Innocence

The latest on the carousel of young-adult novel adaptations for the big screen is Innocence, a laughably amateurish attempt to cash in on the trend.

Based on the book by Jane Mendelsohn, it features lots of brooding and teen mischief but doesn’t allow much room for emotional investment from moviegoers.

The story follows Beckett (Sophie Curtis), an awkward newcomer to a posh Manhattan private school with a toxic social atmosphere. As it turns out, she’s trying to start over with her father (Linus Roache) after her mother was killed in a surfing accident.

Beckett begins experiencing a series of nightmares and haunting visions that might be connected to the tragedy, or might be the result of some sinister goings-on at her new school. She tries to convince people it’s the latter, pointing the finger at the creepy school nurse (Kelly Reilly) and her mysterious usage of pills. She begins piecing together clues with a cynical friend (Sarah Sutherland) that suggest acts of vampirism or witchcraft in her midst.

At any rate, Beckett starts hanging with the wrong crowd and becomes more withdrawn as her inner struggles worsen. There’s an obligatory romantic subplot involving a sympathetic neighbor (Graham Phillips).

The low-budget film presumably is trying to lure fans of TV’s “True Blood” or the Twilight franchise, but this is a pale imitation that lacks bite. With such transparent intentions, the target demographic might be disappointed with the lack of bloody confrontations or genuine frights.

Instead, the uninvolving screenplay co-written by director Hilary Brougher (Stephanie Daley) features dull characters and overwrought melodrama. The visual approach is haphazard and the effects look cheap.

Ultimately, Innocence is almost all buildup with no payoff. Since it teases viewers to the point of frustration, by the time you figure out the secret behind the paranormal happenings, you probably won’t care. So the film makes a drastic miscalculation by hinging its entire reveal on a final sequence that’s both incoherent and obvious.

With uneven performances by its young cast and a tendency to take itself way too seriously, Innocence doesn’t do justice to its source material, as its fans are likely to discover.

Rated PG-13, 93 minutes.