Eternal

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")

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!

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.