Riddle of Fire

2023
PG-13
1h 55m

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

Phoebe Ferro, Skyler Peters, Lorelei Olivia Mote, and Charlie Stover in Riddle of Fire (2023)

Play trailer2:04

1 Video

99+ Photos

Action Adventure Comedy

Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.Three mischievous children embark on a woodland odyssey when their mother sends them on an errand.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.6/10

1.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 wins & 9 nominations

Trivia
In a 2024 interview with Sci-fi Now, Weston Razooli spoke about his influences for the film: "In terms of filmmakers, one would be François Truffaut, and I wanted to create my version of The 400 Blows (1959), set in the mountains of Wyoming! I also wanted an Akira Kurosawa grandiose adventure quality, sort of like The Hidden Fortress (1958), with a freewheeling, enchanted adventure of sorts, where these characters seem almost lost in the forest. I was also inspired by... The Little Rascals from the 1920's, just shows about funny kids doing funny things. Then I'd have to name the film Where Is the Friend's House? (1987) from Abbas Kiarostami. It's the simplicity of a kid trying to return a friend's notebook to his house that he can't find, and the plot of Riddle of Fire is very similar to that. I am often inspired by the literature of Robin Hood and his merry men kind of just frolicking in the forest on adventures, and Brothers Grimm as well. There's also a board game called The Enchanted Forest which I grew up playing, it has a mysterious and slightly scary quality to it. My brothers, cousins and I used to say it was sort of like Jumanji (1995) where you have to keep playing the game, or else terrible things will happen! I guess it created this thing in our imaginations, bigger than the game itself."

Soundtracks
Riddle of Fire Theme
Written by Hole Dweller
Performed by Hole Dweller
Licensed Courtesy of Tim Rowland

User reviews20

Review

Featured review

8/10

Fun, adventurous storytelling

Is this movie something special? I think some viewers will feel that it is. I think two reasons include: 1) It follows some free-range kids on an "adventure," and 2) The film quality gives it a retro look. These two elements add a sense of nostalgia for filmgoers of a certain age. The fact that the kids just roam the county with no parents checking in on them sets this movie apart from anything else made in a long, long time. There is also a slightly surreal quality to a lot of the scenes; the filmmakers did NOT go for a sense of realism. Instead, the children are able to do and say things that kids would like to be able to do, but never really could in real life. So it's kind of like a stylized way of telling the story from a kid's perspective--kind of like how Night of the Hunter has it's own logic at times. I happened to enjoy it, even when not everything worked 100%. For example, the fabled dance sequence: this should have been a highlight, but I didn't feel like it had the intended effect for me. Still, I very much appreciate that someone was able to get this made, and I would be interested to see what the writer/director does in the future. It's the kind of story I wouldn't mind telling if I were ever to write.