Blood & Chocolate (C or 2/4 stars)
A beautiful werewolf, Vivian (Agnes Bruckner), is torn between honoring her family's secret, and a blossoming love for an artist named Aiden (Hugh Dancy) in 'Blood & Chocolate', a Sci-Fi drama directed by Katja Von Garnier. Vivian is 'loup-garoux', or a shape shifter; one of a dying breed. To keep the lineage going, she is prophesized to marry & have children with Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), leader of the last pack of the loup-garoux. Does she betray her people and pursue a relationship with a human? Who will die because of her pursuit of happiness? The Romanian setting is gorgeous. The morphing of humans into wolves is unique. The premise is interesting enough. But the ending drops it from being a potentially adequate Goth film to selling-out as a hokey action flick.
After her family burned to death in Colorado, Vivian had moved to Romania to work in a low-key chocolate shop & live with her loving Aunt Astrid (Katja Riemann). By night, she patrols Bucharest's underworld nightclubs, trying to stay out of the way of her devilish cousin, Rafe (Bryan Dick). Always up to no good, Rafe and his 'five' cronies scour the streets for young blood, literally. Meanwhile, Vivian runs into Aiden as he's researching & drawing Bucharest's mythology of loup-garoux (how appropriate for this plot, but I digress). She's hesitant to fall in love, but he's insistent in his pursuit of her. This, plus his knowledge and respect of the 'fabled' loup-garoux makes it hard for her to resist him. Still, she's fearful of rejection if he finds out that the 'fable' is true ... and she's one of them.
A string of accidental murders occur and Vivian, Rafe, & Aiden are at the deadly center of it all. Because he's volatile and out for blood, how will Rafe interfere with Aiden? What's of Vivian's future? Will she prevent extinction by marrying Gabriel or will she allow herself to fall in love with a pure human? Can she escape the clutches of Gabriel? What lengths will Gabriel go to to prevent her and Aiden from being together?
There is a lot to admire in 'Blood & Chocolate'. I enjoy vampire and/or werewolf stories, there's a 'misunderstood monster' intrigue for me. You have your cliches: 1) they stalk their prey at night. 2) Blood is a sort of aphrodisiac. 3) Silver can kill them, etc.. The lead characters have eye-candy appeal. I enjoy the lush visuals, the exotic/gothic nature of the film, the cobblestone streets & the moody colors. Philosophically, the idea of sustaining your lineage vs. star-crossed love is neat. However, this is not a great movie. The acting is shoddy, the screenplay is lacking in substance. But I was interested enough until the predictably bad shoot 'em up action-styled conclusion. This silly horror/romance story could have been better, but it is leagues ahead of the nightmare that was 2004's Van Helsing.
After her family burned to death in Colorado, Vivian had moved to Romania to work in a low-key chocolate shop & live with her loving Aunt Astrid (Katja Riemann). By night, she patrols Bucharest's underworld nightclubs, trying to stay out of the way of her devilish cousin, Rafe (Bryan Dick). Always up to no good, Rafe and his 'five' cronies scour the streets for young blood, literally. Meanwhile, Vivian runs into Aiden as he's researching & drawing Bucharest's mythology of loup-garoux (how appropriate for this plot, but I digress). She's hesitant to fall in love, but he's insistent in his pursuit of her. This, plus his knowledge and respect of the 'fabled' loup-garoux makes it hard for her to resist him. Still, she's fearful of rejection if he finds out that the 'fable' is true ... and she's one of them.
A string of accidental murders occur and Vivian, Rafe, & Aiden are at the deadly center of it all. Because he's volatile and out for blood, how will Rafe interfere with Aiden? What's of Vivian's future? Will she prevent extinction by marrying Gabriel or will she allow herself to fall in love with a pure human? Can she escape the clutches of Gabriel? What lengths will Gabriel go to to prevent her and Aiden from being together?
There is a lot to admire in 'Blood & Chocolate'. I enjoy vampire and/or werewolf stories, there's a 'misunderstood monster' intrigue for me. You have your cliches: 1) they stalk their prey at night. 2) Blood is a sort of aphrodisiac. 3) Silver can kill them, etc.. The lead characters have eye-candy appeal. I enjoy the lush visuals, the exotic/gothic nature of the film, the cobblestone streets & the moody colors. Philosophically, the idea of sustaining your lineage vs. star-crossed love is neat. However, this is not a great movie. The acting is shoddy, the screenplay is lacking in substance. But I was interested enough until the predictably bad shoot 'em up action-styled conclusion. This silly horror/romance story could have been better, but it is leagues ahead of the nightmare that was 2004's Van Helsing.