The painting “Academy of Vampires” (the actors of which will be listed below) is a film version of the first of six very popular vampire novels by Rachel Mead, written on behalf of a seventeen-year-old girl, Rosa Hazaway, clearly aimed to remove “Twilight” from the top position in the audience’s tabloids. However, according to a strict assessment of film critics, it became only a romantic cool movie version of "Scary Movie". Such a sentence allowed us to pass several casually shot scenes in which one of the characters behaves like a nerd, and the main characters communicate with each other with philosophical pearls akin to statuses from social networks.
Director, his brother and their creation
The actors of the “Vampire Academy” were called upon to realize the idea of the creative duo of the creators (part-time brothers) - Daniel and Mark Waters, especially since the popularity of the literary source predicted the box office and demand for this project. The brothers had to think in three directions at once: shooting a successful adaptation, a decent movie and creating a unique world with its own laws, style and rules. It’s always difficult to start a film adaptation of the book cycle, and it seems that the Waters did not do very well with the task, although the actors of the Academy of Vampires are prettier than the twilight ones, and the budget was decent.
Whoever is told to tweet - don't purr
Mark Waters, director of the films Mean Girls, Spiderwick: The Chronicles, Ghosts of Former Girlfriends and Mr. Popper Penguins, this time turned out to be a rather weak film (in genre equivalent). Rather, it is a harsh action, turned completely inside out. The fact is that Mark Waters previously specialized in the production of comedies, so from the declared film genres of the picture (horror, fantasy, action, comedy, detective), comedy is clearly visible and frankly leading. For example, the male actors of the Academy of Vampires in the film seem to be present for furniture or diligently play the roles of boyfriends of the main characters. But in the cycle of the literary original it is full of dramatic and tragic events that are simply unrealistic to turn into comedy, and I really do not want to see them from this angle. It's a shame that the artistic merits of the original text, the non-standard logic of the narrative, and even more common sense, receded to the periphery.
Bloody plot
The film "Academy of Vampires", the list of actors of which will be presented in this article, has a complex plot. The main character, the real vampire princess Vasilisa Dragomir (played by Lucy Fry) returns to the alma mater almost immediately after the terrible car accident in which her whole family died. She is accompanied everywhere by the devoted bodyguard, the same age as Rosa (actress Zoe Deutsch), she is a semi-vampire.
Frosts, dampirs and strigoi
At the Academy, vampires (Moroi) are taught to command the elements, and half-breeds (dumpirs) - to all sorts of fighting wisdom to protect their wards. And there is something to protect from, because evil strigoi, completely feral vampires, ruthless and deadly, are just waiting for a convenient moment to deal with the inhabitants of the academy. In addition, the classmates of the princess in every possible way mock the new girl. But Vasilisa soon gets bored with all the villains and slander, she uses her ability to influence others and becomes everyone's respected, the most popular vampire in the academy. It should be noted that some actors of the Academy of Vampires, like their heroes, bear Russian names.
Intracast plot
But at that time, while the main character was solving her love and ambitious questions, building a reputation among students, an intracast conspiracy was brewing at the academy. The ups and downs of the girls alienated Vasilisa from Rosa, who spends most of her time on training under the strict guidance of experienced bodyguard-mentor Dmitry Belikov (actor Daniil Kozlovsky). At this time, Queen Tatyana herself (actress Joely Richardson) fears the growing popularity of Vasilisa, since the girl in the future may claim her throne and power. Rector alma mater Kirova (actress Olga Kurylenko) is corrupt and plays on the side of evil. In all such hostile surroundings, the main characters have only one influential friend - Victor Dashkov (actor Gabriel Byrne), who does not mind that they communicate with his sweet daughter Natasha (actress Sarah Hyland). That's what a brief retelling is without much spoiler for the storyline of Vampire Academy. The actors and the roles that they embodied on the screen look bright and colorful.
Vivid actors and colorful characters
And if the cast of the film is all right with the visual appeal, then far from all the stage masters involved in the film can boast of special acting skills. Especially stand out in terms of professionalism Zoe Deutsch and Danila Kozlovsky. But in general, the “Vampire Academy”, whose actors and roles are mostly admired only by teenagers, frankly resembles a fanciful fantasy typical of modern cinema, created on an unrelenting wave of popularity among vampire-style teenagers. However, in the picture there are no universally recognized Hollywood stars who, perhaps, would overload the movie and pull the blanket over themselves. Therefore, everything that happens on the screen is perceived easily, absorbed vigorously, it does not look pretentious. And the acting actors of the film “Academy of Vampires” look no worse than the pathos of cinema.
A little tar
If we consider the visual part of the picture, it should be noted the visible efforts of the creators. The Academy of Vampires appeared before the spectator gloomy and Gothic. The actors are young, attractive, their images are stylish, the camera is playful and curious, and there are action episodes that stimulate the release of adrenaline . But all the achievements and efforts are drowning in an epic welter, in which the director collects all the templates of teenage films about magicians, vampires, etc. Heroes kiss, drink blood right there, they immediately study aikido and elemental magic. A minute later they write blood on the walls (and with errors), and after that - the unfortunate animals are gutted for a ritual. There is also telepathy, and a ritual transition to the side of evil, and preparation for the graduation party, and a conspiracy. And all this bacchanalia is closely watched stealthily by bloodthirsty strigoi. Probably, they will be allowed to show great activity in the sequel "Academy of Vampires 2". The actors in the next series, at least the main actors, are likely to remain the same.
Political Correctness and Self-Irony
The film "Academy of Vampires", whose actors do not cause special claims, can not be reliably attributed to outstanding movie masterpieces. Although there are successful shots in the picture, intricate and unpredictable plot twists, in general, the film is called mediocre by all film critics. But most of the advantages of this movie are reckoned with underlined political correctness: vampires feed on the blood of volunteers in specialized clinics, for which they are generously thanked for in cash and must be erased. By the way, the writer, author of the world's most popular vampire novels, belongs to such volunteers. So self-irony! The film is still an adaptation of the literary works of Rachel Mead.