The Vourdalak

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Tom L Excellent and original take on the vampire story. Unless your idea of a good horror movie is the Bride of Chuckie or, even worse, In A Violent Nature, don’t pay attention to the negative audience reviews. There are definitely some homages to Hammer here, but this film is much more than a simple tribute. The dynamic of peasant versus nobility is a strong theme, as well as old world values in opposition to modern ones. In the end, blind loyalty to family and servitude to polite etiquette is the undoing of the characters. The film makers did a lot with a little, which in my opinion often makes some of the best movies. The story this was based on was also adapted in the film Black Sabbath with Boris Karloff as the monstrous family patriarch, which makes for an interesting comparison. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/11/25 Full Review Stephen D Variant on the vampire theme set in Eastern Europe in the 18 th century. A French courtier falls in with a strange peasant family. Another reviewers reference to a 'Hammer horror' sums it up but without the 'entertainment quality'. A low budget stylish French film which struggles to engage throughout. Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 04/29/25 Full Review Nick S Bloody brilliant 👏 Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/21/25 Full Review Diana S Major Evil Dead energy but of course French so different themes and types of characters. The cheese factor is pretty high, but the Vourdelak character itself was strange and interesting. I believe it's a puppet. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/08/25 Full Review Sarfaraz A Adrien Beau makes his directorial debut with this French horror drama, which he co-wrote with Hadrien Bouvier and stars in. It is based on Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy's 1839 gothic novella, "La Famille du Vourdalak". Beau says he got the idea for the film after he came across this novella, published four decades before Dracula. Adrrien Beau stars as Gorcha, with Vassili Schneider, Kacey Mottet Klein, Ariane Labed, and Claire Duburcq. The film is set in the 18th century, when a diplomatic envoy, Marquis Jacques-Antoine Saturnin d'Urfe, representing the King of France, knocks on a stranger's dwelling in the woods and tells him that some barbarians have stolen his baggage and horses. The man who does not open the door asks whether he was attacked by Turks, to which the envoy responds, "Turks, Greeks, or Moldavians, what difference does it make." The man directs the emissary to leave the tracks and go to the house of old Gorcha, who will provide him food and horses. When Marquis arrives in the woods, he encounters Gorcha's daughter Sdenka and son Piotr, who accompany him to the house, where their sister-in-law Anja and nephew Vlad also dwell. They are waiting for their eldest brother, Jegor, who has left to battle the Turks. Gorcha, on the other hand, is missing, and when Jegor inquires, his family informs him, much to his surprise, that he had gone to war in order to avoid being labeled a 'coward'. The film depicts an ominous woodland setting with a concrete building that resembles a small fortress, providing the impression of confinement. The performances by everyone are exciting and raise the film's grim tone. Marquis' portrayal is vulnerable and humorous, with a tinge of dread. A marvelous contribution to the vampire genre from France. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/28/25 Full Review Conrad S This gem has something rare for a vampire movie: original ideas. I watched an hour of the massive "Interview withe Vampire" series and was bored stiff. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/18/25 Full Review Read all reviews

The Vourdalak

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