Two Horror Films from Sony

Blood and Chocolate (June 5/07)

Blood and Chocolate's shallow and superficial vibe - which persists throughout its running time - ultimately prevents the movie from establishing itself as anything more than a mildly amusing time-waster, yet there's little doubt that the whole thing never becomes quite as bad as one might've suspected. This is primarily due to Agnes Bruckner's expectedly superb performance and Katja von Garnier's intermittently stylish directorial choices; it's subsequently clear that both women deserve far better material than this, as there's just no denying that the movie has been geared primarily towards bubble-headed teenaged girls. Bruckner plays Vivian, a modern-day werewolf who's torn between loyalty to her clan (led by Olivier Martinez's Gabriel) and her romantic feelings towards a mortal (Hugh Dancy's Aiden). Based on the novel by Annette Curtis Klause, Blood and Chocolate does possess a few better-than-expected action sequences (particularly one in which a hapless drug peddler is pursued by dozens of werewolves) and the tentative relationship between Vivian and Aiden is fairly involving (albeit in a predictable, movie-of-the-week sort of way). But the inclusion of an overtly frenetic finale leaves the proceedings with a sour aftertaste, and there's just no getting around the feeling that the film's positives are ultimately outweighed by its negatives.

Saddled with a toothless PG-13 rating and a shockingly uneventful screenplay, The Messengers quickly establishes itself as the latest in a long line of atmospheric yet thoroughly dull modern horror flicks. Oxide and Danny Pang's efforts to liven things up with brief bursts of style prove fruitless, as Mark Wheaton's screenplay is just irredeemably uneventful and - ultimately - hopelessly derivative (the third act is essentially The Shining set in a farmhouse). The film's plot - which follows a dysfunctional family as they move into a country home that's clearly haunted - generally doesn't have much to offer in terms of surprises, although there are a few admittedly interesting touches here and there (ie the central character, Kristen Stewart's Jess, starts to wonder if she's losing her mind when it's revealed that nobody else can see the ghosts). But Wheaton simply proves unwilling (or unable) to offer up anything even resembling a compelling storyline; by the time the film essentially morphs into a bad afterschool special, with Jess becoming increasingly mopey over the fact that nobody believes her, there's little doubt that The Messengers has become a particularly egregious example of everything that's wrong with contemporary horror.