Beautiful Creatures

 High school students. Star-crossed lovers, entangled in a battle of good versus evil. Family issues. A race against time. Does all of this sound familiar?

If you replied yes, then you aren't alone; these have been the themes of countless movies and books aimed at young adults.

The movie Beautiful Creatures, however, aims to turn those themes upside down.

Based on the book series of the same name by authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, Beautiful Creatures is the story of a young man named Ethan Wate (played by Alden Ehrenreich) who wants more than what his humdrum life in a small town Gatlin, South Carolina, can give him. He has recurring dreams of a girl waiting for him on a Civil War battlefield whom he can't reach without dying first.

Suddenly, Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) comes to Gatlin to live with her uncle, Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons), and everything changes. Lena is a Caster, or witch, with extraordinary powers, which -- combined with the emotional instability of a teenager -- leads to destruction everywhere she goes.

Englert, during a conference call for college students, said of her character, "I really identified with Lena and understood her insecurity. I went to a lot of different schools growing up, and I knew what it was to have that loner feeling, just wanting someone to reach out." Despite that, or perhaps because of it, Ethan falls in love with Lena, even as the town of Gatlin turns against her.

 But Lena is harboring her own demons. As her sixteenth birthday approaches, she faces a family curse that could turn her powers into an asset for either good or evil. The love story turns into a battle to change fate and find out who Lena really is.

The "supernatural love story" element has some calling Beautiful Creatures "the newTwilight," but neither Ehrenreich nor Englert think that's the case.

"It's aimed at the same demographic and it's the same genre, but it has a very distinct identity," Ehrenreich said. 

"A lot of fantasy stories and movies take themselves very seriously. This one never really does -- there's a lot of humor that keeps it grounded."

One of the differences between this movie and Twilight is the presence of strong female characters, from the powerful Lena to the dark Caster Ridley (Emmy Rossum), who fully embraces being chosen for evil, creating havoc within Ravenwood Manor.

"One of the things I loved about this series is that it shows females as the ones with all of the power," Rossum said. "I think it's really important to empower young women, especially at (a young age). I've always gravitated toward strong female roles -- I was raised by a single mother, and she was so strong, so that was always important to me."

Ethan, by contrast, is also not the typical leading man. "He's funny, he's charming, and he's vulnerable, which you don't see a lot of," said Thomas Mann, who portrays Ethan's best friend Link.

Another interesting thing about the movie is the cast, with actors new to the scene -- Englert and Ehrenreich, among others -- alongside established presences such as Rossum (The Phantom of the Opera), Irons (Scar in The Lion King), Emma Thompson (the Harry Potterseries) and Viola Davis (Doubt).

"We (the newer actors) are all sort of jumping off at the same point, so it's nice," said Mann. "The older actors were so nurturing. It was great to work with this cast -- it sort of had a summer camp vibe."

Zoey Deutsch, who plays Ethan's popular and vindictive ex-girlfriend Emily Asher, agreed. "I personally feel fortunate -- we basically got paid to go to acting class," she said. "It was a lot of fun."

That fun should be evident on the screen once the movie is released on Feb. 14.

"(Director Richard LaGravenese) did a marvelous job keeping the spirit (of the book)," Ehrenreich said. "I hope people really embrace it."