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After her parents are hunted down and killed in their home in the States, Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) is brought to Romania to live in safety with her aunt, Astrid (Katja Riemann), and her cousin, Rafe (Bryan Dick). Now 19, Vivian seems like just a normal girl. She goes to work during the day, and she goes out at night. But Vivian isn’t like every other girl. She’s a werewolf—and she’s destined to become the wife of leader of their pack, Gabriel (Olivier Martinez).
One night, Vivian meets Aiden (Hugh Dancy), a handsome American artist who’s intrigued by Romania’s fascination with werewolves—and he’s decided to use them as the subject of his next graphic novel. Aiden is immediately attracted to Vivian—and though she tries to run away from him, he won’t leave her alone. Eventually, she gives in and agrees to see him, but she spends her time with him in constant fear that her cousin (or worse, Gabriel) will see them together—or that Aiden will find out who she really is.
When Rafe finds out about his cousin’s new boyfriend, he goes straight to Gabriel, and the two decide that they’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of Aiden.
Based on the teen novel by Annette Curtis Klause, Blood and Chocolate isn’t the gruesome horror film you might expect from something involving werewolves. In fact, it’s hard to categorize this one. My best guess is Teen Werewolf Romance. Basically, it’s a fluffy horror movie for teenage girls—it’s a little bit scary, but not much, and there’s plenty of fluffy teen romance (and a cute, scruffy teenage boy). If you’re not a teenage girl, though, you might find it a bit flat. The story isn’t bad, but it’s not exactly exhilarating, either. The writing isn’t all that bad, though some of the lines are a bit perplexing. The effects are pretty cheesy—and I couldn’t help but laugh (just a little bit—and not nearly as loudly as the people sitting ahead of me) every time the werewolves flew through the air and transformed into wolves.
Blood and Chocolate isn’t a brilliant film—but it’s not a horrible film, either. I expected it to be the kind of horror movie that’s so bad it’s hilarious—but it’s not. Sure, I got a laugh out of it from time to time, but it’s not that bad. And if I were still a teenage girl, I’d actually probably like it. The story is interesting enough, and the characters are likeable (and did I mention there’s a cute, scruffy teenage boy?). And though there’s obviously some violence, it’s not nearly as graphic or as gruesome as it could have been. (Teenage boys take note: this is a great date movie—as long as you can keep from laughing at the cheesy parts.) That said, though, unless you’re a teenage girl—or unless you’re taking your teenage daughter to see it—don’t bother.
