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Some reviewers – such as those critiquing at InSession.com, NYC Movie Guru.com, and ScreenDaily.com – are a little bonkers over the film, which is being described in some publicity-type-blurbs-and-such as a contemporary and timely “re-imagining” of the Little Red Riding Hood fable.
Hmmm. The moral of “Little Red Riding Hood,” according to most descriptions and definitions, is that children, especially young girls, must be cautious of strangers. The animal reference hints strongly at sexual innuendos. {The recent tsunami of “Breaking News Headlines” about the Epstein debauchery should come to mind.} While strangers may appear to be “tame, obliging, and gentle,” they will eventually bare their teeth and eat up innocent young girls. In some accounts using this fable, the strangers may be male relatives or family members – or friends.
Also, TO KILL A WOLF – announced as a debut film by Kelsey Taylor – has garnished awards on the festival circuit: Best Director and Nominee Best Feature at 2024 Bendfilm fest, and Best Film American Regional Competition at Film Fest Knox, and Best Cinematography and EDA Award for Best Female-Director Feature Film at 2024 TallGrass Film Festival and Grand Jury Best Performance for a Male at 2024 Best of Portland Film Festival and an award at Gasparilla International Film Film Festival.
This writer’s review in Part 2 doesn’t deny its finesse. This reviewer was nearly blown away by a profoundly and enduring ending that drew him, centrifugally, to the edge of his seat. Yet, this reviewer can only give it 2.5 to 3 stars out of 5. What’s up with that, many might wonder? Again, check out Part 2.
A Synoptic Pinch: On the fringes of the Oregon wilderness, fate connects a reclusive woodsman to a wounded female teen runaway: The woodsman (played smartly by Ivan Martin) discovers the teenage runaway – Dani (played diligently by Maddison Brown) – unconscious in a remote woodsy area where, it appears, humans rarely tread. How did she get there? And why?
After rescuing her, he eventually agrees to take the teen to her grandmother with whom the teen says she has been living with. As they make their way across the state in his van, a human-to-human bond evolves that helps them deal with rigors awaiting them, rigors that they are yet to realize. There are beaucoup cinematic surprises in this film and as they show up in the course of the story; they helped this reviewer to fend off the ennui that kept gnawing away at the threads holding this 92-minuter-plus together. This is a not bad movie … but it could have been so much better with editing trimming away excess footage.
Written and Directed by Kelsey Taylor
Starring Maddison Brown, Ivan Martin, Michael Esper, Kaitlin Doubleday
Produced by Adam Lee, Kelsey Taylor, Ricky Fosheim, Zach Golden
Executive Produced by Joseph Restaino, Tony Stopperan, Jay Burnley, Chelsea Tieu, Mark Fuell, Katherine Waddell, Felix Dashevsky, Jeremy Walton, David Lyons, Ivan Martin, Maddison Brown, Dena Platis, Georgina Campbell, Kate Coyne, Tom Lee
Cinematography by Adam Lee
Edited by Dawson Taylor
Music by Sara Barone, Forest Christenson
Director’s Statement: The Gospel According to Kelsey Taylor About Her Debut Feature Film
Who-What-Where-When-Why-How: As long as I can remember, I’ve loved fairy tales. I’m fascinated by the stories that people pass down from one generation to the next that tell us what is fair, what to fear, and how to live. Which brings me to the inspiration for TO KILL A WOLF.
Director Kelsey Taylor
“TO KILL A WOLF” is a modern re-imagining of Red Riding Hood told through the nuanced lens of teenage sexual grooming. Tonally, it’s like a book of Grimm’s fairy tales found in a seedy roadside motel. While this film draws from the fairy tale for inspiration, it stays grounded in a dark reality. I wanted to capture the wonder, the mystique of a fairy tale but keep it grounded in a very real world where everyone lives in the gray.
In developing the story, I found myself wondering what kind of story inspired a tale like Red Riding Hood. What was the original, complicated truth that inspired a simple tale of a girl who strays from the path. From this story we know we must do as our mother says, stay on the path, don’t talk to strangers…
But in the real world the path is not as clear cut. Mothers abandon their children, strangers may be our only salvation, and we must question the intentions of those that come to our rescue. This is a story of abandonment, abuse, redemption and the strange way love ties it all together.
My hope for my directorial debut is to find a dark resonance with audiences who have been affected by abusive relationships and conversely, to expose some hard truths for those who haven’t. I hope the film encourages conversations that make victims feel less alone and reassures impressionable young people that sometimes they might find themselves in places they never intended to go.
The seemingly simple takeaway of Little Red Riding Hood is that children should be wary of strangers– strangers who will take advantage and lead us from the path of virtue. Through “TO KILL A WOLF,” audiences are invited to take a more nuanced look at the black and white messaging of the original fairytale and the very real dangers that vulnerable young women encounter, not just from strangers, but from within the safety of their own families.
One startling statistic from RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is that “females ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.” Possibly more devastating, is that *93% of child sexual abuse reported to law enforcement are by perpetrators known to the victim. And of that percentage, *34% are family members.
This is not a subject many people want to discuss, and this makes it particularly difficult for victims to speak about their experiences, especially when it has occurred within their family. The shame traps the experience inside victims and often leads to them blaming themselves.
The goal of “TO KILL A WOLF” is to show the power of speaking up, not necessarily through confrontation, every situation is different – but by sharing the burden, we open the door to truly healing. Though we know this film will resonate with those who have had such experiences, we hope this narrative will also lead to a better understanding of this nuanced topic for a broader audience.
— Kelsey Taylor, June, 2025
Click Here for More About TO KILL A WOLF
Click here for Part 2: Straight Up Film Review
the WORD Editor Gregg W. Morris