Robert Eggers‘ tackle Nosferatu was one of the vital extremely anticipated horror movies of 2024, and it did not disappoint. The director of historic tales of woe like The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman utilized his meticulous and visually luxurious type to certainly one of cinema’s oldest vampire tales, and the end result was as attractive and engrossing as followers hoped it could be, even when it ended up being extra atmospheric than really scary.
However whereas Nosferatu has drawn reward and Oscar nominations, one other historical-set vampire movie has been largely neglected since its premiere again in 2023: The Vourdalak, the function debut of French filmmaker Adrien Beau. Whereas it earned excessive reward from critics (it at present sits at 92% on Rotten Tomatoes), its smaller scale and arthouse distribution imply it acquired in entrance of far fewer theater-goers than Nosferatu’s extensive launch. Fortunately, its latest streaming premiere by the horror lovers over at Shudder means this terrific vampire story would possibly lastly get the eye it deserves.
‘The Vourdalak’s Tackle Historic Horror
The Vourdalak attracts from a special vampire custom than the one which powers Nosferatu, with its personal distinctive lore. Its titular creature, extra typically spelled Wurdulac, is a parasitic entity present in Slavic folklore. Whereas generally thought of completely different from a vampire, the 2 have come to be largely conflated over the centuries. One notable distinction between the 2 is {that a} Wurdulac is alleged to prey on a specific household unit somewhat than kill whoever it could actually sink its enamel into, like a extra conventional vampire. This was an addition to the lore attributed to Aleksey Ok. Tolstoy’s 1839 novella The Household of the Vourdalak, which additionally serves because the inspiration for Beau’s movie.
The movie is about in Jap Europe someday within the 18th Century, the place French nobleman Jacques Antoine Saturnin d’Urfe (Kacey Mottet Klein) has been stranded with out his horse or companions after being set upon by brigands on the street. He finally ends up on the house of an outdated man named Gorcha, who he’s instructed will furnish him with a brand new horse, however finds that the person has gone off to struggle the invading Turks and has left the house within the care of his grownup kids, led by eldest son Jegor (Grégoire Colin). Earlier than leaving, he offers his household a dire warning: if he has not returned by 6 o’clock on the sixth day, they need to assume he is change into a vourdalak and never enable him inside.
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Lo and behold, he is found simply after the clock strikes six, and Jegor refuses to heed his warning and welcomes him house. From there, Gorcha begins feeding on his household one after the other, as his daughter Sdenka (Ariane Labed) makes an attempt to search out methods to destroy the monster of their midst, with the assistance of an in-over-his-head Jacques.
What Makes ‘The Vourdalak’ So Particular?
The Vourdalak is a closely stylized film, with an aesthetic meant to invoke European horror movies of the ’60s and ’70s and a kind of heightened non-realism. Certainly one of Beau’s most gratifying selections is to render the vourdalak as a marionette puppet somewhat than a flesh-and-blood actor, a selection that those that get pleasure from a superb sensible impact will little question fall in love with. The puppet’s emaciated body and toothy grimace, paired with Beau’s deliciously arch vocal efficiency, create a way of uncanny otherness concerning the creature that makes Jegor’s refusal to see what’s change into of his father all of the extra obvious. It won’t be essentially the most technically convincing phantasm, however it’s becoming with the movie’s heightened, dream-like really feel (plus, the puppet is simply so cool that it is onerous to not be charmed by it).
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An intriguing thematic thread comes from the push-pull of custom and modernity, of household obligation and self-preservation. Jegor’s deference to his father permits the monster to prey on the household, however the entire ordeal begins as a result of he disobeys his father’s unique warning. Sdenka and her brother Piotr (Vassili Schneider) see what’s actually happening, however they’re undermined by Jegor because the de facto “head of the family.” Jacques is an outsider to the situation, however he is powerless to make Jegor see what’s taking place in his personal home.
The Vourdalak is a way more modest movie than Nosferatu, with a small forged and minimal places, however it possesses a singular appeal all its personal. Whereas Eggers’ movie is undeniably stunning and expertly crafted, it is nonetheless burdened with the sense that it is a story that is been instructed many occasions earlier than. The Vourdalak is consciously retro in its design, but in addition looks like a contemporary tackle certainly one of cinema’s most enduring monsters. It is a stellar function debut from Beau and marks him as a brand new voice in horror that is price watching. For horror followers with each Peacock and Shudder subscriptions, it could make an awesome double function paired with Nosferatu.
The Vourdalak
- Launch Date
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October 25, 2023
- Runtime
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91 Minutes
- Director
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Adrien Beau
