In Twelve, we meet Michael (Chace Crawford) who used to be part of Manhattan's high society. However, when he mother was diagnosed cancer (which eventually took her life), the medical bills caused Michael's father to lose his restaurant. Now, Michael is known as White Mike, and he sells drugs to all of his former upper-crust friends. He gets his drugs from Lionel (Curtis Jackson), a violent man who doesn't hesitate to kill people. Mike's only connection to his old life is his Molly (Emma Roberts), a girl he's known since childhood. He hasn't been able to confess to Molly that his family's money is gone and that he's a drug dealer. Now White Mike's life keeps him on the move, as he moves through Christmas-break parties, selling drugs to bored, rich teenagers looking for a thrill. As we follow Mike, we meet various characters, such as Jessica (Emily Meade), who has become hooked on the new drug "twelve"; Chris (Rory Culkin), who hopes that a big party will impress a girl; Claude (Billy Magnussen), Chris' unstable brother; and Andrew (Maxx Brawer), a nervous jock who wants to be accepted by his peers. As the film progresses, these characters get more and more out of control, showing that they have little concern for their own or anyone else's safety.

But, while Gossip Girl has a soapy, borderline silly, quality at times, Twelve is a very dark and dour film. Whether or not there's a kernel of truth to what we are seeing, the movie takes an unflinching look at the excesses of the rich and unbridled. This certainly isn't a happy movie, and I can imagine that some were overwhelmed by its bleak outlook. Yes, the "poor little rich kids" thing has been done to death, and like so many, I'm tired of seeing movies where the wealthy are self-destructive and never happy. However, there is something compelling about Mike's story. Perhaps it's the fact that I know someone whose family lost everything due to an illness in the family, but making Mike the central character and having his story rooted in this reality makes the movie accessible. Much more so than say Dan Humphrey on Gossip Girl.

The easiest comparison to make for Twelve are the works of Brett Easton Ellis, specifically Less Than Zero. Like that story, Twelve is based on a novel (which was written by a then 17-year old Nick McDonell). The film is narrated by Keifer Sutherland, and it's easy to imagine that his words are coming directly from the pages of the book. The narration offers a quick shortcut into the story, but it also hinders things at time, most notably during the denouement. As for Schumacher, he's eschewed his trademark flashy, colorful style for a more straight-forward look. The hints of style come through in Michael's flashbacks, some of which portray him standing in a completely white space. This may seem trite to some, but I liked it, given that memories aren't always crystal clear and we tend to focus on particular parts of a moment when we remember something.

Despite having a name director and some familiar actors, Twelve received only a limited theatrical run and was savaged by critics. Perhaps some of them felt that the movie was too similar to Less Than Zero or Gossip Girl. I hadn't expected much from the film, but I found it to be interesting and much better than some other movies that I've watched recently. Crawford shows more range than he gets to on Gossip Girl and the movie's brisk pace certainly helps. Twelve won't make you feel any better about our youth culture, but it is an interesting film.

Twelve is a bit vague about its titular drug on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the Disc contains an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 20 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing no overt grain or defects from the source material. Most of the film takes place at night, but the image is never overly dark or bright, and the colors look realistic. The level of detail is impressive and the crisp image has given the picture a nice amount of depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track delivers clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are fine, especially during the party scene. These scenes, as well as street scenes, show off some well-done surround sound effects. The in-film music provides acceptable subwoofer effects.

There are no extras on the Twelve Blu-ray Disc.