Blood & Chocolate is a werewolf movie. But its not a horror movie. It is a werewolf movie in the same way Interview With The Vampire was a vampire movie, ie its a load of ole goth nonsense about how kewl, but not kewl, it is to be a werewolf. Its cool because you can turn into a wolf. Its not cool because people hate you. Like I say, a load of ole goth nonsense.
Its based on a book, the first of a series of books I believe, and its dot-to-dot plotting suggests that it has somewhat simplified the plot of the book. Indeed the wailing on the IMDB thread makes that more than explicit. Its the age old werewolf meets man, falls in love with man, tribe disagrees and tries to kill him type stuff, mixed up with dodgy accents, plot holes the size of Budapest* and a strange version of lycanthropy which seems to retain all the good stuff about being a werewolf without any of the bad stuff.
Blood & Chocolates deviations for standard werewolf lore:
-No forced changing at a full moon
-Change whenever they like
-Enhanced senses and sub parkour jumping everywhere
-Still can only be harmed by silver**
-Werewolf form is just a wolf, not a nasty mindless monster at all
Indeed if the ww’s in this film were so concerned about not fitting in, THEY NEED NEVER TURN INTO A WOLF AT ALL. But they do. Often with pointlessly murderous intent (its OK, they tend only to kill drug dealers anyway). There is however a good question posed by the film, would you rather fight a man intending to kill you or a wolf. What if the man was stronger than the average man? There are some very needless form changes in here.
Blood & Chocolate is all about made up mythology, and romance. It has the worst “we are falling in love” montage in a film I have seen in years (not helped that Hard Fi’s “Cash Machine” is not exactly the most romantic song ever). And yet I almost enjoyed it. Perhaps because all the way through I thought that it could have been worse. I know. I have seen both Underworld films.
*Where the film is set, unlike apparently the book. Old Europe has much more werewolf chic.
**Unfortunately EVERYONE seems to have silver on them in Budapest.