Saturday, May 31, 2014

Vampire Academy kinda sucks

Based on the series of young-adult novels by Richelle Mead, Vampire Academy is a mash-up of Harry Potter, Underworld, and Mean Girls that is far less interesting than it sounds. Set in an actual Vampire Academy, the story centers around a vampire princess (Lucy Fry) and her half-human/half-vampire protector and best-friend (Zoey Deutch) traversing not only the terrors of high school but a much dangerous plot as well.

The confusing tale of vampires, mind-control, magic, teen drama, student vs. teacher dynamics, secrets, and first love is a clunky mess only saved, at times, by Deutch whose charms are wasted on this dog of a film that struggles to make use of a large ensemble which includes Sarah Hyland, Olga Kurylenko, and Gabriel Byrne.

Released on both Blu-ray and DVD, extras include an alternate opening better explaining the three vampiric races, a short introduction by Mead, and a collection of deleted scenes. The Blu-ray also includes an Ultraviolet digital copy of the movie.

[Anchor Bay Entertainment, Blu-ray $39.99 / DVD $29.98]

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