Eternal (2004) User Reviews

pseudo lesbian galore!

[mademoiselle_end · 6/10 · 16 July 2004]

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...

The sexiest vamp that you will ever see

[rwpinc · 6/10 · 5 April 2005]

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.

Bathing Beauty's Basic Instinct

[ghoulieguru · 5/10 · 14 January 2006]

This is a pretty good pseudo-vampire thriller along the lines of the Hunger. It takes historical fact, sex parties and obsession with the taboo and blends them all into fairly decent thriller. The basic storyline is about a cop who's wife goes missing. As he attempts to find out what happened to her, he gets drawn deeper and deeper into the fetishistic world of a dangerous woman who turns out to be Elizabeth Bathory, the famed countess who bathed in human blood to keep her youth. Eternal combines elements of the Hunger, Eyes Wide Shut and Basic Instinct into one movie. Strangely enough, the combination is not entirely unpalatable.

Acting is fairly solid throughout and the movie has some strong cinematography. The director makes some interesting choices and I think the only thing that I hold against him is the fact that he seems to have the same girl-on-girl fixation that so many other guys have. As a result, I had to watch a few more lesbian sex scenes than I would have liked, but they weren't too graphic and most of them ended quickly. I don't know if I would classify this as a horror movie, but if you're looking for a sexy thriller with a little bit of a bite to it, you might enjoy ETERNAL.

One sexy tale

[clueless_insider · 6 September 2004]

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!

Disappointing and clichéd

[mario_c · 3/10 · 27 February 2008]

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!

nothing worse than pursuit of the arts by the mediocre

[felicia-16 · 1/10 · 1 October 2004]

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).

Too tame

[Vartiainen · 4/10 · 18 July 2015]

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.

Meet Countess Dracula In an Underrated Vampire Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 3 December 2006]

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")

Spectacularly awful

[Maciste_Brother · 1/10 · 14 December 2006]

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.

not as bad

[miss_tanner · 7/10 · 3 September 2005]

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.

Erotically.....dumb.

[vampcat2001 · 4/10 · 28 March 2005]

Put one tea spoon of nudity, a quarter liter of lesbians, a gram of dumb plot and spice it up with a renegate cop with a 3-days beard. Don't forget to put it some vampires herb in it! How "cliché"! This untasteful meal is a movie called Eternal. My only advice is unless your a pimple-faced virgin teenager willing to pay 10 bucks to see Caroline Neron's tight rear on the big silver screen, stay away from that disgraceful movie! Really this movie fails to deliver the mystical and captivating story of Erzebeth Bathory. As for vampire fans I can also tell them that they might be totally be wasting their money if they go see this because the truth is that there is very little of vampire stuff in it.

Elizabeth, take me to your 'love den of death'!

[fembuck · 10/10 · 16 August 2005]

Let's not mince words, "Eternal" is an entertaining, beautifully shot, and gorgeously populated movie, but it is not going to be winning any indie awards. So, if you're looking for a movie that is going to make you think deeply about the human condition, challenge previously held ideas about vampires and vampirism, or psychologically dazzle you ... well, you're probably asking for too much ;) "Eternal" kept me interested in what was happening on screen until the closing shot, and in more than a few places I actually found myself awed by how lovely some of the shots were (I so totally want to go to Venice now!). So for being interesting and pretty I'm giving it 7 stars out of 10.

(However, if you're a big fan of rough and pretty femme/femme action, and French accents, then you can bump that on up to an 8.5) Slight

Spoiler Warning for rest of review...

The plot of the movie is your basic murder-by-numbers thriller (only with vampires! Yay!). In a nutshell, the young, pretty wife, of a Montreal Detective Raymond Pope goes missing. Pope dedicates himself to finding out what has happened to his old lady, and his investigation leads him to the home of the beautiful and mysterious Elizabeth Kane (descendant? of the legendary and Evvvvvil Erezbet Bathroy). After this meeting Pope's life becomes filled with death, intrigue, and loss, all of which he believes can be traced back to the reclusive Kane, if only he can prove it! On to the characters: 1. Elizabeth Kane. Truthfully, a huge part of the success of the film is due to Caroline Neron's portrayal of the beautiful, mysterious, and devilish Erezbet Bathroy/Elizbeth Kane. Neron is not only captivating in this role but sizzles as the sexy, charming and most certainly deadly Kane. She manages to enthrall the audience with a dark, exotic charm that leaves the viewer as captivated by 'Elizabeth' as her victims are. This is the first role I have seen Neron in, but I want her get a lot more work after this! One of the greatest things about this character is that she is cold! You do not get any warm/fuzzy feelings for her; she is a predator, not a baby-saving champion, or a broodingly romantic hero. She is a stone cold killer, a lioness in slinky gowns and heels. The scariest thing about her isn't a huge sword, or kung-fu-jitsu-kata or whatever, it is *charm* and the fact that while watching the film you know that if you met her, you'd follow her back to her 'love den of death' like a little puppy, where you would die (probably happy).

2. Detective Pope. Your typical gruff, stubbly, has a problem with authority, babe magnet jerk, with a hidden dark side, and requisite picturesque family and home. Conrad Pla does as well with the role as he can, and was actually very good when the script wasn't making Pope act like yell-y, asshole. However, Detective Pope's ... um, extracurricular activities are something different from your regular 'thriller' fare and create a nice tension between him and Elizabeth.

3. Irina/Inevitable Henchwoman. The Igor to Erezbet Bathroy's Victor Frankenstein, the Robin to her Batman, the Lassie to her kid who owned Lassie (Timmy? Jimmy? Whatever). She is the inevitable henchwoman, and while pretty to look at Victoria Sanchez isn't really called on to do anything here but look pretty and move the plot along. Her characters relationship with Elizabeth had the potential to be very interesting and the actresses did the most with it they could, but the script left them without much to work with.

4. Wine. No seriously, there's a lot of it in this movie. A lot. It's practically it's own character. It is red (always), delicious and DEADLY. I want some, but I'm scared.

So, in conclusion, despite a sometimes predictable/lazy script (and sometimes annoying and under developed characters), and it's pseudo-history, "Eternal" is actually an entertaining movie. The acting is good, the cinematography is beautiful, the cast is pretty, I like vampires, and Caroline Neron is a shot of adrenaline that sets the film back on course whenever it begins to miss a beat. So if you like, vampires, Marlow-ish detectives, cop-dramas, pretty locations, and enchantresses, you should enjoy "Eternal"!

Ms. Dracula seduces women thru lesbian lust; Need I say more?

[MosHr · 7/10 · 16 October 2005]

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.

Boring and Bland

[aesgaard41 · 4/10 · 23 January 2008]

I suspected a lot out of this movie, and I was correct. I was only really interested in seeing this film because of my interest in the legend of Elizabeth Bathory, but the movie isn't that good. It has a huge production scale on a near claustrophobic setting with very little credibility. It's basically a high budget sadomasochistic porn film with a plot. Bathory enthusiasts will find it interesting, porn aficionados will appreciate it, but serious horror fans will be bored as the storyline drags on the murder crime drama interludes interspersed with scenes of violence and sexual eroticism. In the end, it's not revealed if the woman in question is supposed to be Bathory or an admirer. She bears no resemblance to the historical character and the facts of the Bathory legend are inexact. Claiming the movie is based on actual events is a bit of a misnomer of you consider the fact that heavy artistic license was taken to alter the actual events into a modern setting almost five hundred years after the fact.

Astonishing

[maras1979 · 2 September 2004]

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.

hardcore for virgin teenagers

[WonderBro · 1/10 · 26 April 2005]

I've read some previous posts where people are speaking about "sensuality", "sexiness"... come on peeps! If you want lesbian sensuality - watch some of Andrew Blake films! You'll get an hour-and-a-half non-stop lesbian sexuality action without some pseudo-vampiric stuff! The movie is booooooring! I've stopped the playback on 40th minute and I am not sure if I want to continue watching it. It seems like the producers and directors were not sure what they wanted to film - a horror, a vampiric movie, a BSDM or lesbian hardcore. Therefore they've decided to take a little piece of each and mix them altogether. It's like mixing eggs, bacon, strawberry jam, mustard and chocolate sauce. I like only two things about this movie - camera work and the house where the policeman lives :) By the way - what's this "inspired by true events" thing?

An awful sex thriller that mostly forgets about the sex

[MBunge · 3/10 · 27 July 2011]

This Canadian sex thriller is about as erotic as a pound of back bacon and flies completely apart at the end like an old jalopy driven too hard for too long. With a leading man who looks like a grubby, toothsome cousin to mixed martial arts legend Randy "The Natural" Couture and plot that has a hole in it bigger than Jenna Jameson's vagina, the only thing that could have redeemed this film is lots and lots of naked women. Unfortunately, all Eternal has to offer is some chicks necking, a single pair of bared breasts and a sex scene that consists exclusively of dry humping.

Opening with the theft of a painting that's never explained, this movie follows that with a bi-curious woman (Sarah Manninen) rendezvousing with the throaty Elizabeth Kane (Caroline Neron) in what appears to be a Eurotrash version of the Playboy Mansion. Instead of an orgasm, the bi-curious babe winds up dead with a punctured neck. It turns out she was the wife of Montreal vice cop and general pervert Raymond Pope (Conrad Pla). His investigation of her disappearance, aided by his baby sitter Lisa (Liane Balaban), quickly leads Pope to Elizabeth and her right-hand woman Irina (Victoria Sanchez).

At this point, a gaping maw opens up in the plot as Pope doesn't do ANY of the things a cop would do when he identifies a suspect in his wife's vanishing act, and that's the only reason this story lasts longer than 20 minutes. After some retarded cat-and-mouse games between Elizabeth and Pope, the story abruptly shifts to Italy and grinds to a halt so a bunch of images that would make the Venice Tourism Agency proud can be paraded across the screen. It all winds up with Elizabeth imprisoned by what appears to be the Catholic Church, of all things, and a conclusion that feels like there was originally another 20 to 25 pages that were simply sliced off the end of the script.

The high point of Eternal is at the very beginning when Elizabeth seduces and makes out with Pope's bi-curious wife. Neither of them get nude, but it whets your appetite for what you hope is to come...only to increase your disappointment when it never materializes.

As for the low points, they go on and on and on. Conrad Pla is the least attractive man in the cast, which is sort of a problem when Pope's sexuality is such a big theme of the movie. There's a subplot of Irina biting people with monster dentures and Pope's baby sitter is given a slutty friend to hang around with. When Pope discovers Elizabeth is probably the last person to ever see his wife alive, he not only never gets a search warrant for her home or takes her down to the station to interrogate her, there's no evidence in this film that Pope even informs the rest of the cops that Elizabeth is a suspect and there's no reason or excuse why not. It's almost like the character was initially meant to be a private eye, but then a producer made co-writers Wilhelm Liebenberg and Federico Sanchez change Pope to a cop and they never adjusted the rest of the screenplay to reflect that. And when the whole production shifts to Venice? Good grief. It doesn't make any sense within the context of the story and signals the end of any attempt at logic or coherence.

Now, if a bunch of reasonably attractive females had taken their clothes off, at least some of the flaws of Eternal could be overlooked. With only one naked bosom in the whole show, those flaws actually become more irritating. Unless you'd like a look at what apparently sets off the Canadian libido, don't bother with this thing.

Quite possibly the worst movie I've EVER seen

[fiendish_overlord · 1/10 · 14 September 2005]

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...

Fun and well worth watching

[zhivago97 · 6/10 · 4 November 2021]

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.

Eyes Wide Shut meets Countess Dracula

[HEFILM · 2/10 · 19 October 2005]

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.

Love the guile, needs more style ...

[William-160 · 7/10 · 25 April 2006]

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.

Total Waste of Time

[justthreekitties · 1/10 · 28 December 2021]

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.

Provocative sexuality

[ericstern3 · 10/10 · 6 October 2004]

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.

Failed vampire eroticism in an average movie

[siderite · 6/10 · 22 February 2006]

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.

The world of anorexic fashion-model vampires has never been more thrilling.

[fedor8 · 12 January 2007]

To find a good horror movie, you need to go through ten crappy ones. This is one of those ten.

A fashion world horror, one of those with a bunch of six-foot tall models with 10 grams of meat on them. This is an overly long Countess Bathory film with an (anti-)hero cop who is not only immoral but even dumb. Half-way through the film we wonder why he's not doing anything to solve the mystery. Meanwhile, he is being framed, and screwed over by Bathory. We also never get an explanation why he doesn't tell his cop friends about her, especially after he becomes a suspect. But I did say he was dumb.. But why dumb? Immoral and dumb? What's the point of that?...