fairy tale wedding. People dream of meeting their “Prince Charming”. Or having some sort of fairy-tale ending to an important chapter in their lives.

When we think of fairy tales, we often associate it with something whimsical and innocent. I’m sure Disney’s interpretations of fairy tales over the past century or so such as Cindarella, Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs and Sleeping Beauty have something to do with that. But the origins of these fairy tales are much, much darker and much, much more frightening. Now, there have been some darker interpretations of these tales in recent years – 2019’s horror telling of Hansel & Gretel, for one. And there have been various modernized takes on Little Red Riding Hood – the R-rated, wildly violent 90’s flick, Freeway with Reese Witherspoon as “Little Red” and Kiefer Sutherland portraying the “Big Bad Wolf” in the form of a serial killer who picks up hitchhikers.

But I can’t say I’ve ever seen or read an interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood that combined modern and classical elements the way that Daniel Piller’s cleverly-written version of the classic tale, Little Red, does.

The story begins with a very light and whimsical tone, the warm delivery of its narrator introducing us to this magical, fairy-tale world where the forest is vibrant and full of beautiful colors, birds singing joyously…

Fast asleep on a tree stump sits LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, 12, with her picnic basket next to her.

That’s when Little Red snaps awake and we’re brought into the present day, where she wakes up in a gloomy, dying forest void of life – the grass littered with dead songbirds scattered around like dead leaves.I doubt Disney would approve of the world presented to us in this version.

Cut, bruised and bleeding, we follow Little Red through this dark, post-apocalyptic forest, the tone of the narrator’s voice changing as it continues to provide us with context as she trudges towards Grandma’s house to rescue her…

She holds out her open palm to catch some snowflakes, only to see–

She observes the blackish, twisted branches above her, then notices the fading sunlight. It is dusk.

But, as the narrator later states, in some ways, the tale has stayed the same as Little Red approaches Grandma’s house, wolves howling in the distance, their big, glowing, yellow eyes staring out at her as they lurk in the darkness.

But this version of Little Red Riding Hood isn’t some helpless, innocent little girl just waiting to be devoured by wolves – she’s adapted to this frightening, post fairy-tale world. And she knows that, in order to survive and save Grandma, she needs to be just as ruthless as the villains and monsters that wait for her in the darkness. We see that she means business when she expertly assembles a machine gun as if she were a trained soldier in the midst of war.

Though this is a very dark interpretation, the story does invoke a feeling of hope as Little Red gets herself ready for battle – she is a legit bad-ass. And we get the sense that she’ll be able to take on whatever comes her way.

Highly atmospheric and wildly creative, Little Red is an interpretation of the classic fairy tale that truly deserves to be SEEN and not just read.

BUDGET: Low to medium. This script would be a great way for any visual effects artist to have a field day and show off their stuff – mainly with the colorful surroundings of the forest.

ABOUT THE WRITER: Daniel Piller is an aspiring screenwriter from Germany, who has been in love with storytelling for most of his life. While he enjoys to explore different genres, his scripts often feature crimes and various hardships, with an emphasis on complex, yet relatable characters. In the last few years, he has become more serious about improving and sharing his writing and hopes to entertain readers and eventually viewers with his work. Daniel can be reached at: kid_threepwood (a) web.de

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About the Reviewer: Michael J. Kospiah is the award-winning screenwriter of critically acclaimed indie-thriller, The Suicide Theory (79% Rotten Tomatoes – available on Amazon Prime, Itunes, Google Play, etc) and 2020’s upcoming Aussie thriller, Rage. His horror feature, They Never Left is currently in development.