So glazed over were we by New Moon’s midnight screenings on Friday that we completely missed the first teaser for Beastly, the teen reboot of Beauty and the Beast starring Alex Pettyfer and High School Musical’s uber-tween queen Vanessa Hudgens, but any Twihards needing need a new fix of man monsters can get an extra “SQUEEEEE!” by watching it below.
And indeed, from the teaser at least it looks like Alex Pettyfer’s going to be jostling for pole position on the man/monster podium with the Twilight crowd. He plays an egotistical high school kid who’s hit by a curse by Mary-Kate Olsen's witch, but the emphasis on his transformation is on monster rather than fit and a bit naughty.
Seed of Chucky’s Tony Gardner is on effects duty and, while we get the obligatory soulful looks into Pettyfer’s eyes, good hair etc, his transformed form is leagues away from the dishy vampires and werewolves all over the screen lately. We’re talking vein overload, brooding aplenty and something distinctly plague-like creeping up his arm when a transformation occurs, topped off with an end scene that looks like something out of Angel.
There’s hints at special powers too, mostly of the looking good topless, jumping off walls and getting into school fights variety. Unsurprisingly, there’s not much for Hudgens to do here beyond grin toothily and say “I always knew there was something more to him.” And, if Beastly gets its way, that’s exactly what tweens and teens will be doing when it gets its US release next July.
Twilight fans – can Beastly fill the gap til Eclipse?