Styria

Kinda saw that coming, didn't you? The title I mean. Yeah, the very subjective take on not particularly great film that threw around Joy Division references and "Means to An End" at crucial moments. I'm sold! If Styria had been made in the 70s its spirit and iconography it was trying to recreate would have been a memorable piece. Still, I kinda feel for the pure fanboyism for the film and music of that period this piece displays and am on board. Would I do the same, given the opportunity? You bet!

Stephen Rea. Time to face the facts: greatest actor that never was! Loved this gent since Citizen X, but he just did not give his 100% here. Just kind of exists and wanders through this film hoping for it to be over already.

Can't shake the feeling Styria was an ambitious project. What it lacks in story telling and filmmaking skills makes up in pure enthusiasm. Usually, it is not enough. Was enough for me though, at least this time. I'd "blame" it on predominant music choices, couple of lovely gals, Hungarian countryside and some brief gore. Captures that Gothic atmosphere quite well. So, mission accomplished, as far as I'm concerned. Means to an end. Yeah.

This starts reasonably enough, an academic travels behind the then Iron Curtain to undertake a restoration project on what in the UK would be a listed building. Travelling with him is his daughter, who is a troubled young woman, not the least on account of the razor blade she carries around with her which has been used to, well, just look at the scars on her arm.

Then there is Carmilla; she is real enough on account of her escaping from a crashed car, but exactly how real are her nocturnal visitations, and is she a vampire or a witch?

The former, 'twould appear, because this is an update of the novel "Carmilla", a precursor to Bram Stoker's "Dracula". Alas, unlike the 2013 adaptation of "The Monkey's Paw", our Gothic lesbian femme fatale does not age well, and is more than a little confusing, as is the end of this extremely disappointing film.

'Styria' is a very different kind of vampire film. In fact, its so different, I didn't realize it was a vampire film until the halfway mark.

It is a slow-paced, character-driven movie. Dr Hill (Stephen Rea) has been granted access to murals in an old castle. Tagging along, is his young daughter, Lara (Eleanor Tomlinson). She has a back story, but it is not clearly defined or explored, and I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to root for her. She is suicidal, but unconvincing - not sure if the character or the acting is to blame; probably a bit of both.

Sitting in the forest, a car speeds past Lara, crashing into a tree. A young woman emerges and starts running. Another person in the car (who is not shown) tries to run her over, but then drives away, leaving the woman dirty and petrified. This is Carmilla (Julia Pietrucha). Lara decides to help the girl, and takes her to the castle. She doesn't tell her Dad, who is incredibly ignorant in not noticing her. Carmilla keeps coming back every night, and the girls wander into the forest for a bit of adventure.

The two girls soon bond and there's lesbian inclinations, but - as with everything else in this movie - it is not well explored. From the beginning one notices something weird about Carmilla, but the viewer is kept guessing almost until the third act. While the film has some eerie moments, most of these moments are diminished when the girls start chattering.

The narration and the plot are uneven. Moments in the film looks like it is more suited for medieval times, and personally I think it would have worked better had it been set in another time. It doesn't work so well in present time.

Ultimately, I found the film a bit on the boring side. I don't think I'm going to remember this. There are far better vampire movies out there.

I just saw this movie on Hulu Plus. I hadn't heard of it. But I love Stephen Rea, so I decided to see what it was all about. Needless to say, I was not disappointed! This is not your typical supernatural horror movie. It's a slow burn. But there's so much beauty in every image. And there are a lot of visual references and historical layers. I very taken by Eleanor Tomlinson's performance as Lara. And after watching I did some research and realized it is an adaptation of a novella called Carmilla. Now I know what I'll be doing this weekend! I wish more movies were made like this today, atmospheric, beautiful, and full of interesting details!

An occasionally wooden Stephen Rea plays studious Dr. Hill, whose daughter Lara (Eleanor Tomlinson) glares at people from beneath thickly made-up eyelids: she listens to Joy Division and attempts, in quiet moments, to self-harm (Lara's mum suffered from post-natal depression and committed suicide). During one such time, she witnesses a car crash, in which another young girl is ejected. That her name is Carmilla should get alarm bells ringing. Carmilla (Julia Petruchia) is bewitching and, as you might imagine, somewhat sinister.

'Angel of Darkness', or 'Styria' as it is sometimes known, is a retelling of the Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu vampire story that pre-dates even 'Dracula', but that's not to say interesting new things aren't done with the theme of vampire seduction.

Directors Mauricio Chernovetzky and Mark Devendorf really lay on the atmosphere here, from the beautifully decaying Hungarian castle in which Hill is hurriedly conducting his experiments in the short amount of time available to him, to the wonderfully gothic surrounding gardens and woodlands. This is a modestly budgeted film - in fact I understand it was completed thanks to a Crowdfunding campaign - but it looks superb throughout, with the effective scares taking second place to rich ambience.

The two girls tread that line between mischievous and dangerous, but so skillfully are they played, they never come across as bratty which would be the case in less talented hands.

Sluggish in places it may be, but this is a highly enjoyable excursion into rich, atmospheric horror and provides a very worthwhile and enjoyable new take on the Carmilla story. My score is 8 out of 10.