Carmilla

The actors in this film are mesmerising and the film is beautifully shot. Definitely worth watching

Excellent film that uses the framework of a gothic novel to tell a different and much more ambiguous tale (Who is the monster?).

This is a film much more interested in female intelligence and desire and the crushing of female intelligence and desire than it is in lurid Jess Franco-esque titillation or squelchy Roberto Rodriguez-esque gore.

The ambiguity of whether there is anything supernatural going on or even if there is anything homoerotic going on is pitched very well and brings up other aspects of life such as the propensity for a witch-hunt. Jessica Raine is excellent in her supporting role.

Reminds me of 'Lady Macbeth' in all the best ways. Emily Harris is another director to watch.

So yeah. I have no idea why they used Carmilla as the "basis" for this film. It trades the baggage of eroticism and exploitation from many previous films and tames it down into a feminist lesbian love story. I'm not saying that a feminist lesbian love story is a bad thing or that it shouldn't be told. Everyone has a right to be heard.

I came into this cold merely because of the title and to say the least I was left underwhelmed. Maybe the filmmakers had the purest of motives I. E. "We shall take this gothic novel and rehabilitate it to remove the stigma of exploitation and objectification". But it ends up seeming like a cynical exploitation of those previous films just for the purpose of making money.

There are some redeeming qualities to this film. It looks absolutely stunning. A real visual treat. The acting is not bad. The score isn't terrible.

But what it doesn't really have is a heart. The "love story" is rather banal and honestly boring. Direction is very stiff. The writing is honestly bland and uninspiring. There isn't anything to make me feel any emotion except irritation. A perfect example of style over substance.

In short it's much too tame and contrived. In fact there isn't really much vampire in this vampire movie. I think what they were trying to say had something to do with "Carmilla was persecuted for being a lesbian". But who knows? The exact same ending could be the work of someone trying to say lesbianism is evil.

This would have made a beautiful short film, worthy of a higher rating, for acting, cinematography and concept; the actresses are as fetching as the scenery and it's a period piece - what's not to like. stretched too thin, repetitive scenes that drag on forever, and the pretty sand castle collapses as one falls asleep mid-scene. a central tenet of the plot is not well enough executed for suspension of disbelief, even for a die-hard fantasy/sci-fi fanatic like myself, who usually finds escapism preferable to hyper realism and has no patience for the 'suspension of disbelief' crowd. I haven't read the book, but it seems doubtful that this crucial detail wasn't more convincing on the written page, or that so little happened over such a long time. put a gel sleeping ice pack on your eyes, put Enya on in the background, burn some lavender incense and take a nap instead.

I LOVE vampire movies, i've seen as many as i can get my grubby little hands on, and i really loved this one. This one has a very beautiful ambiguity that i really really love. At lot of these other reviews seemed to hate that, but in this adaptation you don't know of carmilla really a vampire, you just know something isn't right with her, and i loved that. It's still visually very beautifully gothic, but if you want candelabras and fangs on necks this isn't necessarily a traditional vampire flick.

In the original novel, lara doesn't reciprocate carmillas advances but this one is this very strange, romantic love story between the two of them that i think works much better than original antagonist carmilla.

There is a bit of gore in this one, it's mildly graphic, but i think it works really well especially in the context of the whole movie.