Karmina

this is one of my family's all-time favourites: the skewing of the costumes to the 80s ("big hair"; satin brocade; british-style punks; lounge-lizard, disco-ball pick-up lines; etc) took the edge off what could have been a really gory movie. the jokes are, at times, a bit lame but, on the whole, are funny -- sometimes even excruciatingly hilarious. (tip: pay close attention to the "transylvanian" spoken at the beginning and compare it to what's being said in the subtitles). the music is good, although the plot's a bit... well...

okay, the plot is *very* predictable -- but that's okay! seriously! everyone's having so much fun acting in the movie and we had so much fun watching it, that not having to wait in suspense for something out-of-the-blue and amazingly unique to happen was refreshing. it really can be nice to just sit back and enjoy a straight-forward romantic-comedy-with-a-twist. (tip: you'll love the scene where the cop tries to get sleazy with Our Heroine after the potion's worn off!)

This is a movie we used to watch as a family over and over again. Maybe our family was a bit progressive, but we even let the little kids watch it. Doesn't matter if it was the first time or the 10th time, we left uproariously at the Antics and the jokes. Some of the jokes are sly little index, some of them we're so broad as the border on buffoonery. But the movie is so very clever! It pokes fun at a number of tropes, including the Canadian mythos, vampire films, stereotypes about male and female, authoritarian figures, and so on. It never once occurred to me that it would not be widely available ! If anybody knows where I can find it on DVD or streaming, I would be most appreciative!

That said. If you don't speak French and you're not from Quebec (Canada), much of the humour will be lost on you. I'm not even sure how it would translate into English. The first scene is priceless when the Romanian vampires are speaking and the subtitles are supposed to translate what they're saying but if you listen closely, you'll find you understand what it is they're saying - it's just so much more funny than the subtitles.

There's lots of little pokes at the Quebec culture and many "in" jokes. However perhaps it would be worth for other French speaking people to give the film a whirl. It might just take a few sittings to get most of it! But that's OK because this is a film, I will watch again and again. I gave it a 10/10.

I just saw this picture and quite frankly, even if not a masterpiece, it is quite entertaining. Has great characters, some are realistic, some are cartoonish, all are entertaining.

Special kudos to Isabelle Cyr, who is really charming as Karmina. Great sets and atmosphere, great puns, all in all, a solid 7.

Just saw this last night on the Space channel. It was dubbed in English and like any dubbed movie you'll find that quite annoying, so if you understand French, by all means rent that version instead.

The costumes and sets in the beginning of the movie are great! Really gets you immersed. Overall the acting is quite good and there are some really funny characters that'll make you laugh.

If you're looking for a "From Dusk 'til Dawn" type film, this isn't it, it has a lot less action and is a good movie to watch with your girlfriend/wife/boyfriend/husband....you get the idea.

I gave it a 6/10. I also noticed that Karmina 2 is out (2001).