If you’re thinking Vampire Academy is yet another Twilight, you’re in for a surprise. As Sarah Hyland tells us herself, “This is a completely different movie than Twilight. The only thing they have in common are vampires.” But, don’t let that discourage you Twilight fans! If you loved your saga, you will definitely enjoy this one. This teenage movie is edgy, fun and unexpectedly funny.

With a cast of young talented actors and an upbeat story line, Vampire Academy seems to be the teenage franchise that’s been missing. “Get ready for an epic ride because it’s a beautiful story about two girls and their friendship… It’s a very female driven film. They’re not damsels in distress. You’re not going to see these weak women in this film. You’re gonna see really strong female characters and the guys are there to look pretty,” said Sarah Hyland, who plays Natalie Dashkov.  Although handsome, the male actors are just as good. Dominic Sherwood (Christian Ozera) genuinely and humbly admits to us that it feels “really nice” to be looked at as the cute guy. He said, “It’s something that is unexpected. I haven’t really kind of experienced too much before.” It’s hard to believe that this starlet hasn’t had this kind of response. However, looks are only part of his resume. He’s a talented actor who’s had a love for performance for as long as he can remember, “My passion is performing. Working on a movie like this is truly incredible, but if I’m performing for a living… It could be in a theater in London playing for fifty people every night. I’d be happy.” His costar Lucy Fry, who plays Lissa Dragomir tells us a little bit about their on screen relationship, “Lissa and Christian have this really dynamic tension. It’s very sort of short but strong, powerful, intense scenes between us.”

Another flaming relationship is between Danila Kozlovsky (Dimitri Belikov) and Zoey Deuth (Rose Hathaway). Although their age difference gets in the way, it only makes the chemistry between the two a lot more intriguing. Rose Hathaway is a fearless vampire guardian, who protects royal princess and best friend Lissa Dragomir from the immortal and evil vampires.

Although some characteristics were altered to bring you a movie experience, the feature stayed true to the book. When comparing her character Natalie, Sarah Hyland commented, “Daniel Waters did such a great depiction of her from the book.” (Daniel Waters, screenwriter and executive producer.) Those who have read it will be pleased to see it all come to life. Not only is the cast young, beautiful and talented, director Mark Waters is behind it all. Lucy Fry said, “Having done Mean Girls, he knows how to make it work. He has the most amazing attention to detail. He sees everything and he can just bring out the humor and the comedy in every scene and keep the tone consistent.”

This new teenage franchise is incredibly funny and surprisingly entertaining. Ending with a beautiful speech that will leave you wanting more. You will find romance and the known teenage issues, but one of the main ingredients is a strong female character. So, vampire and supernatural lovers expect the unexpected and get ready for a new kind of vampire.

Vampire Academy is PG 13 and plays in theaters this Friday, February 7.