Le Vourdalak

A number of reviews seem to consider the film a dark comedy. While the main character behaves a bit foolishly at times and the vourdalak's looks maybe lack finesse, I didn't see it that way myself, so I thought I'd share my two cents.

From old Russian, Czech, and maybe also Polish scary movies (made roughly some time before the late 80s) that I have seen, the style of the vourdalak's appearance in this film makes me think this was done as an homage.

There's just something about it and the entire film... The closest movie I can think of that this feels similarly creepy to is "Viy", an old Russian movie. (If you've seen that movie and liked it, by the way, then you'll probably like this. If you liked this movie, then you should definitely try to check that one out.)

I might be totally wrong, but this movie felt like it was from another time, maybe also because the creature was real (be it makeup or a puppet, it was a practical effect) and not cgi. (Nothing wrong with digital effects, mind you; I rather love them all.)

The only hint of modernity in this was a jump scare at one point.

Other than that, this movie could have fit right in among the other strange creepy movies in the box set called "All the Haunts Be Ours".

Based on Tolstoy's La Famille du Vourdalak, where a vampire from Slavic folklore returns to feed off his own family, Adrien Beau's feature film debut Le Vourdalak follows the Marquis d'Urfé, an emissary of the King of France, finding haven in the house of a peculiar family where he expects to receive a horse to continue his journey.

Visually, it evokes the feeling of being in a fairytale due to its aesthetics resembling those of the past. There's charm and a sense of magic in them. The house and the woods add a haunting yet beautiful aura to the story that enhances its fantasy qualities. Due to the choices it makes when it comes to VFX, opting for practical effects with props instead of CGI, it achieves a slapstick humor that can also be scary at times (puppets, for instance).

It's not everyday that a film succeeds in combining genres so different as horror and comedy, but Le Vourdalak does it from beginning to end, making it worth watching.

If the title sounds familiar, it's probably because you recognize "wurdulak" as the word for the vampire in Mario Bava's Black Sabbath. This is another version of that story by A. K. Tolstoy, and it's a peculiar mix of folk horror and vampire myth. It's slow - Bava told the story in 1/3 the time - but very enjoyable, with a charming performance by. Kacey Mottet Klein as Marquis Jacques Antoine Saturnin d'Urfe, prancing around the Russian forest in his powdered face, beauty spot, wig and stockings. Imagine Barry Lyndon in The Company of Wolves. If you like your vampires on the European weirdness side, give this a watch!

After making a couple of shorts, French artist Adrien Beau made his first feature film in 2023, inspired by the gothic novel «The Vurdalak Family. Unpublished Fragment of the Memoirs of a Stranger», written in French by Russian author Aleksey Tolstoy in 1839, which has been adapted to film on numerous occasions as a horror drama. Beau does not elude the horror angle, but by making the decision to dispense with computer visual effects to represent the vurdalak (vampire) and opting for a puppet that he designed, executed and voiced, his film takes different directions, including comedy, without express intention, so that the story evokes fascination, smile (or laughter) and terror in turns.

There is nothing comic about the story. In the middle of a forest (Serbian, in the original), a young marquis and ambassador of the King of France (excellent Kacey Mottet Klein) is assaulted and robbed by Turks. The courtier seeks help at the house of a peasant named Gorcha, to continue his journey. But the peasant family and the French diplomat, are all besieged by old Gorcha, who has become a bloodthirsty vurdalak. For his "mise en screen", Beau shot the film in 16 millimeters, which gives a richer and realistic visual quality to the image, in these days when we are accustomed to the pulchritudinous digital image; and in several scenes he resorts to the terror that arises from "the unseen", from what happens in the dark, instead of the explicit images in which the vurdalak subjugates all.

The decision to use a puppet may have been completely intentional, considering that all the characters are indifferent to his cadaverous appearance. Avoiding that "terror a la antique", with figures generated by the most macabre and sinister sector of an author's brain, and reluctant to make it visible with "grace a la CGI", Beau gives another dimension to the macabre, gives it some humor, with a cardboard entity without the fluidity of the computerized image, but which is capable of draining life and startle us, as the shot in which the vurdalak appears behind his little grandson and voraciously bites his neck and consumes his blood.

«The Vourdalak» premiered at the Venice Film Festival, within the framework of Critics' Week, where it won the Jury Prize for Best Female Performance for Ariane Labed (wife of Yorgos Lanthimos and awarded at that same festival for her performance in the drama «Attenberg» by Athina Rachel Tsangari). Currently it must be available on Amazon Prime (which co-produced it). Don't miss it and have your good glass of wine or bag of popcorn ready.

The Vourdalak is a stylish, low-budget French movie from 2023 in which a noble emissary of the King of France seeks refuge in the home of a family living deep in the woods. Soon, they are confronted by an evil that begins to consume both the family and their new guest.

From the cover, it's clear that The Vourdalak is a film about a vampire-like creature. The cover design is unique and eerie, which certainly piqued my interest in watching the movie. It successfully captures the historical time frame, with spectacular costumes and set designs. The film has a mysterious atmosphere steeped in fantasy elements. The acting was strong, and the small cast of characters was engaging. I particularly enjoyed the dark approach, which had a few surprises up its sleeve, especially in the third act, where a memorable scene occurs that lingers long after the credits roll.

Overall, the movie manages to be distinctive enough to provide a memorable experience. However, it never fully immersed me in the story. The pacing felt a bit slow, which is a subjective criticism but hard to overlook. My biggest issue, though, lies with the use of puppets, especially for the antagonist. This creative choice consistently broke my immersion. I found myself distracted, imagining the behind-the-scenes mechanics of the puppetry, such as how the puppeteer might be moving at any given moment. This detracted from the film's ability to build a frightening atmosphere and ultimately prevented me from fully engaging with the story. While this may not bother everyone, it was a significant hurdle for me. I do admire those who didn't experience this issue.

The Vourdalak is a unique film with a sophisticated approach, offering something different from the countless movies Hollywood churns out daily. However, it didn't entirely grip me, which affected my overall experience. Perhaps it might work better on a second watch, but for now, I can't rate the movie any higher. [5.2/10]