THE VOURDALAK (2023)

4 stars

Blue Finch Films. Digital Platforms. 16th September

In 1884, some years before Bram Stoker introduced the famous ‘Dracula’ to the world, there was a vampiric novella called ‘La Famille du Vourdulak’ by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy. Probably the best known adaptation of this work for the cinema was as one of the parts in Mario Bava’s BLACK SABBATH (1963) (I tre volti della paura), in which Boris Karloff stars in the tale of ‘The Wurdulak’. It was also explored in THE NIGHT OF THE DEVILS (1972).

We now have the splendidly odd THE VOURDULAK from France. The somewhat effete, white faced Marquis Jacques Antoine Saturnin d’Urfe (to give him his full name, which he amusingly announces on several occasions, nicely played by Kasey Mottet Klein), an emissary of the King of France, has become lost whilst travelling, after his party has been attacked and the rest of his companions killed. He is refused entry to the first home he comes to. Eventually he finds refuge in the home of the slightly strange Gorcha family. They are waiting for the head of the family to return. They are Gorcha’s sons Jegor (Grégoire Colin), his wife Anja (Claire Duburcq) along with Vlad (Gabriel Pavie) and Piotr (Vassili Schneider) plus the enigmatic Sdenka, Gorcha’s daughter (Ariane Labed) who the Marquis becomes attracted to.

The father has gone off to fight against the Turks and kill their leader – if he doesn’t return, then he is assumed to be dead. However, if he returns after six days, then he will be a vourdulak – a vampire that feeds on the blood of his loved ones. Not sure why, but such is the plot.

Of course, when he does come back, he has become said creature and everyone is in danger…

Shot on Super 16mm, this strikingly bizarre film often has a dreamlike quality to it – a certain theatricality which harkens back to much older films, and even sometimes even resembles a silent movie in the way is shot. That being said, the strangest element is the way the titular bloodsucker is presented – not by an actor, but rather a life size puppet to represent the cadaverous father – which fits in with the off kilter nature of the movie and, once you get beyond your initial reaction, is actually surprisingly effective and more than a little creepy. If your tastes run to the offbeat then you’ll enjoy this weird and arty outing, which is gorgeously shot and leads to an appropriately bloody finale.

Steve Kirkham