I suppose the premise for VAMPIRE ACADEMY, the latest vampire-themed young adult film adapted from a book, is TWILIGHT meets HARRY POTTER. That's certainly the theme here as the plot involves age-old aristocratic vampires, both good and bad, and the students of a vampire academy who swot up on vampire lore.

What it amasses to isn't very much at all. This is a weak emulation of a typical American high school movie complete with grating British accents and some truly horrid performances from the young cast members. Indeed, some of the actors in this I found completely excruciating, particularly the leads. Their dialogue sounds hollow and feels false, which is little surprise considering how it aches to be oh-so-hip and down with the kids.

As is usual for this genre, a couple of old-timers are wheeled out like forgotten waxworks; Joely Richardson and Gabriel Byrne are the ones foolish enough to sign up in this case. Olga Kurylenko is here too, although she has so little screen time that I wonder why she bothered showing up on the day. The whole film is a joke from start to finish, with rubbish direction and some of the fakest fight scenes I can remember watching. The only wonder comes from wondering why they bothered shooting it in the first place.

Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch) is a Dhampir. Dhampirs protect the Moroi who are kinda vampires. Rose had run away from St Vladimir's Academy with her Moroi friend Lissa Dragomir (Lucy Fry). They have a rare psychic connection. Lissa is the last of the Dragomirs and in line for the crown. They are brought back to the Academy where they face mean girls, convoluted politics, and the ever threatening Strigoi who are turned-evil violent powerful vampire creatures. The Moroi learn to control the basic elements while the Dhampir learn to fight.

It's yet another one of these YA series and more expositions of new terminology to get through. It's enough to turn off anybody. The story throws everything at the viewers. It's a jumble mess. The Academy is reminiscent of Hogwarts except less magical and less interesting. It's also got the modernity setup in a mishmash of styles. The mean girls aspect is simplistic. The writing is not really up to standard. Zoey Deutch tries to bring some interest with a jokey fast-talking sarcastic girl but it's been done better. That's probably the only part that holds any promise and differentiate itself from all the other YA series. It's as if Ellen Page's Juno got dropped into one those franchises. Even though she doesn't succeed, she's still somewhat interesting and the only reason why I would rate this marginally better than the other sludge. Very marginally...

The teenagers Rose Hathaway (Zoey Deutch) and Vasilisa "Lissa" Dragomir (Lucy Fry) are best friend and escapee from the St. Vladimir's Academy for more than one year. When the guardian Dimitri Belikov (Danila Kozlovsky) from the St Vladimir's Academy and his team find the girls, they bring them back to the academy. Rose is a Dhampir, a good half human-half vampire breed that can eat regular food and are trained to protect the Moroi from the evil immortal vampires Strigoi. Lissa is a Princess of the Moroi, a good mortal breed of vampires that feed of blood from donors and is capable to control one of the four elements.

When they return, the Headmistress Kirova (Olga Kurylenko) intends to punish Rose, but the old Moroi Victor Dashkov (Gabriel Byrne),who was a friend of Lissa's family, dissuades Kirova from her intent. Lissa dates her outcast schoolmate Christian Ozera (Dominic Sherwood) but unexpectedly she is threatened by someone that wishes to harm her. Victor's daughter Natalie (Sarah Hyland) joins Rose and Lissa to help them to seek out who might be the enemy.

"Vampire Academy" is an entertaining fantasy with a story that is a sort of combination of "Harry Potter" with "Twilight". Zoey Deutch is gorgeous and charming and if the viewer sees this feature with low expectation, he or she might have a pleasant surprise. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Academia de Vampiros: O Beijo das Sombras" ("Vampire Academy: The Shadow Kiss")