the best horror fairy tale adaptation ⋆˚🐾˖°

ever since i started alice: madness returns (highly recommend btw!) ive been on the lookout for more darker fairy tale adaptations that are done well. the freeway movie (1996) is a perfect example of this :D

it's an adaptation of little red riding hood, with reese witherspoon as little red and kiefer sutherland as the big bad wolf. the big difference is that it takes place in 1990s white trash california, and the wolf is actually a predator serial killer going after women on the freeway (hence the title). little red is instead a highschooler named vanessa that is trying to find her estranged grandmother to take care of her after her parents get arrested.

for some reason, i seem to be drawn to media about girls named vanessa being "imperfect" victims of creepy ass predators (my dark vanessa).

that's actually what i really like about freeway. vanessa beats the life out of anyone who tries to take advantage of her (literally), and it's very cathartic to watch. i think the film also does a pretty good job on pointing out the flaws in the u.s. justice system when it comes to situations that aren't perfectly clear cut, and victims that don't follow our expectations of how they should act when attacked. i'm just happy she makes it out at the end :D

the only criticism i have is that they kill off her boyfriend quite early on, for seemingly no reason? he's the only black character other than a pervy cop, and his death doesn't do much to serve the plot. at least, not in ways that could be replaced with his actual living character. but, to be fair, it's a 30 year old movie, so maybe i'm holding it to a too-high standard?