Beautiful Creatures
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 14, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
52
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
17
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerFeb 14, 2013
A dash – only a dash – of Tim Burton ghoulishness might have helped. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanFeb 14, 2013
His screenplay for Beautiful Creatures is sharp and witty, considering the needlessly complicated source material. His cast is stellar, and the chemistry between his young stars magical. But too much of rest of the movie, like Thompson’s monstrous mother, is an unholy mess. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie OgleFeb 14, 2013
There’s potential here, a decent story and a cast well-stocked with grownup cinematic luminaries. But this supernatural Gothic romance is a prisoner of its own demons, which include sketchy Southern accents, tacky and tired stereotypes and faux homespun dialogue in the wrong mouths. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversFeb 14, 2013
It's a bigger yawn than it sounds. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithFeb 13, 2013
The danger of trying to do a supernatural comedy-romance is that you’ll wind up being as funny as “Twilight,” with all the raw sexual energy of “Bewitched.” Beautiful Creatures isn’t quite that bad, though it did make me long for the cleverer “Dark Shadows.” Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyFeb 13, 2013
What promised to be a teen screwball comedy with a supernatural twist soon descends into special-effects overkill and camp acting from the overqualified supporting cast. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsFeb 13, 2013
The derivative script and skimpy effects don’t convey either the power or the problems of being a young witch. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 13, 2013
When classy, pedigreed British actors go hog-wild under the flowering dogwood trees of a Southern Gothic setting, often the results are good. Just as often they're so bad they're good. And sometimes, as is the case with Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson in Beautiful Creatures, they're simply doing the best they can under the circumstances. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedFeb 12, 2013
The movie doesn’t know if it’s a teen fantasy-romance or a more sophisticated satire that the material can’t support. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFeb 11, 2013
Nicely cast and made with as much conviction as can be brought to something so intrinsically formulaic. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 11, 2013
I enjoyed this piece of southern-fried screwball Gothic whimsy (with jolts of CGI spell-casting for the multiplex crowd) so much that I’m sad to admit that it’s nowhere near as potent as "Twilight." Read full review
42
Portland OregonianMarc MohanFeb 14, 2013
The film looks old-fashioned, too, with cinematography and special effects so reminiscent of old-school, live-action Disney flicks such as "Something Wicked This Way Comes" that you wonder if it was an aesthetic choice or a budgetary concession. Either way, it doesn't work. Read full review
40
Total FilmSteve O BrienFeb 22, 2013
A semi-successful slice of Southern gothic panto. 
 Read full review
40
The GuardianXan BrooksFeb 16, 2013
The plot is wildly silly and shot full of holes, maundering endlessly on its slow trawl towards the climax. But the cast at least play it like they mean it, and keep it honest for a spell. Read full review
40
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottFeb 14, 2013
Beautiful Creatures is still an unabashed imitator, hewing closely to the "Twilight" blueprint. Some might go so far as to call it a blatant ripoff, as the differences between the two are cosmetic at best. Read full review
40
EmpireHelen O'HaraFeb 13, 2013
Had this adaptation of the young adult fantasy-romance taken a few more liberties, it might have been a home run. Read full review
40
Time OutKeith UhlichFeb 12, 2013
As with many young-adult book-to-film series, Beautiful Creatures plays like an illustrated compendium of scenes from the novel, as opposed to a finely tuned narrative all its own. Read full review
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