Review of Blood and Chocolate (2007) by Jessie C — 10 Mar 2013

Directed by Katja von Garnier (Abgeschminkt! (1993) and Bandits (1997)), this adaptation of Annette Curtis Klause's 1997 teen novel had been in development hell for nearly a decade, going through nearly a dozen directors and potential leads before the producers finally got around to adapting it.

So much was changed from the original novel, that it should have been given a different title, but it has a few cheesy moments. Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) is 19 years old and has the power to turn into a werewolf, she's recently moved to Bucharest to live with her Aunt Astrid (Katja Riemann), who can also turn into a werewolf.

Her mate was Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), who left Astrid, but now has his eyes set on Vivian. Meanwhile, Vivian has started a relationship with comic book artist Aiden (Hugh Dancy), who is smitten with Vivian, but he doesn't know her secret.

Astrid's son with Gabriel, Rafe (Bryan Dick), finds out about Vivian and Aiden's relationship, and tries to put a stop to it, for Aiden's own safety, but Gabriel has plans of his own for Vivian.

It is a sort of precursor for what was to come in the Twilight films, only this is done on a much lower budget, and it shows in places. It's too dull to be classed as a guilty pleasure too, plus studio interference and poor distribution saw that this sadly sank without a trace at the box office.