Beautiful Creatures
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Screen for YOUR familyParent's Guide to Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures is a 2013 American gothic fantasy romance film adapted from the novel of the same name. It tells the story of Ethan Wate, a mortal teenager in a small Southern town, who falls in love with Lena Duchannes, a powerful caster (witch) with supernatural abilities. Lena is cursed to be claimed by either the Light or the Dark on her sixteenth birthday, a fate that she and Ethan try desperately to avert. The film blends elements of young adult romance, fantasy, and Southern Gothic, featuring magical powers, ancient curses, and a conflict between good and evil. The narrative explores themes of choice, destiny, tolerance, and judging people beyond appearances, set against a backdrop of a conservative, religious community. The content is generally aimed at a teenage audience, with supernatural violence, intense romantic encounters, and some mature themes.
Things to Consider
Violence
The film contains frequent and intense supernatural violence, including magical battles, destructive displays of power, and implied deaths. While not always graphically bloody, the impact and consequences of the violence are significant and can be disturbing.
Lena's uncontrolled rage causes classroom windows to shatter and explode, injuring students. Ridley, a Dark Caster, uses her powers to make a boy walk onto railway tracks where he is fatally hit by a train. In a Civil War flashback, an ancestor dies in battle, is briefly revived by a spell, and then killed again. Later, Ethan is killed during a Civil War reenactment when Link, under a spell, shoots him with a real bullet. The antagonist Sarafine is ultimately destroyed by Lena, disintegrating into a tree.
Profanity
The movie contains a notable amount of coarse and strong language. Multiple parental reviews indicate frequent use of expletives.
Witchcraft & Occult
Witchcraft and occult themes are central and pervasive throughout the film, portraying magic as a real and powerful force. Characters are referred to as 'casters' (witches) and perform various spells, rituals, and supernatural feats that drive the entire plot.
Scary & Intense Content
The movie contains frequent disturbing and frightening scenes, heightened by supernatural elements and a pervasive sense of dread about Lena's impending fate. Magical confrontations are intense and involve significant peril to characters.
Anti-Christian Themes
The film portrays Christian characters and beliefs in a predominantly negative light, often depicting them as narrow-minded, hypocritical, or antagonistic towards the casters. It suggests that religious institutions can be repressive and critical of differing viewpoints.
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Additional Context
Best For Ages
Not recommended for children under 13, with parental guidance for children under 15, and suitable for ages 15+. This recommendation is based on the film's frequent supernatural violence, scary and disturbing scenes, moderate sexual content and suggestive themes, strong language, and pervasive occult themes.
Good to Know
The film's runtime is 124 minutes. It is a standalone film based on the first book of 'The Caster Chronicles' series, and subsequent installments of the book series were not adapted into films, so content evolution across sequels is not applicable to the movie franchise. The movie received mixed critical reviews and performed modestly at the box office. Parents should be aware of the strong thematic elements related to occult practices and the overtly negative portrayal of Christian characters, which may be a point of discussion or concern for faith-based families.
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