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The Countess

Play trailer Poster for The Countess 2009 1h 38m History Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 2 Reviews 41% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
A 17th-century Hungarian countess believes that bathing in the blood of virgins will keep her young.

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The Countess

Critics Reviews

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Boyd van Hoeij Variety Wacky tale of a woman who killed virgins for their blood to keep her skin wrinkle-free might get some traction in Central Europe, where it is set, but won't make it past the Europudding label elsewhere. Feb 11, 2009 Full Review Harvey S. Karten Compuserve A bizarre tale of a vampiric countess performed with stilted, faux-Shakespearean dialogue Rated: C+ Jun 13, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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bill t I've seen a lot of these Bathory bios actually.. That's the countess who believed virgin blood makes you look younger.. Ever tried Oil of Olay lady? Anyways, this version of the events is actually the best one I've seen. Julie Delpy plays the title role and directs (!) this one too. Full of interesting twists, a dash of sex and lots of blood, I actually was a lot entertained. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review steve d Shockingly dull given the story and cast. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Didn't meet my expectations. As much as I wanted to like this film, I was left feeling unsatisfied after watching it. It felt as if the writers were unsure of what direction they were taking, most of the time. It wasn't a horror, a psychological thriller, or an accurate historical flick... though it did have elements of all the aforementioned. I was also disappointed to find that (since it's such a dark movie) there was virtually no suspense or build-up. I caught myself growing bored at many points throughout the film, which is really surprising given the subject material. It doesn't help that the acting seems forced most of the time (as if the actors are reading their lines off of cue cards), or that Delpy and Bruhl have about 0 chemistry... I did, however, love the costumes and the sets, as well as Anamaria Marinca's unique character. All in all, I was just hoping for a bit more. A bit more horror, a bit more suspense, a bit more passion. This movie left little to no impression on me... and I was sorely disappointed. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member I abandon my pretty wife like this... It is strange to have an affair. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Pathetic script, just pathetic. All trite phrases, terrible acting. Don't waste your time. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member I started this film thinking it was about the one of the most prolific serial killers in human history and that'd it be a film full of gore, thrills, and disturbing imagery. What you wouldn't expect is for the film to have a love story that was so sickingly over-saccharine, so poorly dialogued, and so completely cheesy that it made every scene laughably bad. This is how the Countess begins, and it sets the tone for the film written by, directed by, and starring Julie Delpy. The Countess tells the tale of Countess Elzebet Bathrony, whom legend says killed hundred of girls and bathed in their blood in order to preserve her beauty after she is spurned by a lover. Julie Delpy takes this legend and delivers one of the most entertainingly bad films I have ever seen. Some of the dialogue in this film is so poorly written that it literally caused my jaw to drop. It doesn't help that it's also delivered by actors giving universally terrible performances. For some reason Julie Delpy decided to have this Hungarian tale be told in English, and every actor speaks as if they have no idea what they are saying, even though I know they are all proficient English speakers. They only one who seems able to give the story any gravitas is William Hurt, who appears to be barely present through his mumbling. He's still better than the laughable performances of Julie Delpy and Daniel Bruhl, who are truly terrible. But then the film doesn't stop finding ways to be awful. It's misguided love story is followed by the actual story, which only give the barest possible insight into the fact that our protagonist murdered hundreds of women. The film doesn't eve seem to care about what made it's subject matter so famous. It actually trys to give the story a feminist message by portraying Bathory as a women fighting against a man's world, despite the fact that she killed quite a few women in her shallow bid to remain young forever. It's hard to find one part of this film that is not done completely wrong. The only thing that keeps it from being completely unwatchable is that it's an slightly enjoyable kind of terrible. But in the end, it's still terrible. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Countess

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A 17th-century Hungarian countess believes that bathing in the blood of virgins will keep her young.
Director
Julie Delpy
Producer
Matthew E. Chausse, Julie Delpy
Screenwriter
Julie Delpy
Production Co
Serenity Film, Social Capital, EMC Filmproduktion, Steel Company, Fanes Film, Mirabelle Pictures, Celluloid Dreams, Tempête Sous un Crâne, X-Filme Creative Pool
Genre
History, Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 30, 2017
Runtime
1h 38m
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