I'm working on a modern-day retelling of Little Red Riding hood, set at and around a campsite in an isolated location. The setting is fairly unusual, featuring remote populations, shaman curses and growing paranoia within a small group of people. I am now trying to work out the details of the plot before I start writing, and am wondering how cliché I can make it without disappointing readers? The original story only has a limited number of protagonists, making the identity of the 'wolf' a fairly easy mystery to solve. I guess what I'm trying to say is, the mystery in my story has the credibility potential of a Scooby Doo episode. I was originally planning on basing the story on the song Lil' Red Riding Hood (by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs). In other words, figuring out the identity of the 'wolf' would only be part of the plot, which would mostly focus on Red Riding Hood's journey of self-discovery (as corny as it sounds. This is a fairy tale, people). If I focus it on the growing paranoia within the campsite, and the journey of the main character, do you think I get away with a somewhat predictable solution to a mystery?
IMO, only if it's predictable in an engrossing, fascinating way. Example: The movie Apollo 13 - everyone knew the ending, knew what happened, and yet you still had people sitting on the edges of their seats. I could site dozens of other examples. It's not so much about the outcome, but the journey involved getting there.
Angela Carter managed it very well: her reworkings of fairy stories are amongst the best short fiction of the last century. If you haven't read any of her stuff, might I recommend The Bloody Chamber collection? I'm sure you would get some good ideas from her.
