Leptirica

Yes! There were quite a few 'not so smart' people at TV Serbia back in 80's because they showed this film at 19:00 or even worse around 10:00 so all the children (i.e. Me) could see it and think its drama for kids...What a misconception!!!

This is vampire-horror masterpiece! Unfortunetally its TV movie made with TV camera so you never have impression of a real movie...But that kind of work has many achievements because you simply don't expect that kind of HORROR in that form of film-making!

Makeup is brilliant!!! Acting is beutyfull - all professional, academic actors - which is not the case with 99.99% of horror movies! Story it pretty simple but it all revolves in 19th century Serbia so it has sweetest plot I'we ever seen in a Horror!

I recommend it with greatest pleasure!

I came across this film completely by chance. I have never heard of it before even though I was born in Slovenia , which used to be a part of Yugoslavia. The She Butterfly has a very simple premise. It is shot in a beautiful countryside whose inhabitants are puzzled and shocked by the murders of five millworkers. It is clear that it is a doing of a malevolent presence. 1h3min running time is perfect. The film never drags or loses momentum. It also contains some quirky humour which you will especially enjoy if you are from the Balkan region. But the highlight of the film, in my opinion, is the soundtrack. It amplifies the general atmosphere and gives the whole film a haunting and eerie feel. Definitely recomended if you are a fan of old school horror.

Leptirica aka She Butterfly is an interesting little made for TV folk horror film, from the former Yugoslavia (now Serbia), based on the story After Ninety Years (1880) written by Milovan Glisic (who was konwn as the "Serbian Gogol", for it's six degrees of seperation to Mad Love).

The Balkans are home to polymath Johann Weikhard von Valvasor, who documented the world's first written account on vampires- about the legend of Jure Grando from Istria (now Slovenia)- in his encyclopedia: The Glory Of The Duchy Of Carniola.

His book was published 17 years before Stoker wrote Dracula; basing the story on folk tales he heard from the mountain dwelling villagers living along the Drina River Valley.

And so we have the tale of the Leptirica...the She-Butterly...a vampiric apparition of a beautiful young maiden, who shapeshifts into a werewolf, whenever she needs to feed.

She's already gone through 4 millers in the past year...and the villagers are starting to get suspicious.

The elders hold a town hall meeting and decide that they must take action.

Meanwhile, a poor, jobless young man has been wooing her in her maiden form. But her dad keeps intervening to stifle their love.

So he joins the older men, who suggest he take up the job of the miller, considering the position has recently been vacated by the death of the previous miller.

He agrees, hoping it will win things over with her dad, but it doesn't take long before he, himself, is attacked.

Luckily he survives...but it's the last straw.

The villagers fear a vampire is at work here. So they go to the town's old witch, hoping she'll have some advice.

She points the finger at an old grave. So the men set off to dig it up, so that they can stake the corpse and (hopefully) end the curse.

But they must use Parzivalian tactics find it.

However, when they do...a small butterfly is released...and they are unable to catch it.

It escapes.

But, now endowed with a newfound confidence (after having survived the attack)- alongside a little encouragement from his friends- the young man sets off to elope with his beloved (regardless of her father's wishes).

Everything seems to be going fine until he goes to consummate the marriage; at which point he discovers a gaping hole in her stomach...right about where they had staked that unburied coffin they were directed to uncover.

He tries to remove the stake, in hope it might save her soul, and return her to her former self.

But it's too late...she has now taken on her monstrous form permanently...ultimately leading to the film's conclusion.

I really liked pretty much everything about this film...but there is one thing I just didn't get.

What did her father do with the Butterfly when he caught it? (I guess I'll have to read the story...)

Otherwise it's a really enjoyable film.

I particularly enjoyed how they messed with the mad drunken priest.

If you are into folk horror, this will definitely be up your alley.

7 out of 10.

I saw this serbian film twice in my early childhood. Remember it still in the mist and it is one of the few horror movies that spooked the hell out of me. Highly recommended vintage treasure, straight 10/10, one of the TOP5 horror movies of all times. Brilliant camera, weird rural atmosphere, a true representative of Balkans' scary legends on the big screen.

"Leptirica" is a Yugoslavian female vampire horror film from the early 70s shot in the Serbian countryside and based on a novel.The incredibly eerie beginning takes place in a mill.The old miller listens strange bird voices and while he's sleeping the millstone suddenly stops working and a strange creature with black hands,long nails,angry eyes and long teeth bites his neck and drinks his blood.Soon the area of a small Yugoslavian village and the dark woods are plagued with the attacks of a truly hideous vampire creature...This is my first Yugoslavian horror film and I'm highly impressed.It features some of the creepiest vampire attack scenes ever captured on screen.It's also based on Serbian folklore,unfortunately my DVD-R don't have English subtitles,so 90% of the plot went beyond me.Still if you want to see truly scary horror film try to find "Leptirica".9 out of 10.