A Campy Best Friends Movie is ‘Vampire Academy’(plus There’s Romance)
Campy supernatural films are not my cup of tea. But this time of year, I do either look a bunch up or watch one or two for the purpose of topical list-making. This is where this adaptation of Vampire Academy comes in, a film that didn’t perform well, but does have plenty of vampire-y things for those who like that.
Vampire Academy (2014) Film Review
The protector of the princess, Rose Hathaway (Zoey Duetch) would and does do anything for Vasilisa Dragomir (Lucy Fry), and they rarely spend time apart. But their bond goes deeper than protector and protectee. They’re also the best of friends. Though she cannot remember why, this is why Rose secrets away Lissa from the academy both girl’s attend. They’re living on the run until the dhampir, Dimitri (Danila Kozlovsky) hunts them down and returns them to the school.
Once there, the girls’ adjust to life at the academy again, all while Rose tries to hone and strengthen her skills under tutor Dimitri; and Lissa finds herself falling for the most unexpected person.
As previously stated, I’m not a vampire movie kind of girl. They’re just not something I like, but I have seen a one (or two) such films, now including this 2014 angsty teen dramedy. This one explores different races within the vampire sect which includes Rose’s, the dhampir (half human, half vampire); the Moroi, which is part of the royal blood that runs in Lissa’s family; and the Strigoi, the evil ones that Lissa must be protected from at any cost. vampire academy
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A Campy Best Friends Movie is ‘Vampire Academy’ (plus There's Romance). A review of the 2014 adaptation. #Movies #Halloween #WhattoWatch #VampireAcademy #ZoeyDuetch Share on XFrom what I remember of this film, it did not do well at the box office. But when I go back and look at Amazon stats, it seems to be super viewer popular. Either way, it’s not hard to see why this may have had a lackluster showing. It doesn’t really put forth the best effort in terms of production, but for anyone who likes campy, angsty teen dramas (that are also supernatural), then this might be it. I find some of the underlying aspects quite creepy (like the “blood” bits), but then, that’s just me.
The cast is pretty solid and I loved seeing Zoey in something pre her “breakout” role in Netflix’s Set It Up. She has the same kind of persona here, but maybe not quite as practiced. Also fun for those who follow her career, Sarah Hyland co-stars. The guys are interesting, but not as memorable as I’d hoped they’d be. Oh! And though limited, Claire Foy also appears, in what I suspect is meant to be a kind of important role to a lead-in for a sequel (that never happened). vampire academy
If you read the books (I did not) or you like other supernatural-esque films like Fallen, you may enjoy this one. It’s got some strength to its friendships, but the theme just isn’t my jam.
Content: there’s vampire/supernatural things like the sucking blood, and other creepy things. A scene or two gets “intense” with hand-to-hand combat. There’s one sensual scene in which a girl removes her dress and makes out with a half-naked man; it’s all under a spell. The film is PG-13.
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