By Buzz Byrne

Agnes Bruckner is Vivian, a young American werewolf living in Bucharest, which is the only safe haven for her kind, creatures known as the loup garoux. These werewolves are shapeshifters — able to transform at will to their furry alter-animal selves. Her pack runs the town and their alpha dog, Gabriel (Olivier Martinez), is looking for a new mate, as he does every seven years; it seems she will be the lucky puppy. Vivian would rather “free run” across the picturesque European cobblestone streets.
 
When she was a child, Vivian’s immediate family was slaughtered, so she now she lives with her Aunt Astrid (Katja Reimann), the former lover of Gabriel and mother of his child, Rafe (Bryan Dick). Rafe needs a whack on the snout with a rolled-up paper right from his murderous get-go. He defies Gabriel’s laws, and once Vivian’s romantic interests are piqued by comic book writer Aiden (Hugh Dancy), he can’t decide whether to act out on his daddy issues or his vague incestuous obsession with his cousin. Waiting to usurp his father, Rafe runs with a small litter; they look like boy-band castoffs and are just as articulate. This is where the ROMEO + JULIET borrowing really takes off. Young love —  star-crossed, even —  destructive obsession and an innocent union of warring factions; these are familiar themes, but not overdone here. The script plays it straight —  if not too deep —  but, ultimately, that makes it more enjoyable.
 
Bruckner and Dancy make for a handsome and effective young couple. She lithe and he blithe — this is a good launching project; we can expect bigger things from these two in the future. Bruckner has the duality of toughness and vulnerability that seems to make for good heroines, and Dancy is relaxed, hitting very few sour notes with his comic book-writing Aiden (“It’s a graphic novel, not a comic!”).

Director Katja von Garnier shows a deft hand with the visuals during the romance, fantasy and action sequences, even if the sound work is overwrought. Moving this story along and making the different genres work shouldn’t be overlooked. Though, I can’t help but wonder what happens to the werewolves’ pants. It’s always these little details that pull me from full immersion. As they change to wolves, their pants change too, but when they change back, everybody is bare-assed. This is a minor point, and maybe the purpose is solely to show a little extra “tail.” Nonetheless, von Garnier is someone to keep an eye on for deeper and better-received projects. Hopefully, Martinez is the one actor she will leave behind. In this he looks tired and exhibits none of the sexuality that he did in UNFAITHFUL. Plus, he sounds like he has a mouthful of kibble. Bad dog!
 
Despite being from the producers of UNDERWORLD, this movie isn’t interested in the nonstop guns and Goth violence that so defines that mini-franchise. BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE is a romance and a fantasy tale, and it delivered more than I thought it would. Not bad for rental