A nine-book literary series, Vampire Academy is a young adult saga by Richelle Mead.
We find ourselves at St. Vladimir’s, an extraordinary private school where young vampires learn magic away from prying eyes. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir. She must protect her best friend Lissa, a Moroi princess. When they are forcibly returned to their school after fleeing a death threat against Lissa, the two friends might face unforeseen problems.
Full of mystery and twists, Vampire Academy achieved significant literary success, so much so that in 2014, a film adaptation was made by Mark Waters. The cast for the three main roles includes Zoey Deutch as Rose, Lucy Fry as Lissa Dragomir, and Danila Kozlovsky as Dimitri Belikov. However, while the film was intended to be the first in a series, following the example of the books, Vampire Academy struggled to find its place in the film world. With very poor reviews, scoring 3.4/10, and failing to recoup its budget, the film adaptation of the first book is considered a resounding failure.
Then in 2022, Amazon Prime launched a reboot of the film as a series. This time, the plot does not faithfully adapt the literary saga but uses elements from each novel to construct its own story. The setting remains the same, but the issues do not strictly follow the book series. The adventures of the two friends are particularly tumultuous, but the storyline is much better developed in the series than in the film. This time, Sisi Stringer plays Rose Hathaway, Daniela Nieves is Lissa Dragomir, and Kieron Moore takes on the role of Dimitri Belikov.
At the helm of this series is Julie Plec, the renowned producer, director, and screenwriter known for her work in the Vampire Diaries, The Originals, and Legacies universes. Julie also played a significant role in producing and directing the first three Scream films.
The Vampire Academy universe is brimming with obvious potential; however, the literary saga, in my opinion, starts to go in circles. I confess that I did not read beyond the third book because, in my view, the novels and their plots dragged on. Although the universe is well-crafted, there are far too many books—perhaps a trilogy would have been more suitable.
As for the film, it veers into kitsch territory. Many criticize it for being either too fast-paced or, conversely, too slow, not to mention the general criticisms of it being a basic teen movie. It’s described as “a mix between Harry Potter and Twilight in a more cheesy version.” While my personal opinion differs from those who completely dismiss the film, it is indeed a film aimed at teenagers, and the mix can be hard to digest for the more pragmatic viewers. Nevertheless, Vampire Academy remains an entertaining film that has won the hearts of many fans despite the negative reviews.
The film is decent but doesn’t deserve the title of “film of the year,” and since the books go in circles (in my view, likely due to the number of books), I wasn’t sure what to expect when I discovered the series announcement. Then the trailer came out, and to my (small) surprise, the series actually looked good. I had the opportunity to watch it several times, and the universe is sometimes even better. We stay within the academy, which is quite different from the one in the film, and to my great surprise, I prefer the series this time. This series stands out as a very good fantasy show that deserved a larger reception. I highly recommend it to those who enjoy fantasy, vampire, action, and magic. Unfortunately, the series did not make the splash it deserves, probably due to the film’s failure. But the new adventures at St. Vladimir’s deserve more recognition, and I hope that Rose and Lissa can win over your human hearts.
