If you overlooked Beautiful Creatures when it was out in theaters — and many people did — now is the chance to give it a look (or a second look) on home video. In my initial review, I said that I found the film to be mostly enjoyable. I also assumed fans of the YA book series would be lining up to see the film, but for some reason that didn’t happen. The big question is, why? Beautiful Creatures was poised to be the new Twilight film saga with its tale of a relationship between a supernatural being and a human, but this time the roles are reversed. The girl, Lena, is a Caster (although not immortal) and the boy, Ethan, is the human with no special powers (although his connection to Lena suggests that he may have untapped potential). The relatively unknown actors, Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich, have terrific chemistry together which should have been enough to make the fans swoon. The supporting cast was filled out with big names like Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson and Viola Davis to help draw in more adult movie-goers and perhaps bridge the gender gap of the Twilight fans.

The film was handsomely produced with some stunning Southern locations and mostly top notch visual effects that gave the film a beautiful, glossy look that the Twilight films didn’t have. But none of this seemed to matter. Fans of the books seemed to have already been sharpening their knives for the film adaptation before it even hit the screen. At the time of the film’s release, I had not read the book but I did check it out afterwards, after hearing that the changes made to the screenplay were so egregious that the movie seemed like a completely different animal than the book. After reading a few chapters, I tend to agree … at least on a superficial level. The basic plot is the same, to be sure, but it’s the major character alterations that seem to have turned off the fans. The book’s Ethan is clearly a popular jock who loses some of his popularity when he starts cavorting with Lena. The movie Ethan is a book-reading nerd (except for his hot girlfriend). Ethan’s girlfriend, and her friends, in the book come off as the town harlots, while the movie version re-casts them as Bible-thumping and chaste. Ethan’s father is never glimpsed in the movie whereas he does put in a couple of appearances in the book. The biggest alteration is the character of Amma, the woman who cares for Ethan and his dad. In the movie, Amma is not only the caretaker — and much younger — but also the town librarian, who was a completely separate character in the book. I can see why these changes have irked the fans, but the core of the story is still there.

The new home video release of Beautiful Creatures will perhaps give the fans a chance to sit down and appreciate the work that went into bringing the words of the book to visual life on screen. There are a few cheesy moments here and there (particularly the Ravenwood family dinner scene), but the film itself tells a story that I would like to see continue. Unfortunately, the film’s disappointing box office seems to have resulted in a pretty basic video release. The image of the Blu-ray looks fine with nice saturated colors, but the DVD (included in the combo pack) has a much softer, washed out look. The audio, on a home theater surround system, is very nice with a deep bass rumble and directional effects when spells are being cast. The dialog never gets lost amid the music or sound effects.

Where the video release stumbles is in the bonus features. One would have hoped for a director and author commentary track to explain the changes made from the book to film translation. Like the recent Cloud Atlas release, the bonus material is lacking in almost every way … probably due to the film’s lack of financial success. Past releases like Wrath of the Titans and Dark Shadows have included Focus Points that could be viewed during the film in the Maximum Movie Mode. Here, those extra bits are included as bonus clips, not much more than five minutes long. These Behind the Scenes extras (only on Blu-ray) include:

• Book to Screen (4:00) — The cast, director and book authors discuss bringing the book to life with the authors’ seal of approval for the director’s changes to the book.
• The Casters (3:22) — Briefly explains the concept of a Caster and how one can be either good or bad.
• Between Two Worlds (4:17) — The cast and director discuss the love story between Ethan and Lena, and the characters of Amma and Mrs. Lincoln/Sarafine.
• Forbidden Romance (3:12) — More on the romance between Ethan and Lena.
• Alternate Worlds (5:17) — A nice look at the film’s visual effects which reveals the dinner scene was an actual physical set with a rotating floor and table.
• Beautiful Creatures: Designing the Costumes (3:51) — A look at the visual story of the costumes, and an explanation of why Lena wears a lot of gray.

Also included are four deleted scenes (on Blu-ray and DVD) which don’t really add much to the plot, except for the one that hints of a deeper subplot involving Lena’s cousin Ridley and Ethan’s friend Link. There are also two theatrical trailers, the New York Comic Con trailer and a TV spot, as well as a commercial for co-author Margaret Stohl’s new book, Icons.

Overall, it’s a fine, if bare bones, presentation of the film that will hopefully see more success than it did theatrically and lead to more films to complete the series.

This review is based on a retail copy of the Blu-ray/DVD Combo provided to CliqueClack by Warner Home Video.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B009AMAGXK” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61pjhT-KymL._SL160_.jpg” width=”120″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B009AMAGQM” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/510eGeDO92L._SL160_.jpg” width=”132″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00CWVG1Z8″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61t1HDsORML._SL160_.jpg” width=”113″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00ARIO7KY” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61iN5uvF8zL._SL160_.jpg” width=”160″]

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”0316042676″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Rn0M34I-L._SL160_.jpg” width=”106″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”0316243760″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515dMqrg9DL._SL160_.jpg” width=”134″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”0316205184″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nftV9tQvL._SL160_.jpg” width=”106″]

With the success of the Twilight franchise and The Hunger Games, it’s not surprising that studios are looking for more YA novel series to bring to the big screen. With a built-in fan base and ready-made sequels, it’s hard to argue with that reasoning … at least on a monetary basis. The question is: which novels will make a successful series of films, both artistically and financially? Looming on the horizon is the first film in Twilight author Stephenie Meyer’s proposed trilogy, The Host.

Until then, YA fans should be lining up to see Beautiful Creatures, the first film based on the first of four novels by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The story focuses on the perhaps doomed relationship of Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich), a small town (very small town) southern high schooler, and Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), the new girl in town whose uncle has a reputation for being … reclusive in his creepy old plantation home. The town of Gatlin, South Carolina can best be described as ultra-conservative, a town that has more books banned from the library than they have on the shelves. Ethan, the rebel, likes to read all of those forbidden books and dreams of a way out of his sleepy, Civil War re-enacting town.

Lena’s arrival, complete with rumors of witchcraft surrounding her, only intrigues Ethan (who had been having dreams of a mysterious girl for months), cementing his break-up with his chaste girlfriend and leading him down a road that he probably was not expecting … especially when he learns that the rumors about Lena and her family aren’t entirely false, even though they prefer the term Caster to witch. As a romance develops, life gets complicated as Lena reveals that on her sixteenth birthday, her true nature will be revealed: she will either become a Light Caster or a Dark Caster, and darkness runs in her family. Unfortunately, love with a mortal only complicates the matter and Lena has to make some major decisions before the moon rises on her birthday.

I have not read the novel upon which the film is based, so I can’t say how closely the film follows the plot of the first book in the series, but coming into it with fresh eyes, I found the film to be mostly enjoyable. Director Richard LaGravanese (The Fisher King) has created a very realistic world in which to set the story. The town of Gatlin certain has the look and feel of a real, small southern town so that helps ground some of the more fantastical elements of the story. It also has enough mystery to carry a series of movies if this one is successful (but it works as a stand-alone story as well).

The casting of the main roles helps the film rise above the mundane as well. Ehrenreich, a native Californian, turns on the southern charm, making Ethan all the more endearing. Englert, unfortunately, is saddled with being a mopey teenager for much of the film, but she does get to show some range of emotions when called upon to do so (she’s no Bella clone, thankfully). While the two leads are pleasant enough, the real talent is in the supporting cast: Viola Davis as Amma, the family friend who takes care of Ethan and his reclusive father; Jeremy Irons as Macon Ravenwood, Lena’s uncle; Emmy Rossum as Lena’s cousin Ridley; and Emma Thompson, who gets a chance to chew up the scenery as the Bible-thumping Mrs. Lincoln who unwittingly becomes a vessel for the spirit of Lena’s Dark Caster mother Sarafine. Davis has the juiciest role when her true nature and her place in Ethan’s life are revealed, and there is one moment in the film where LaGravanese focuses on her face to get a reaction shot that hits you with more emotion than could ever be said with words. While Davis is great, the film really could have used more Rossum and Thompson. The whole film crackles with energy whenever they’re on screen and you just want more of them when they’re gone.

While the film does succeed in staying grounded in a sort of reality, there was one scene that almost tipped the film over into camp territory — the Ravenwood family dinner scene. While Macon has a tendency for somewhat flamboyant dress, Lena’s aunt and Gramma almost seem to have come from a parody of The Hunger Games. Aunt Del has a huge white wig and Gramma has lavender-tinted hair, and both have more than enough makeup on. Once the battle between Lena and Ridley starts, the whole scene looks like a ride at Disney World. The scene looked cheesy in the trailer, and it came off as even more cheesy in the movie.

Overall, fans of the novel should be happy with the film, and even if you’ve never read the books the film is very entertaining. It does have an ending that could serve as a stand-alone film, so don’t worry about a major cliffhanger, but there are certainly a few questions left to be answered in future installments, such as what happened to Ethan’s mother, what is her connection to Macon, could Ethan be a half-Caster, will his father ever come out of the bedroom, and which way did Lena really turn? That point is really left up to the audience with the film’s final image (kind of like that spinning top in Inception). Beautiful Creatures lives up to its name with an attractive cast that should bewitch movie audiences enough to continue the series for several years to come.

[easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”B00ARIO7KY” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61iN5uvF8zL._SL160_.jpg” width=”160″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”0316042676″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Rn0M34I-L._SL160_.jpg” width=”106″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”0316243760″ locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515dMqrg9DL._SL160_.jpg” width=”134″] [easyazon-image align=”none” asin=”031621941X” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Dd9NYt15L._SL160_.jpg” width=”157″]