Blood & Chocolate (DVD)

This PG-13 werewolf flick for bitches (said in the canine sense, of course) centers on and around young Viv (Agnes Bruckner), a sexy orphan lycan who works in a high-end confectionary boutique in Romania, while reluctantly fighting her animal attraction to a mere mortal called Aiden (Hugh Dancy). Aiden likes to draw cutting-edge supernatural comics and hang out in musty, atmospheric cathedrals when he's not pursuing his "wolf-girl".

In the mix is Viv's slutty-but-sentimental (and oh-so-wise) Aunt Astrid (Katja Riemann); Viv's shapeshifting Eurotrash betrothed Gabriel (Olivier Martinez); and the rest of the frightful fur-pack who hunt by night and quip by day.

The teen-girl's fantasy film definitely keeps the romance center stage, and the horror second — think: a neutered Underworld without the vampires, action, and heavy CGI. Viv is 19 in the movie, and she does horizontal wolf-wiggle … but it's blandly unsexy. Believe it or not the movie is not actually bad; it's just not the type of fierce flick that's going make true horror and supernatural movie fans wag their tails.

The extra features are slim, although there are a ton (about a dozen?) of deleted scenes. Many of them reintroduce a more interesting back story and arc for the Astrid character, but that's about it (and they won't make a lick of sense, unless you view the film first).

The commentary by director Katja Von Garnier and actor Olivier Martinez is "amazing." Yep, that seems to have been the secret word of the day — the wolves used in the film were "amazing"; the real life rock-star who played the Absinthe Club's chanteuse was "amazing"; the genuine Budapest locations were "amazing"; and so on. Although this is generally my favorite kind of commentary (director, and a key actor), I found it far from "amazing." However, for those truly interested in purebred wolves, and wildlife preservation, there are a few informative and tantalizing tidbits to be heard here.

= = =

Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson

Be sure and check out Horror.com's exclusive interviews with the director and film's cast