It would be fair to say that without the big screen success of Twilight, Beautiful Creatures would never have been made.  They’re both based on a series of Young Adult novels and they’re both centered on a young, teenage couple, hopelessly in love, with a world of magic and horror as its base.  But from that point forward, they differ.  For one thing, Beautiful Creatures is so much more fun and doesn’t appear to be taking itself in the slightest bit seriously.  It’s a mix bag of styles and genres, and it should be a mess, but somehow it works.

Set in the fictional town of God-fearing Gatlin, South Carolina, young Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) can’t sleep at night.  “I envy people in a coma,” he states.  When he does finally nod off he is plagued by the same dream he has dreamt every night for several months; it’s of a beckoning young woman that we know he is eventually going to meet.

The young woman is Lena (Alice Englert) and she lives with her mysterious uncle in the equally mysterious mansion tucked away off the beaten track.  Lena is about to turn sixteen, and, as we discover, this will be no ordinary birthday.  Lena lives in a world of Witches and Warlocks, though, as she tells Ethan, being called a Witch is something of an insult.  “It’s like calling brainy kids ‘Geeks,’” she explains.  “We prefer ‘Casters.’”

When a Caster hits his or her sixteenth birthday, the Caster’s true inner nature will take over, whether it be dark or light.  Naturally, we’re hoping Lena will go to the light side, but you never know.  Her cousin, the seductive Ridley (Emmy Rossum) was previously faced with
the same challenge, and now she relishes every second of her dark nature and the powers that come with it.   

Beautiful Creatures is quite odd, and it’s this eccentric quality that keeps you interested.  There’s a lot of fun verbal sparing and wit spoken among the characters.  “Why don’t you play something for our guest?” asks Lena’s uncle, the slightly peculiar Macon Ravenwood
(Jeremy Irons) referring to the living room piano.  “Because we’re not in a Jane Austin novel,”
Lena replies.

When Ethan is invited to dinner in the Ravenwood home, the scene begins with “Theme from A Summer Place” echoing innocently in the background, then, as tempers around the table rise, the scene turns into an excessive version of a demented thrill ride in Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion as chairs and table spin wildly out of control.

There’s also the case of the curious casting.  What on earth, you may ask, are classically
trained British actors such as Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson and Eileen Atkins doing in this film?  All three lay on the thickest of southern accents and appear to be having a grand ol’time of it all, though the accents are met with only a modicum of success.  As good an actor as Jeremy Irons undoubtedly is, with his distinctive voice and individual style of delivery, accepting him as an American has always been a challenge let alone one with a Southern drawl. Only Emma Thompson sounds as though she might get away with it as she spouts
hateful fire and brimstone to everyone at a church service including, “… Democrats, Liberals, Greenpeace, and other abominations!”

Even though Beautiful Creatures completes its story, it ends on a note suggesting more nonsense to come – there are four novels in the series.  I, for one, am okay with that. 
After all, any film that tells you that Nancy Reagan was the only mortal a Caster was scared of deserves some attention.

 MPAA Rating:  PG-13    Length:  123 minutes   Overall Rating: 7 (out of 10)