Parents' Guide to

Beautiful Creatures

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Lush book adaptation mixes romance, fantasy, some violence.

Movie PG-13 2013 124 minutes
Beautiful Creatures Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 12+

Based on 15 parent reviews

dannycruise
dannycruise Parent of 12-year-old
July 25, 2022
age 11+

Entertaining young adult adaptation

I liked this movie a lot better than other young adult movie adaptations. The romance is just fine but the plot itself is engaging. There is one scene in a church that might prompt a discussion with younger kids and a couple of morally gray characters or plain evil. As to the two main characters, they're pretty bland. I would recommend for teens and mature tweens.
cindy9271
cindy9271 Adult
March 27, 2019
age 12+

Great movie for teenagers

I thought this was a great little movie about love and choices with some fantasy thrown in. No problems with sex in this movie. Overall a great choice for teenagers.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 15 parent reviews

What's the Story?

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is told from the perspective of 16-year-old Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich), who lives in the fictional small (and close-minded) town of Gatlin, South Carolina. Nothing and no one ever changes in Gatlin ... until the first day of junior year, when Ethan meets his new classmate, Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), the 15-year-old niece of wealthy and feared town recluse Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons). Lena bears an uncanny resemblance to a mysterious girl who has repeatedly popped up in Ethan's dreams, and he's immediately taken with her. As they get to know each other, Ethan realizes that Lena and her family aren't the Satanists the townsfolk claim; they're witches, or "Casters." And on her 16th birthday, Lena will be "claimed" for either the forces of light of the forces of darkness.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (15):
Kids say (29):

The leads are both appealing, and their romance is refreshingly sweet and tender -- as opposed to obsessive and controlling, as is so common in the genre. Although the Romeo and Juliet-like romance between young Ethan and Lena is the heart of Beautiful Creatures, this is a movie in which the grown-up characters have all the fun. Unlike Twilight or The Hunger Games, where the adults stay in the background, Irons, Viola Davis (Ammah, the town librarian), and Emma Thompson (town bigot Mrs. Lincoln) are enough reason for parents to accompany their teen daughters to the theater. Thompson and Irons are deliciously campy as they chew up the scenery, while Davis -- as always -- plays a sage and morally infallible mentor.

That said, devoted book fans hoping for a super-faithful adaptation are out of luck; writer-director Richard LaGravenese has taken considerable liberties to streamline the nearly 600-page novel into a two-hour film that leaves you wondering what will happen next. But he's kept the overall themes and (most) major characters -- including the lush, Southern setting with its oppressive heat and even more oppressive attitudes. The end doesn't provide a satisfying closure, so if another great cast could be summoned, a sequel wouldn't be unwelcome.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Beautiful Creatures' message. What is it saying about being open to differences? About censorship?

  • How does the Beautiful Creatures story contrast to Twilight? Are there any similarities beyond the forbidden young love?

  • Is Ethan and Lena's romance a positive relationship role model for teens? How do each of them make sacrifices for the other's well being? Is it believable for a 15- and 16-year-old to have such an intense connection?

  • Fans of the books: What changes made sense for the page-to-screen transformation? What parts do you miss?

Movie Details

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