“You think Lena’s a good girl now, but it won’t matter.”
So says Ridley Duchannes (a near-unrecognizable Emmy Rossum) in the first trailer for “Beautiful Creatures,” the forthcoming adaptation of Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl’s bestselling YA fantasy book that’s being set up as the next big “Twilight”-style franchise by Warner Bros.
The film stars relative newcomer Alice Englert (Jane Campion’s daughter!) as Lena, a 15-year-old “Caster” who falls in love with local boy Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) after moving to a small South Carolina town. Problem is, Casters (i.e. witches) are claimed for either “Light” or “Dark” (a.k.a. “Good” or “Evil”) on their 16th birthdays – meaning Ethan’s new girlfriend may not make for the greatest companion in the very near future. Can they find a way around Lena’s ambiguous destiny before it’s too late?
The handsome new trailer is clearly designed to spark the interest of “Twilight”/”Harry Potter” fans – thought particularly the latter I think – and it’s certainly got all of the right ingredients to do so: attractive young lovers, supernatural goings-on, historical rivalries, etc. Add to that an impressive supporting cast that includes Rossum, Emma Thompson, Viola Davis and Jeremy Irons, and the film could potentially reel in non-‘tween audiences as well.
That said, there’s also something rather generic about the trailer – perhaps inevitable considering all the familiar plot elements – and while it certainly looks impressive visually (Richard LaGravanese is the director), for a non-fan it’s apt to feel a little “been-there-seen-that.”
My grade for the trailer: B-. After watching it below, you can rate it for yourself at top left.
“Beautiful Creatures” is slated for release on February 13.