Blood and Chocolate

To get as many ideas for my horror film and the get inspiration I also researched into some horror films and movies. By reading about as many horror films and also combining their plot and idea I could come out with a new storyline which could give me an advantage into the making of my own opening of horror film. I have continued my research with a film called Blood and Chocolate which was distributed by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer distribution. The film was filmed in four different countries for example: USA, Romania, United Kingdom and Germany and their budget was up to $15 million.

Blood & Chocolate is a 2007 film directed by Katja von Garnier, produced by Lakeshore Entertainment. This film is about a young girl Vivian who is 19 year old and she is an Anamorphic. She was born in Bucharest, Romania to American parents who then moved back to America. When Vivian was nine years old, her parents and siblings were killed by two hunters and she moved back to Bucharest to live with her aunt Astrid, then the mate of the pack's leader, Gabriel which is Olivier Martinez. Gabriel left Astrid after seven years in accordance with pack law to choose a new mate. The perfection of another seven years is only a few months away and Gabriel wants the reluctant Vivian as his mate.

Gabriel and Astrid have a son, Rafe, with whom Vivian has a difficult relationship. Rafe, considering him the future pack leader, has hunted and killed a human girl on his own. Every full moon the pack hunt a human prey that is either a danger to the pack or has offended one of its members, the first victim witnessed being a drug dealer. After having been cut to leave a blood scent, the human is sent to run away through the woods and if he manages to cross the river, is spared. However, no one has ever managed to reach the river.

One night, Vivian breaks into an abandoned church. There she meets Aiden which is Hugh Dancy, a graphic novel artist who also broke in for inspiration. Aiden is instantly pursues her for several days before she finally agrees to start seeing him. They meet in secret and fall in love. They are soon discovered by Rafe, and his four friends. Rafe informs Gabriel about the relationship between Vivian and Aiden and is ordered to do whatever is necessary to get Aiden out of the city, either by bribing or by threatening. Aiden goes to a chapel outside the city, where he is apprehended and threatened by Rafe who actually sent a note saying is from Vivian. During the arguments, Rafe tries to kill Aiden, who manages to kill his attacker with the help of his silver medallion which is highly poisonous when entering a loup-garou's blood stream.

Gabriel and Astrid are devastated at the death of their son. Aiden is caught at the train station and is chosen as prey for the monthly full moon hunt. Running for his life, Aiden spreads his blood around on the trees to confuse his hunters and stabs two wolves with a silver knife. He finally crosses the river but Gabriel attacks him. Vivian, in her wolf-shape, jumps in and pushes Gabriel into the river. Not recognizing her in her wolf-shape, Aiden slashes her arm with the knife. When she changes back into her human shape, he is stricken with guilt and tries to help her. They go to a deserted film company which the loup-garou would not dare enter as it is riddled with silver dust. After a few tender moments, Astrid appears and confronts them with a gun. Vivian pleads for Aiden's life, appealing to Astrid's unhappy love for Gabriel, and Astrid lets them go. The two get an antidote for Vivian from a human pharmacist working for Gabriel. However, the pharmacist alerts the pack to their presence and Vivian is captured while Aiden escapes from them.

Vivian is put in prisoned and confronted by Gabriel, who abuse humans and relates to her an old story about a female loup-garou leading her people into hope. He had hoped her to fulfill the prophecy but now decides that the two must decide the conflict by hunting each other. Before the hunt can begin, Gabriel is shot by Aiden, who had been watching from a skylight. In the battle, Aiden blinds some of Gabriel's men with silver dust, traps some and sets the building on fire. Gabriel attacks Aiden but before he can strike a possibly fatal blow, Vivian aims a gun at Gabriel. He tells her that by shooting him she would become the hunter that once killed her family and shifts into his wolf-shape. Gabriel sets out to kill Aiden, she shoots and kills Gabriel. Feeling guilty, she strokes Gabriel's fur. As the building explodes, she frees the trapped loup-garou and runs away with Aiden. The two escape the city in Gabriel's car. They discuss two destinations, either the "age of hope" or Paris, and drive through Bucharest's Arcul de Triumf.

What I really liked about Blood and Chocolate is that is stylish and enjoyable. It's beautifully shot, with lots of evocative camera movement. The special effects - most particularly, the human-to-wolf transformations - aren't quite state-of-the-art, but their technical limitations work to the film's advantage. I really like the editing and would like to use their technique within my work, the editing of my video. It has a generally light and poppy sound track, and it explains the rules of its world to the viewer, avoiding lengthy and obvious exposition, which is a common problem for these sorts of movies. They use real wolves, rather than lame CGI special-effects, as the animal’s enigmatic beauty seems to better reflect the romantic nature of the material.