Blood & Chocolate | REVIEW

There’s something very cool about werewolves. They’re scary, yes, but are also cool in a way. And please, if any there’s anyone who’s a werewolf and is reading this post, please don’t come after me for saying you’re cool. I like to see you guys on TV, where you can’t leap at me with bloodshot eyes and razor-sharp claws. Let’s just keep it at that, alright, I never said I had any intention of meet any of you in person. Are we clear? Alright? Alright.

Blood & Chocolate is the story of young Vivian, a member of a supernatural race called the loup-garoux, better known as werewolves, who hide their true identity and live as members of the human populace. Her family is murdered in the United States because of their bloodline, yet she survives and is brought back to Bucharest where werewolves are revered rather than shunned. But unlike others in her clan, Vivian sees no sense in the violent, animalistic killings, and her meeting with a graphic novelist only amplifies her doubts towards the ways of her people.

I heard very bad things about Blood & Chocolate. I heard that is has a bad storyline and isn't up to standards, being hyped as a movie from the creators of Underworld and Underworld Evolution. Personally, I like Blood & Chocolate. Seriously. I’ve begun to notice that movies outside the mainstream pipeline really tend to concentrate on powerful storytelling rather than being bombarded with pointless CGI and visual effects. Blood & Chocolate is helmed by Katja von Garnier, a German director whose only other American production is Iron Jawed Angels (2005). She does a wonderful job at composing very beautiful shots. I just like the camera angles and overall cinematography. It may have been produced by the ‘Underworld-guys’, but it’s nowhere near the Underworld budget. Yet it looks beautiful in terms of color and the way the scenes are shot in Bucharest. You have to see it to know what I’m talking about. If there’s one thing I like from these smaller productions that never get a proper mention compared to bigger blockbusters, it’s the cinematography. There’s a lot of focus on the color of things, the way the sunshine bounces off certain objects and the way the lights look at night. It makes a film look very real, very down-to-earth, but it’s not overdone meaning the film is still very pleasing to look at.

What really impressed me was the fact that Katja von Garnier was adamant to use real wolves while filming. She could have easily vied for CG wolves which would have made filming much easier in terms of training the animals and getting them to cooperate. It’s not as easy as one might think. Remember the scene in Transformers where Sam Witwicky is being chased by dogs? Those dogs actually began chasing him, for real! And dogs are supposed to be domestic animals. Back to Blood & Chocolate, yes, real wolves were used instead of 3D ones. And to top that, Katja actually took the bandwagon to Bucharest to shoot this thing. She had other options, but she wanted to shoot in the same location that the movie was based in. And Bucharest is certified eye-candy, or in this case, eye-chocolate.

The downside to this movie is the deviation from the original source material, which in this case is the novel of the same name written by Annete Curtis Klause. It deviates to such an extent that it can hardly be called an adaptation at all. It merely draws inspiration from the novel while changing everything from names to pivotal characteristics and characters' relations to one another. In fact, the main baddie in Blood & Chocolate is somewhat of a good guy when it comes to the novel. There’s just too many differences to list down here, and also listing them down would spoil the movie for you. For those who have read the novel, Blood & Chocolate is a disappointment to say the least. But if you look at it as a standalone film that has not a single connection to the origins, then I’m sure it’s enjoyable. It’s likeable because it isn’t the regular werewolf story. It tells a different tale about the seemingly bloodthirsty creatures. They have traditions and culture and are, at times, more blessed than cursed.

Because of its relatively low budget, Blood & Chocolate doesn’t depend on high-end CGI to deliver its story. That’s why the film looks grounded and realistic. Of course the transformations into werewolves apply some visual effects, but the filmmakers were smart enough to not make it look amateurish. Take a look and you’ll see. Again, it’s not top-notch effects, but it’s nice to see that directors like Katja know how to work around a low budget; something that some directors might perceive as a nightmare.

Not everyone liked Blood & Chocolate, as it bombed at the box-office. It received a shipload of negative feedback and was very poorly accepted by moviegoers. Only a selected bunch seemed to enjoy the movie as much as I did. Sure, I like big-budget productions too and Blood & Chocolate wouldn’t ever make it into my list of Top-20 movies, but it isn’t a complete disaster as some would deem it. It has a good story, believe it or not, and it applies a very nice way to tell it. Ask me and I’d say “go watch it”. I’m not sure if it’s worth buying the DVD, but in this modern era, there are other ways of watching a movie. I’m not saying any more. Give it a peek and you might find that it’s a pretty good piece of work.
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Wrap : Blood & Chocolate gets a 3.3 out of 5.0. Trust me, it’s better than you’d expect it to be. Unless your expectations are way outta’ proportion.