She then dreams that her sister is killed by a pack of wolves in the night and this is where the film begins. The dream takes place in the medieval era where she lives with her parents in a fairytale forest. After mourning her sister, she then stays the night at her grandmother’s where she gives her warnings “not to stray away from the path” and “to never trust a man whose eyebrows met”. She then tells her a story about a woman who married a travelling man.
The next day while gathering the laundry outside, the local boy asks her to go for a walk in the forest, telling her that he won’t “stray form the path”. The scene then fades to Rosaleen and her grandmother sitting in the churchyard. She then tells her a story of how a priest's bastard, born feet first on Christmas day with eyebrows that meet in the middle, is destined to meet the devil in the woods.
Accepting his invitation to go for walk where he tries to kiss her. She then kisses him and runs off into the woods, challenging him to catch her for “another”. After losing him, she discovers a tree where she climbs it to find some rouge and a mirror. On the way back to the village, the boy discovers a wolf has killed a cow. Rosaleen's father is furious she's not with him and exchanges blows with the boy's father, but then Rosaleen reappears.
The village men form a hunting party in search for the wolf. As they wait for the men to return, Rosaleen tells her mother a story of how a betrayed, pregnant valley woman (a witch) turns her former noble lover, his new bride and the wedding party into wolves. Her father returns and brings back a severed hand that was originally the forepaw of the deceased wolf
The next day Rosaleen heads off to her Grandmother’s cottage alone, along with a knife to protect her and a basket of food and drink for her Grandmother. On her journey in the forest, she meets a huntsman whose eyebrows meet in the middle. During their picnic, he shows her his compass and challenges her saying that he can find his way to her grandmother's house before she can
The hunter arrives at grandmother's house first. When he arrives Granny immediately realises he is a werewolf. She burns his hand defending herself but then he beheads her. She finds the huntsman in Granny's chair and asks him where she is. He pretends she's just outside, but then her broken glasses fall from his lap and she notices Granny's hair burning in the fire. She shoots him injuring his shoulder, and causing him to turn into a wolf.
Rosaleen takes pity on the wounded beast, noting that his pack is leaving him behind. She sits down, and begins petting the wolf kindly and tenderly and tells him a story about a wounded female werewolf who in human form seeks help from a priest. He takes pity on her, bandages her wound, and she returns to the world below.
When a search party arrives at Granny's house looking for Rosaleen, all they find is a wolf wearing her crucifix. Realising that the wolf must be her daughter, Rosaleen's mother stops them from shooting her. She and the huntsman escape to the forest, joined by a growing pack. Back in the present day, Rosaleen awakes with a scream, wolves apparently breaking through the window of her bedroom.
by
nishitaa1 (student)
