Beautiful Creatures (2 Stars)

Ethan Wate is a high school junior in the small town Gatlin, South Carolina. Everyone around him is highly religious. Ethan has nothing against Christianity, he just doesn't like it being pushed in his face all the time. I can relate to him. Even his ex-girlfriend Emily tells him she prays every night that he won't go to Hell. Poor Ethan.

The owners of Ravenwood estate, a mansion that's been abandoned for years, return to town. 15-year-old Lena joins Ethan's class. Everyone else rejects Lena because her family is supposed to be devil worshippers, but Ethan immediately falls for her. This makes him an outcast in the town.

Lena loves Ethan in return, but she warns him to stay away from her. The Ravenwood family aren't human, they belong to a race of casters, who look identical to humans, but they can perform powerful magic spells. On a caster's 16th birthday he either becomes good or evil. Lena warns Ethan that she might change completely and kill him. The change to good or evil can be random, but it can also be influenced by grief or happiness. There is a prophecy that Lena will be the most powerful caster of all, so Lena's mother, a dark caster, wants her to become evil and destroy all humans on Earth. To make sure this happens she wants to kill Ethan the day before Lena's 16th birthday. Lena's uncle is a good caster and wants to prevent this happening.

I like teenage supernatural romance stories. I always have, but this film is a great disappointment. Somehow it lacks the magic touch to make it interesting. I found myself yawning with boredom throughout. The supporting cast put on good performances, but the two main characters are exceedingly dull. By the middle of the film I was thinking "Go on and kill, Ethan. So what?" Maybe the novel that inspired the film is good. The film isn't.