"Blood and Chocolate" is a stylish werewolf flick with really good looking people in a really cool looking city. My review is over.
Oh, imdb says I have to blab a few more lines. Fine.
It's hard not to mention the "Twilight" films because, like Twilight, "Blood and Chocolate" is one of the earliest films that portrayed monsters as slick, young, well-dressed GQ/Cosmo looking supermodels. That itself is a really cool spin that added a lot to the horror genre. But make note: "Blood and Chocolate" came a year before Twilight. Another point worth pondering is that "Blood and Chocolate" uses a really cool setting: the archaic yet oddly modern streets of Bucharest, Romania which put you in a timeless state of mind. For what it aims to do, this film has the perfect vibe.
The story is about a reluctant werewolf, or "loup-garou" as they are called here in the proper French, named "Vivian" (Agnes Bruckner in one of her earliest starring roles) who is coming of age and soon to be subjected to a bizarre, um, mating ritual involving a thousand year old dude. At the same time she meets a normal human boy named "Aiden" (Hugh Dancy who pulls off an impressive American accent) who awakens her to the possibility of living her own life.
Yes, we have seen werewolf/vampire/monster love stories before, but for some reason this one really felt right. It's not sappy or overdone with a lot of melodramatic heartthrob scenes, but rather the focus is on how Vivian confronts her existence and her "destiny" as well as her guilt from past events.
Vivian and Aiden are both very magnetic characters to us. We instantly connect with them on some human level, and that's what makes this an engaging film--more than your standard eye-candy mindless werewolf flick. Equally memorable is "Rafe" (Bryan Dick) who is the main antagonist; he plays Vivian's cousin and presumed stepbrother-to-be but with a chilling sort of lover's jealousy as he makes up his mind to kill Vivian's love interest.
The story has a few other sideplots that add even more emotional intrigue, such as the character of "Astrid" (Katja Riemann) who is Vivian's mother-figure, but she is slowly losing her youth and charm as her own husband becomes infatuated with Vivian. How's that for an Electra complex? Yes, there's definitely a lot going on here, and if it were the real world I'm sure Vivian would end up in therapy for the rest of her life. But in the Blood & Chocolate world, she copes by making chocolate and occasionally killing people.
I definitely recommend this flick to anyone who enjoys digging below the surface. This seemingly straightforward teen werewolf flick has some interesting complexity going on. Acting is fantastic all around. I was already an Agnes Bruckner fan from her debut feature "Blue Car" (2002), but even the other actors whom I hadn't seen before did a great job. And of course the city of Bucharest is marvelous.
My only criticism is not with the film itself but the whole werewolf story. Wolves are just too cute. I kept finding myself watching the terrifying pack hunting scenes and thinking "DAWWWWR <3 <3 <3 PUPPY DOGGGG" Note to filmmakers: maybe it would be more effective to create a hideous unnatural looking beast like in the classic "An American Werewolf in London". Just a thought.
Oh, imdb says I have to blab a few more lines. Fine.
It's hard not to mention the "Twilight" films because, like Twilight, "Blood and Chocolate" is one of the earliest films that portrayed monsters as slick, young, well-dressed GQ/Cosmo looking supermodels. That itself is a really cool spin that added a lot to the horror genre. But make note: "Blood and Chocolate" came a year before Twilight. Another point worth pondering is that "Blood and Chocolate" uses a really cool setting: the archaic yet oddly modern streets of Bucharest, Romania which put you in a timeless state of mind. For what it aims to do, this film has the perfect vibe.
The story is about a reluctant werewolf, or "loup-garou" as they are called here in the proper French, named "Vivian" (Agnes Bruckner in one of her earliest starring roles) who is coming of age and soon to be subjected to a bizarre, um, mating ritual involving a thousand year old dude. At the same time she meets a normal human boy named "Aiden" (Hugh Dancy who pulls off an impressive American accent) who awakens her to the possibility of living her own life.
Yes, we have seen werewolf/vampire/monster love stories before, but for some reason this one really felt right. It's not sappy or overdone with a lot of melodramatic heartthrob scenes, but rather the focus is on how Vivian confronts her existence and her "destiny" as well as her guilt from past events.
Vivian and Aiden are both very magnetic characters to us. We instantly connect with them on some human level, and that's what makes this an engaging film--more than your standard eye-candy mindless werewolf flick. Equally memorable is "Rafe" (Bryan Dick) who is the main antagonist; he plays Vivian's cousin and presumed stepbrother-to-be but with a chilling sort of lover's jealousy as he makes up his mind to kill Vivian's love interest.
The story has a few other sideplots that add even more emotional intrigue, such as the character of "Astrid" (Katja Riemann) who is Vivian's mother-figure, but she is slowly losing her youth and charm as her own husband becomes infatuated with Vivian. How's that for an Electra complex? Yes, there's definitely a lot going on here, and if it were the real world I'm sure Vivian would end up in therapy for the rest of her life. But in the Blood & Chocolate world, she copes by making chocolate and occasionally killing people.
I definitely recommend this flick to anyone who enjoys digging below the surface. This seemingly straightforward teen werewolf flick has some interesting complexity going on. Acting is fantastic all around. I was already an Agnes Bruckner fan from her debut feature "Blue Car" (2002), but even the other actors whom I hadn't seen before did a great job. And of course the city of Bucharest is marvelous.
My only criticism is not with the film itself but the whole werewolf story. Wolves are just too cute. I kept finding myself watching the terrifying pack hunting scenes and thinking "DAWWWWR <3 <3 <3 PUPPY DOGGGG" Note to filmmakers: maybe it would be more effective to create a hideous unnatural looking beast like in the classic "An American Werewolf in London". Just a thought.