Vampire Academy

Director: Mark Waters
Starring: Zoe Deutch, Lucy Fry, Gabriel Byrne, Joely Richardson
Distributor: Independent
Runtime: 106 mins. Reviewed in Mar 2014

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Rating notes: Supernatural themes, violence and sexual references

A first alert to this film was the advertising tagline, ‘They suck at school’. Had this film been a slight parody, a vampire academy instead of the police academy, this might have been the most clever part of the film.

But, there is more to it than that.

Based on a popular novel by Rachelle Mead, this is yet another contribution to the extraordinarily wide popularity of vampire stories in recent times, fostered by television’s True Blood as well as the popularity of the Twilight series. This film lies somewhere in between, veering more towards Twilight than to True Blood.

Somewhere, in a rather unlikely United States, there is an exclusive mansion which is the home to the Vampire Academy, confined, it would seem, to older teenagers and their education, both classical and in vampire law and physical arts to combat enemies. At the opening, Rose (a more than feisty and attractive Zoe Deutch) is guarding a more seemingly delicate student, Lissa (Lucy Fry). Lissa is actually a princess from a long line of vampires and is destined to be Queen – although she has fled the Academy.

When the group is captured and returned to the Academy, (St Vlad’s!) there is an explanation, with technical names, of the various layers of vampire status, of protectors and of hostile vampires who are bent on destroying the more respectable ones (who are able to get their blood supply from willing humans who volunteer!). It is only the hostiles who can be killed by silver knives. Once back at the Academy, we meet the rather surly headmistress, Olga Kuryenko, and the rather ill provost, Gabriel Byrne.

There are the variations on high school enmities and friendships amongst the vampires, Rose being rather free because she is only part of vampire and decidedly human. A visit from the Queen, a rather absurd episode as she is dressed in robes and ermine, played by Joely Richardson, challenges Lissa to live up to her expectations.

After the high school episodes, and a school dance, there is some melodrama as one of the characters reveals a sinister side and abducts Lissa. Rose, and the guard, Dmitri, to whom she is more than attracted, come to the rescue.

A final glimpse at what looks to be a field of lost souls, of sinister vampires, indicates that there could be a sequel.