User reviews

Sometimes you tend to say you like films because they're entertaining. Doesn't mean they're good. But you liked them. This one falls under that category. Entertaining, but not "good".

Canadian horror movies are rare. Quebec horror movies are even rarer. Vampire movies though, are common. So is this common or new? New in Quebec, old elsewhere, perhaps.

Dracula's a woman. A sexy woman. She's a lesbian. She doesn't seem to have any special powers other than being sexy. Guys fall for her, girls can't resist her and she likes her dog(?!).

I have to say it was elegantly filmed, the locations were very beautiful, the acting is good, but the characters are hard to believe. The policeman, Ray, is cliché after cliché.

It is not scary, it is not new, but i've been turned on since the beginning. So i guess it works...

I'm a sucker for vampire movies. I gotta see them. When I saw it was an erotic vampire movie, it shot up to #1 on my must see list. And I was not disappointed. And since the movie was shot primarily in Montreal, I got a good laugh trying to figure out where the shots came from. Basically, the vamp does her thing (sucking and killing ladies), kills somebody personal to the main cop in question, and he goes to great lengths to catch her. The plot is fairly straight forward, but the film stands out visually. Great looking sets. And if you want to see some beautiful ladies, you've come to the right movie. The vamp is hot, her assistant is hot, and even the wives of the cops are hot. Here are my 3 points to ponder:

1. The vamp, Caroline Neron, is a stone cold fox.

2. The first scene is probably one of the hottest scenes you will ever see in a movie.

3. Did I mention that Caroline Neron is babe? I cannot stress that enough.

I had the pleasure to attend the screening of Eternal during the Fantasia Film Festival, in Montreal. I had been reading bits and pieces in Fangoria and the Dvdvampire.com about the production of this film and, I have to admit, I was expecting another run-of-the-mill, B vamp-flick. Vampire films have come to be quite predictable and it is more and more difficult to find an original offering. We either get a slam-bang SFX extravaganza, a la Blade or Underworld, or we get a period piece, a la Dracula.

I found Eternal to be so unique, that I have a hard time calling it a vampire film or even defining its genre. But this is one damn'd sexy thriller! It has been a long time since anything related with vampirism turned me on, kept me on the edge of my seat and even legitimately scared me a couple of times (although this is certainly not a horror film). It has even been longer since I got to see a serious erotic thriller, with a seductive serial killer thrown in as a bonus.

Elizabeth Kane, played by Canadian actress Caroline Neron can rip my throat any time. So can her lovely assistant, Irina, played by the dark and sensual Victoria Sanchez. Conrad Pla, as the twisted detective Ray Pope, is riveting in his portrayal of a bad seed with morbid hidden sexual desires. Not an easy or typical role.

Because of its original take on the genre, I have no idea what mainstream media will say about Eternal when it hits the screens, but, take it from me and the crowd at Fantasia: This is one thriller you don't want to miss!

OK people hopefully you will never get to see this exploitative piece of direct-to-video trash ever because it will fail to make it down south of the border. i saw this up in canada and have no clue as to how this movie ever got made. let's just say thank god for the u.s. dollar exchange because otherwise i would have bailed. but lucky for all you guys i am here to warn you to DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY if and when this blob ever hits multiplex near you. oh where to start. bad acting, horrible script, zero production value and that's just the beginning. all the actors look like they walked off (and into!) a porn set. the entire 'movie' looks like one vanity project for some horny neophyte wannabe 'hollywood producer' or a scam to fleece investors(silent of course especially after this hit the theaters lol) into a BIG loss. seriously folks i love movies even flawed efforts like the recent 'sky captain' or to put things in closer perspective 'resident evil', partly because although(or because) flawed those films have CHARACTER and a sense of vision, a kind of 'movie integrity' that makes viewing experience worthwhile. Eternal is just BAD. save your money & time. life is too short to waste on sophomoric efforts like this. you are welcome(sigh).

It's a disappointing and clichéd movie that uses the name of Elisabeth Bathory to call attention, but completely fails about the true historic essence of that sadistic woman which lived in Royal Hungary in the beginning of the XVII century.

Of course that when I decided to watch this movie I wasn't expecting a documentary or even a historic movie about Elisabeth Bathory, even because it's set in present times, but I wasn't expecting such lame pseudo-detective plot either! Elisabeth Bathory is not "Catherine Tramell" from BASIC INSTINCT! But at many parts of the movie I thought I was watching some cheap imitation of BASIC INSTINCT instead of some story related to the Bathory legend! Another lousy imitation is done from the movie EYES WIDE SHUT, when in this fantastic film occurs the weird/bizarre party. ETERNAL cheaply imitates that too!

This film is really just a mixing of other movies' imitations, distrustful description of Elisabeth Bathory's tale, bad acting and, to culminate, the "great" plot of some 80's bad Hollywood cop action movie! Even the supposed erotic scenes were disappointing!

The premise of creating a story related to a "21th century's Elisabeth Bathory" was quite good, and it was what called my attention, but the way this movie was done was truly bad! If you want to watch a better movie related to Elizabeth Bathory myth, search for Walerian Borowczyk's CONTES IMMORAUX (1974). At least this one is more accurate!

Eternal tells the tale of the second most well-known vampire, who has his or her origins in real historical people. In this case that person is Countess Elizabeth Báthory, a Hungarian noblewoman who reputedly bathed in the blood of beautiful virgin women in order to keep her youth. And like Dracula in many stories, she has survived to the modern day, hiding in the shadows cast by the world of man.

Unfortunately, just like many other vampire movies, it's not all that great. Mainly because of the poor quality of the script and the actors. Both are obviously doing their best, but it's not enough and the harsh reality that you're watching a movie always shines through. The story also never rises above clichéd murder mystery and the needless change to exotic locations feels more like pandering and following the dotted line than it feels like an actual way to move the story forward.

The biggest problems however is that the story is dull. It has no bite behind it, no soul that would hook you in. And frankly that might have been avoided if they had had the guts to make an honest N-17 film. And I'm not saying that just because I want to see more naked ladies - although I do. But the original story itself is heavy with sexual themes, many many horrible murders and the utter corruption of a mortal woman. To put it another way, look at the cover of the film and tell me that it wouldn't feel more at home in a N-17 movie. That way the film would at least have more crunch to arouse the interest of its audience.

All that being said, I've seen worse vampire films in my lifetime. The actors are not very good, but they're not horrible. The script is lackadaisical, but it's trying. There is some good imagery, the sets are nice and I don't regret seeing it.

i'm probably being a bit generous with a 7, but with an average rating of 4.6.. i was expecting it to totally suck. i found it to be entertaining enough. the story and acting were decent. the cinematography and production design were pretty right on. the sound was off (dog is menacingly growling while his mouth is wide open tongue out, footsteps are off) which is a bit distracting if you're one to notice that stuff. i did, however, find the music and soundtrack effective. i agree with another reviewer who wrote that it couldn't decide what kind of movie it wanted to be and that is definitely problematic. decent though, if vamps, ladies and blood are your thing, there are far worse choices out there to see.

This French Canadian production is so bad that it doesn't even deserve a decent review. Acting, production, script and dialogue, action, etc, are all bad. Cheap porno films have more value than this Euro-cult wannabe. The story of a woman who lives eternally from the blood of young women has been done to death. I think I've seen a dozen already and oddly enough none of them are good. I decided to watch it because it's never been done correctly or even decently. Well, after watching this one it appears this story is forever cursed to be recreated in execrable films made by people without any talent whatsoever.

The acting is especially bad. I've never seen such an ensemble of bad "actors" in one film. The cop was especially bad. Where oh where did they fish this guy from? Honestly, Conrad Pla cannot be considered an actor. I really thought the producers couldn't afford a decent actor so they just hired a security guard or something.

If you want kinky sexy stuff, just go on the web. There's a billion websites out there with more "rewarding" stuff that the entire boring two hours of this movie.

In Montreal, the wife of detective Raymond Pope (Conrad Pla) is killed in a sexual encounter with the mysterious and wealthy Elizabeth Kane (Caroline Néron). Pope investigates the disappearance of his wife, and finds a hint in an Internet site where she used the codename Wildcat and in her journal. When he meets the sexy and lesbian Elizabeth, his life turns upside-down and he is accused of murder of his lover Nancy and the babysitter of his son, Lisa. Pope follows and chases Elizabeth to Venice, where he discloses that she is actually the infamous Elizabeth Bathory, a.k.a. Countess Dracula.

"Eternal" is a very underrated vampire movie. This erotic story has a wonderful cinematography and locations, and a good cast, highlighting Conrad Pla and the gorgeous Caroline Néron. The vampires in this story do not have trouble with crucifixes, are reflected in the mirror, can enter in an apartment without invitation, die when stabbed, but I liked a lot this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Eterno" ("Eternal")

This movie wasn't certainly made to make a point; neither does it seem to fully satiate the lowbrow Dracula thingie - where the Dracula is a stunning woman; but it comes pretty close.

Before seeing the movie I was hoping that the film-makers had tried ingratiate themselves to the male audience with lots of naked flesh eye-candy and some Dracula biting and blood gore to top it off. Maybe my expectations were too high - maybe I was hoping for soft-core porn level but with this movies production values.

Anyway, the protagonist male has too much attention thrust on him. I mean he's only supposed to reaffirm our gawk and awe at the unbridled hedonism and provide curt one liners for humor and react in the manliest way possible - but those stabs at intelligent and seductive conversation is a total waste of time as it's done very very poorly. That time could have been better used for other more stimulating things.

I think this would have been excellent if it had stayed on it's main thesis: the Victorian and elegant lady-Dracula with lots of lesbian oriented eye-candy and goth fashion and props. But, the rather few strays from it sort of dulls the pleasure but still a good waste of time.

I saw the movie at the fantasia film festival. It was an astonishing display of imagery and it explored the far corners of sensuality.

Though the story takes place in the present, it does not distort the integrity bathory's history. Consequently eternal demonstrates a sophisticated, distinct, and emotionally involving twist.

If there are any movies i can compare this to, I would have to say, basic instinct and silence of the Lambs (suspense); Eyes wide shut (imagery).

Appartently this is the first of a trilogy and now I am hooked for the second installment.

I'm not even sure where to begin with this abortion of a film... acting laughably bad (this is MST3K material, it's so bad). You get the impression that the actors in the film worked in porn and are trying to go mainstream... Sex is about as non-sexy as it can get... plot/story idiotic/predictable...ending was strikingly bad and uninteresting. Sex scenes were lousy due to the poor execution. Whatever historical background existed about this story was squandered by this piece of rubbish.

The only movie that MAY be worse is Deuce Bigalow/European Gigolo, but it's hard to tell...

I liked it, and agree it could be done much better. It is like all the elements are 'there' and it needs a good polish and smoothing of the rough spots.

For the trivia buffs there is apparently an opera based on the same source material (see: http://bathory.org/erzstale.html) There may be other material out there.

Returning to the film, the DVD 'Extras' lead me to believe there were modifications to the plot and some interesting edits post production. Some scenes contain a complete "jump" which caught me out initially.

I think it deserves a 7 for originality, and not boring us with the lore -- It could have been a lot better.

There is so much potential in the story of Elizabeth báthory, but of some reason none have been able doing it with a good result, and same here, guess we still wait for a good movie with this mythic folklore vampire

An erotic thriller I guess we can call this, some horror of course, but actually its reminds alot of a soft porn movie with little higher budget from the 80is

Its a good story, but just not came out that well as a movie, boring and pointless, the acting is ok and production have done what they can with no money, but its just not a good movie, and if you like hot scenes there is so much better movies out there than yawn through this garbage.

So this may not be the best acted movie, the storyline is a bit weak, and the flow can be disjointed at times, but I still really enjoyed watching this movie. It it's beautifully filmed, atmospheric, creepy, suspenseful and the character Elizabeth Kane is great. She is believable. Other characters, a little less so. It's well worth watching.

Again, don't expect an Oscar-worthy movie but this is far better than it's current general rating of 4.8. For a horror/suspense/vampire movie, this is a solid 6 - better than average. And the beautiful scenes and creepy atmosphere are among it's best attributes.

Lack of dialogue, predictable, boring. Kept waiting for something to happen. Just never did. Wish I could get my time back. This should have been a short film. That potentially could have made it more interesting but it just dragged on and on and on.

An awesome performance by Caroline Neron. For those who know her and who haven't seen this movie, it's an eye opener…don't miss out. I have a feeling that people will be talking about it for a long time. If not for the brilliant imagery and soundtrack, then for the provocative sexuality that has been morphed in the exploitation of vampire films. It will undoubtedly keep you on the edge of your seat, not in a horrific way, but in a very intelligent and thrilling way.

I am glad that this movie limited the amount of bloodshed and the more horrific details of the sadistic behavior of Countess Bathory. Though she was truly a horrible person, worst even than Jack the Ripper, there's no need for crazy torture scenes when there's a great story to be told. Not many people know that she is the cornerstone of vampirism. She is the one that spurred the creation of the legendary blood-sucking creature with big fangs and slick hair. Ironically a man. I have seen my fare share of vampire movies, and they often get lost in the contemporary myth of dark, caped male vampires with sharp teeth that grow when the lights go out. If your in the mood to get a glimpse of the true legend, go see this movie.

Policeman searches for the murderer of his wife which happens to be a beautiful yet evil vampire lady. For some reason I think Conrad Pla had potential as an actor. I also liked Caroline Néron (yummy) in the role of the vampire. However, the eroticism that should have saved this movie from a horribly unoriginal script failed miserably. I mean, if you want to make a vampire movie, at least try to do something that hasn't been done yet.

It was nice that the vampire sidekick was named Irina in the movie, which is a real Romanian name, even if she was an actress born in the Canary Islands, but then she says she is a companion of the vampire for two years, so what was the point?

The way the cop is fooled by the vampire is also interesting as is the little twist that he didn't really care too much about his wife. However the whole Vatican priest thing at the end is plain dumb.

I liked the absence of garlic and wooden sticks, but then again, any real attempt to vanquish the vampire is absent as well.

Bottom line: it was a decent attempt, but let's face it, it failed.

For a "sexy" movie this features almost no nudity (one pair of smallish breasts) and all the characters are weirdos. It's all a bit dull and though some of the travelogue footage of buildings and interiors is nice actual dialog scenes fluctuate from shot to shot with grain and video scan lines showing up and distracting you from fairly mediocre dialog. Oh, and for a movie that's supposed to be sexy really none of the male or female characters are very attractive or sexy. The filmmakers have seen Eyes Wide Shut too many times as is obvious from the costumes and masks and perhps the sluggish pacing. This is also a movie where every character must be a multimillionaire due to the cars and houses they all live in. The film is loaded with product type of shots and never convinces you of being in a real world or any kind.

The best thing in the movie is Conrad Pla as the detective, he's funny and makes his character more engaging than should be possible given that he's really basically a "shit" character for reasons I won't give away.

Acting overall is uneven and has the feel of a lot of Canadians and Europeans pretending to be American--which is pretty much the case. There is no character to really relate to so it's all kind of a den of sin, but it's pretty slow moving and obvious. Each, new twist you will see coming and the story is really straight forward and protracted. The film doesn't really know how to get from scene to scene and momentary confusion as to where you are and what is going on is the only excitement it generates.

Music is by "Mysterious Art" which is not bad, but may give a hint and the pretensions of those involved. Blood letting, like the nudity, is pretty sparse and totally mundane.

A dull no fangs vampire film sparked by Conrad Pla's ability. If you're too sleepy to hit eject or fast forward and get it on a two for one day you won't be disappointed, but there are so many other films with this same plot.