Review: 'My Sucky Teen Romance', written and directed by Emily Hagins

Even with Twilight thankfully coming to a close in a couple of months, the teen vampire crazy shows no signs of slowing down even though it remains as stagnant as ever. My Sucky Teen Romance, from promising teenaged writer/director Emily Hagins, is a fun and irreverent breath of fresh air that isn't afraid to make fun of itself while taking a bite out of the current vampire fad.

The plot is simple but perfect for the micro-budgeted effort, and indicative of Hagins' youthful exuberance and tendency towards snarky banter. The story kicks off with a nice little twist as Vince(Devin Bonnee), a leather-clad 1950s greaser, is turned into a vampire that bears a striking resemblance to a certain pale Twilight star. Now in the present, he transforms geeky shop clerk Paul(Patrick Delgado) just after he meets the girl of his dreams in comic book fangirl, Kate(Elaine Hunt). Paul and Kate are reunited in their nerd love at a local pop culture convention, but when he accidentally bites and turns Kate while attempting an awkward kiss, they find that vampire love is a lot more complicated than your average high school crush.

Hagins cleverly uses the convention backdrop and the Cosplay atmosphere to poke fun at pop culture tropes. Twilight fans get devoured with a ghoulish enthusiasm, even becoming the target of Ain't It Cool News' Harry Knowles in a hilarious cameo. Hagins even channels a little bit of Joss Whedon's Buffyverse as Kate teams up with her Scooby Gang pals to try and find a cure, and also find the vampire responsible for the disappearance of a girl pointedly named Nancy Drew(played by Hagins herself). Of course, vampires are kind of hard to find when everybody in the building is dressed like a long-lost member of the Cullen clan.

The tone stays light throughout, and Hagins shows a confident hand as a director. There's rarely a dull moment, and Hagins' youth comes in handy when capturing the unpredictability spurred on by teen hormones. She also has a very clear ear for the way young people talk, and the jokes are mostly of the immature variety, as you would probably expect from a bunch of horny geeks in their native environment. It's just refreshing to have a film that's made by, for, and about teenagers that understands their goals and desires. Some of the characters could have been fleshed out a little more, and the story loses a little bit of its charm as it takes a sudden turn for the serious. Hagins uses her tiny budget to the fullest, combining some cool video game effects and (un)healthy amounts of spurting blood.

It's Hagins' approach, along with a handful of genuine performances by the young cast, that elevate My Sucky Teen Romance ahead of its bigger budgeted competitors. Elaine Hurt is excellent as the cute and bookish Kate, who wants just one romantic experience before heading off to college. She's got a real future as an actress if she chooses to pursue it. The same goes for Hagins, who now at the age of 19 and this her third directorial feature has shown more potential than some twice her age. Hers is a career worthy of being followed, and if we're lucky we'll be seeing a lot more from her in the future.

Trav's Tip: Hagins directed her first feature film, Pathogen, when she was only 12 years old! The film's production was chronicled in the documentary, Zombie Girl: The Movie.  You can check out My Sucky Teen Romance for yourself by going here.