This film echoes the director’s earlier work, “Interview With a Vampire,” released eighteen years prior—a detail that's notable since Saoirse Ronan, who stars here, was born in that same year. Moira Buffini adapted the script from her one-act play, “A Vampire Story.” The movie is visually rich and somber, going further than its source material to explore how the two main characters came to be, within a male-dominated vampire structure that prohibits women from joining their ranks—a rule they defy, which sparks the central story. It’s reminiscent of “The Lost Boys” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” with a similar feel to “Tristan + Isolde,” even though that film is set much earlier, in 600 AD. Like “Lost Boys,” most of the action unfolds in modern times within a coastal town featuring an amusement park, but there are numerous well-executed flashbacks to the Napoleonic period. Gemma Arterton delivers a memorable performance as the bold Clara; however, the story primarily follows Saoirse’s Eleanor and her connection with a young man who has leukemia. Fans of thoughtful Gothic dramas or thrillers will likely find something to enjoy here. The clandestine group of beings that aren't quite human doesn’t have to be vampires in this type of film—they could just as easily be werewolves, like in “Blood and Chocolate,” or something else entirely, such as the 1982 movie “Cat People.” Personally, I consider it the weakest of all the films mentioned. It's a beautifully crafted production; however, I found the dramatic elements to be tiresome rather than captivating. The constant sense of sadness doesn’t improve things. Despite that, there are some imaginative moments—like Noel’s unexpected emotional collapse—and enough positives to recommend it to those with an interest in this kind of story. The film has a running time of 1 hour and 58 minutes and was filmed from December 2011 to February 2012 at Hastings, located in southeast England (a coastal town), Skellig Michael off the southwest coast of Ireland (a rocky island), as well as Admore Studios, which is situated seven miles south of Dublin. GRADE: B-

Source on TMDB