9-year-old Vivian watches her family murdered; she runs, and her wolf-eyes scare off the hunter's dogs. 10 years later, a much cuter Vivian is living in Romania with her aunt (and the ex- of the pack's leader, Gabriel). The balance of the 98 minute film runs in pretty much the same plot line of werewolf films:
Wolf girl meets human boy Aiden, boy falls for Vivian, but Vivian is promised via The Prophecy, to Gabriel. Gabriel's son (who's also Vivian's cousin) Rafe keeps an eye on his dad's bride-to-be. (Not once do we touch on the relationship making Vivian either the cousin or niece of Gabriel, so I'm guessing we ought not to look too deeply into the family tree here.)
Rafe is the atypical angry teen boy, who hunts humans against the orders of Gabriel and the pack; after all, Rafe figures he'll be boss one day, and can do as he pleases. Extending the cliches, Rafe and Aiden don't get along at all well, but by virtue of growing up with a mean-spirited dad, Aiden can fight the best of 'em (be they man or wolf, of half of each).
The plot thickens, but only to the consistency of warm milk. Vivian grows to care about Aiden, Aiden feels the same, but Gabriel isn't too keen on letting the human at his intended bride, and the fangs and fur fly when Aiden tangles with Rafe (sent to rid the town of Aiden).
I half expected Aiden to be bitten, or take a blood oath, pledge, or spirit quest to become a werewolf and join his true love... but there they stopped short of completing expectations. Aiden is put to the death to run for his life, survives (the first ever, of course), and Vivian as the white wolf is at his side.
More peril, a brief car chase to complete the plot checklist, and true love conquers all. (Though from what I learned from Alan Alda in Sweet Liberty, we were missing the essential elements of blowing things up and people taking their clothes off, but the wolves probably balance the scales there.)
It comes as no compelling surprise that the cast is an assortment of names you probably won't recognize instantly, the film is shot in the film budget capital of the world (Bucharest, Romania), and the whole chocolate thing, in the film, simply is where Vivian works. (The original book has a bit more to do with how Vivian balances the blood of her werewolf-ness with the chocolate of her human-ness... but this is a far (wolf) cry from the book.)
The film itself isn't horrible, but at the same time, isn't exceptional; if you can grab it at matinee prices, it's a bargain. If you want a taste (pun unintended) of the book, a bit of blood and a few scenes of chocolate-making, the theatre is the answer. If you're keen on a deeper level of drama, character development and getting involved with the story, spend the same $10 and buy the book (same title, by Annette Curtis Klause).
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