Vampire Academy - DVD

Movie: There are moments when Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch) wishes she was a normal teenage girl with normal teenage problems. But Rose is a dhampir - half-human, half-vampire - whose job is to protect the life of her best friend, Lissa Dragomir (Lucy Fry). For Lissa is a Moroi and the last living member of the Dragomir family. And just because of that, she has become the object of desire for the evil Strigoi vampires, who must drink the blood of Moroi vampires for their immortality and seek to wipe out their twelve royal families forever. Within the walls of St. Vladimir`s Academy, the girls were supposed to be safe and trained for their future destinies. But evil is already closer than the girls would like. The fact that Rose is also hormonally distracted by her new coach and mentor Dimitri (Danila Kozlovsky) doesn`t make things any easier...

Vampire Academy is based on the book series of the same name by Richelle Mead, which is extremely popular with some younger readers in particular. Mark Waters (Girls Club) has taken the first volume, Blood Sisters, from a script by his brother Daniel and turned it into an entertaining teen fantasy adventure with a fair amount of wit and irony, which has some very positive aspects to offer, but at the same time suffers from some distinct weaknesses. One of the strongest points are certainly the attractive actors and actresses. Zoey Deutch in particular cuts a really good figure as the cynical fighter, with her snarky comments working very well even in the somewhat weaker German dub. Embedded in a visually very appealing and by a snappy soundtrack (among others by Katy Perry) accompanied production, the good-humored play of the actors raises the entertainment value of the film significantly.

But unfortunately, the whole thing is at the end nowhere near as biting and self-deprecating as Mark Waters probably intended. With Girls Club he still managed to stage a perfect mixture between humorous genre contribution - in this case a teen comedy - and biting persiflage. That it succeeded, however, was largely due to Tina Fey's very clever script, which the dialogue written by Daniel Waters can't really compete with. For what Mark Waters probably had in mind, it would have taken a writer of Joss Whedon's caliber. It's not for nothing that Vampire Academy keeps reminding you of Whedon's Buffy - while also making it clear what made that series so popular and what Rose, Lissa and co. ultimately lack. It's nice that there's no attempt to create a Twilight-style fantasy monzette here, but to approach it with some self-mockery. But the sayings, with which especially Rose is supposed to appear cool and tough, often seem too strained and stilted to really ignite.

In addition, the action seems badly rushed, especially in the last third. The story is too overloaded with all its prophecies, different types of vampires and rules that it is easy to lose track as a viewer without prior knowledge of the book. Moreover, both the characters and the story itself remain too superficial as a result. This leads to the fact that the movie is kind of fun and can also entertain, but at the same time it feels like a car that always stalls just before it actually starts. The noises it makes when trying to start sound promising, but the final spark to ignite it properly is simply missing.

Since Vampire Academy almost completely failed at the box office, a sequel is rather unlikely. This is a shame in that, despite some flaws, the film reveals a lot of potential that could have been well developed in a second installment. Taken on its own, however, this film - also because of its rather open ending - is only a somewhat lukewarm affair. For the intended target audience it's certainly nice and entertaining, but also a bit bloodless. And so there is, despite an effortful Zoey Deutch, a good as always Gabriel Byrne and despite some really successful moments on balance only one: with small restrictions quite worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: On a technical level, the DVD can fully convince. The picture is absolutely clean and lets especially in the brighter moments also smaller details very well come to the fore. In the dark scenes there are some minor weaknesses in the detail sharpness, but these are so minor that they can be safely ignored. Coloration is very cohesive and turns out pleasantly punchy in some moments. The DVD's visuals are also convincing in terms of contrast and black levels. The sound, available as a lively Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, has good surround moments to offer, especially in the action-heavy scenes. But even the quieter moments can convince with the good tuning of dialogues and music. So there's really no cause for complaint here. Good!

Extras: The bonus material of the DVD consists primarily of standard promo material. It starts with a very short interview with the novelist Richelle Mead (approx. 2:44 min.), who tells in it, among other things, about her interpretation of the classic vampire myth. It continues with new scenes (approx. 5:25 min.), which are unfortunately presented without subtitle options. These scenes include a nice alternate opening that introduces the different vampire species and their backgrounds.

Twelve promo interviews with the cast (approx. 38:23 min.) and six more with the crew (approx. 13:58 min.) are also on the program. There are German subtitles for the interviews, unlike the cut scenes. The trailer and uncommented B-roll footage (approx. 6:23 min.), which at times seems as if the accompanying audio is completely missing, round out the extensive but unfortunately also somewhat superficial additional offerings. Good!

Conclusion: Vampire Academy has a lot of potential, both in terms of its lead actresses and its dramaturgy. Although its production has a pleasant amount of self-deprecation, the dialogue isn't biting enough and the story is a bit too overstuffed to leave an all-around positive impression. But since the film makes you want more in the end and reveals how much potential there would have been in a sequel, the very poor performance of the bestseller adaptation at the international box office is not only completely undeserved, but also an extreme pity. The DVD of the film is technically well realized, the bonus material is extensive, but also somewhat superficial. Who has desire for attractive vampires, some tension, humor and romance and can overlook some weaknesses, a visit to the Vampire Academy can be absolutely recommended to the bottom line

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp