Vampire Academy

A Twilight knock-off set in a Harry Potter Hogwarts-like boarding school for bloodsuckers, Vampire Academy revolves around teenage girls who cope with dating dilemmas while battling evil supernatural forces. Three tribes of vampires exist: full-blooded, mortal Moroi—peaceful folk who don't kill people when they drink their blood; half-human, half-vampire Dhampirs, who guard the Moroi; and evil, undead Strigoi, who are ruthless, vicious marauders, killing their victims and drinking their blood. Conflict inevitably occurs when the demand for hemoglobin exceeds the supply. Returned to St. Vladimir's (aka Vampire Academy) in Montana after running away, 17-year-old Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch) is a Dhampir whose mission is to protect her best friend, Vasilisa “Lissa” Dragomir (Lucy Fry), a Moroi princess, last in her lineage. Complicating matters are the usual high school tropes: nasty gossip, clique bullying, preparations for the Equinox dance, and forbidden romance. Added to the mix are Lissa's mentor, Dimitri Belikov (Danila Kozlovsky); Lissa's love interest, Christian Ozera (Dominic Sherwood); Queen Tatiana (Joely Richardson); Headmistress Kirova (Olga Kurylenko); and the elderly, terminally ill Moroi leader, Victor Dashkov (Gabriel Byrne), with his ditzy daughter Natalie (Sarah Hyland). Based on the bestselling ‘tween book series by Richelle Mead, filmmaker Mark Waters' Vampire Academy is a fast-paced but ultimately flaccid fable that shamelessly combines clichéd pop culture references and clunky vampire puns with oh-so-familiar themes. Not a necessary purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (4 min.), a conversation with author Richelle Mead (3 min.), an alternate opening (2 min.), trailers, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for an anemic vampire flick.] (S. Granger)