BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE — * — Agnes Bruckner, Hugh Dancy, Olivier Martinez; rated PG-13 (violence, gore, drugs, vulgarity, profanity, brief nudity, brief sex); Carmike Ritz; Century Sandy and South Salt Lake; Cinemark Jordan Landing; Megaplex 17 and 20.
As werewolf movies go, "Blood and Chocolate" is a real howler.
Part romance, part horror movie, there isn't much chocolate in "Blood and Chocolate," and there isn't really much blood, either, in this less-than-thrilling thriller.
In fact, the film appears to have been heavily edited to receive a more audience-friendly PG-13 rating. But the result looks like a glossy European clothing ad.
Based on Annette Curtis Klause's best-selling fantasy horror novel, the film stars Agnes Bruckner as Vivian, an orphan who's now living in Bucharest and who has grown up with trust issues. An that includes those of her own kind — the Loups-Garoux, better known as werewolves.
Still, she quickly grows attached to Aiden (Hugh Dancy), a scruffy, wandering graphic novelist who's fascinated by the seemingly shy young woman. Unfortunately, their tentative romance hits a few snags along the way, the most serious being Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), the leader of the werewolf clan, who plans to wed Vivian. And he's not about to let his future bride be swept away by a mere human.
The film is heavier on romance than on horror action, but neither aspect works all that well, thanks to German filmmaker Katja von Garnier's MTV-style direction.
And the characters just aren't that interesting. Bruckner pouts through most of the movie, and the marble-mouthed Martinez isn't a very threatening presence.
Worse, the cheesy transformation effects are laughable.
"Blood and Chocolate" is rated PG-13 for scenes of horror violence (shootings, stabbings, animal attacks and explosive mayhem), some gore, drug content (references and hypodermic use), suggestive talk and dance moves, scattered profanity, brief partial female nudity (including some nude photos), and some brief sexual contact. Running time: 89 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com