An amnesiac man, haunted by memories of torture, is undergoing a rigorous psychiatric assessment after he was found wandering, dishevelled, close to the Italian border.
The medical team are trying to figure out who this man is, and what exactly happened to him. When suddenly, a mysterious woman shows up claiming the man's name is Nicola and that he works as a lumber importer. She says she hardly knows him, but when she confronts the man...he freaks out...before she seemingly disappears without a trace.
The memories of the man start to seep back to him in a flashback. It turns out he isn't an amnesiac at all. Rather, someone who has had an experience so traumatic, that all prior memories have become repressed- causing him to slip into a state of madness. Though, one that just may be warranted in his particular case...
He recalls taking a short cut through the woods and getting his car stuck on a stump after crashing it in an attempt to avoid a woman- who also just disappears after.
In an attempt to find help, he recalls wandering through the woods, where he happens upon a family of backwoods hick-types. They agree to help him...but not until the morning. They invite him inside, before proceeding to tightly bar all doors and windows...to protect themselves from what lurks outside at night.
It turns out that the family is being tormented by a cursed witch- actually a varadluk (or vampire). This woman had recently targeted the head of the family's brother- forcing them to euthanize him with a wooden stake to the heart.
Nicola has a hard time believing what he is being confronted with, but has- by this point- fallen deeply in love with one of the young women in the family- Sdenka.
After witnessing the disappearance and murder of more family members (while still suffering from cognitive dissonance), Nicola decides to flee for help- asking Sdenka to join him. But she cannot leave her family behind under the circumstances, so she requests that he return for her...and not go to the police, in the meantime.
He quickly discovers that the local townspeople are of no help (they suggest he forget about it). So, he returns to fetch Sdenka. Only to discover it's too late. So late, in fact...he has to fight and flee just to escape with his own life! An experience which has rendered him into his current psychological state.
Apparently Sdenka is the mysterious woman who suddenly shows up at the hospital, requesting to see him. Hence why he goes all crazy in her presence...knowing she has come back for the one she loves...him.
But is he truly a victim of a supernatural reality? Or is it all in his head?
While relatively basically constructed, this is a rather enjoyable vampire flick. The atmosphere is quite mysterious. And I love how the writers exploit a loophole in the legend to propagate the curse. The vampires- while simple- are quite freaky...particularly the children. There are some great traditional special effects thrown in there too. Older vampire films are so much better than the modern incarnations because simple just works better sometimes. As this film is a testament to.
6.5 out of 10
