Blood and Chocolate (2007) ® D: Katja Von Garnier 3 of 5

'Blood and Chocolate' is an adaptation of a young adult's book that dusts off the old forbidden love story line and gives it a fine lair of fur.

Vivian (the cute Agnes Bruckner) is a young woman who loves to run and be free. But her simple life has hides a secret, one that will come into play later. Aiden (Hugh Dancy) is a graphic novel artist roaming Romania searching for art inspiration. Their paths cross in an old church and Aiden immediately becomes smitten with her. After finally getting in the proverbial front door, Aiden soon realizes that Vivian comes from an ancient line of loup-garoux. Secretly through the years the werewolves have ruled Romania after being run out of many other countries. Vivian was promised to the leader of the pack Gabriel (Olivier Martinez) something which she doesn't desire of course. In time Vivian falls for Aiden but the clash of their two worlds and Gabriel's refusal to let her go leads to the final confrontation that just may extinguish the loup-garoux forever.

I can't compare the book and the film but I imagine that things were changed and redone. That's the nature of the beast so to speak. 'Blood and Chocolate' isn't a bad film per se. it just seems to cover the same ground that dozens of other films have tread. Think Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' but with fangs and fur and you have a broad but accurate idea. Two young people involved in forbidden loves while their families, cultures or fate attempt to tear them apart. Been there and done that. Using Romania as the backdrop certainly makes the film more visually pleasing but not enough to move the needle too much higher. The direction is solid but derivative. The acting is adequate. The two leads do a good job as the cursed lovers. The music (a big film component for me) was ultimately transparent and unremarkable. I liked the more magical approach to the transformations (even though it doesn't translate as well as it could) but the script in the end is the big crutch that the film relies on and fails.

In short 'Blood and Chocolate' is a decently acted film that is hindered by its clichéd script and adequate but bland direction.

Watching BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE after sitting through the TWILIGHT saga, it's surprising how much was borrowed from this film in terms of style, mood, and feel. The werewolf transformation sequences are very similar too, and just as cheesy. Sadly, this means that BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE is yet another horror romance in an over-populated genre, and much of it is overly sentimental and rather twee.

The East European setting (the wonderfully Gothic-looking streets of Bucharest) is the most inspirational and interesting thing about this otherwise vapid story. A young girl (Agnes Bruckner from THE WOODS) is part of a werewolf clan who have been living in relative piece for centuries, until she falls in love with an insufferably clear-cut young artist (the insufferably bland Hugh Dancy). Before long, the love affair spells doom for the rest of the clan...

Although this is largely an inoffensive film, there's little to enjoy here. The romantic stuff is hardly of the calibre of Romeo and Juliet and it doesn't help that the characters are resolutely one-dimensional. Olivier Martinez smoulders like a damp firework and fails to bring any kind of magnetism or charm to his role. German director Katja von Garnier fails to bring anything to the film other than some superficial style, and those ultra-cheesy CGI effects do nothing to enhance the experience. Altogether, it's a bit of a bore.

Vivian (Agnes Bruckner) lives in Bucharest, Romania with aunt Astrid (Katja Riemann) who runs a chocolate shop. They are part of a pack of werewolves led by Gabriel (Olivier Martinez). Ten years earlier, Vivian lost her family to hunters in Colorado. The pack follows Gabriel's Law and stays hidden from the human world. Visiting American illustrator Aiden (Hugh Dancy) falls for Vivian but she has been promised for Gabriel. Gabriel's heir Rafe is secretly hunting with his friends against the Law.

Hugh Dancy's boyish smile annoyed me in this movie mainly due to his character's deliberate cluelessness. He is chasing Vivian through the city and is dumb-founded that she's trying to run away from her. He couldn't take a hint even if somebody hits him over the head. A possible solution is to make Aiden the protagonist. We as the audience can learn about this world along with him. We don't have to be so far ahead of him that he becomes an idiot.

I do like the idea of the werewolf in this movie and the Romanian setting. The Romanian shooting does make it more amateurish. The writing is not the best. While the concept has potential, this is strictly B-movie.