REVIEW: ‘The Vourdalak’ is an early blood-sucking vampire tale
Photo: The Vourdalak tells a story of a vampire who comes home to his family. Photo courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories / Provided by press rep with permission.
Most genre fans point to Bram Stoker’s Dracula as the beginning of the vampire craze, and although no one can hold a lighted candle to the master’s macabre, blood-sucking tale, there actually was a novella that predates Stoker’s creation. La Famille du Vourdalak by Aleksei K. Tolstoy beat Dracula by more than 50 years, and now it has been turned into a most strange and alluring cinematic spectacle, courtesy of director Adrien Beau.
Beau, who co-wrote the script with Hadrien Bouvier, achieves a similar feeling and tempo to Dracula. There’s an outsider traipsing around the countryside — in this tale that outsider is the Marquis d’Urfé — and he needs to head indoors lest he be subject to the terrors of the night in this part of France. The family he finds is an odd group indeed, made ever-odder by the patriarch, Gorcha, who is promised home in a few hours. Spoiler alert: Gorcha has changed, and when he returns home, the Marquis d’Urfé realizes he is no longer of this world. He is a vampire, with blue skin and a gaunt, sickly look. He’s not the strong, powerful vampires that have come to populate the sub-genre in recent years. He appears to be a dying undead man, but one thirsty for blood.
The reason to see this Oscilloscope Laboratories release is not so much the kudos that can be given for adapting what may be the first vampire story ever told. The reason for admission is watching how Gorcha is brought to life. This hollowed-out man is not played by a traditional actor donning a pair of fangs and a black cape. Instead, Beau makes him come alive (well, sort of alive) by using exquisite puppetry. It’s fairly obvious this creation is a puppet, but that doesn’t hold the characterization back. One becomes used to the look and feel of this central role and how he’s represented on screen, and once buying into the uniqueness of this technique, the puppet becomes a ghostly, intoxicating resident of the screen. One cannot take their eyes off the artistry of Gorcha, and to be honest, there’s an uneasiness and scare factor that are earned thanks to this creative depiction.
Beau, along with his creative team, has also lensed the French countryside in a most attractive and foreboding manner. The woods have never looked so ominous and mysterious, even with many of the early scenes taking place during the day. There’s a certain Shakespearean quality to the proceedings, as if Oberon and Titania could be found just around the bend.
The cast, which includes Kacey Mottet Klein, Ariane Labed, Gregoire Colin and Vassili Schneider, are believable and dedicated to the story. They don’t play for laughs, but there is an absurdity to the narrative that sometimes produces a chuckle or two. Klein, who plays the Marquis d’Urfé, is particularly solid as this outsider trying to figure out what’s going on and how he could be so unlucky to receive this royal assignment. Beau, it should be noted, provides the voice of Gorcha, and it’s quite the appropriate voice for a sickly vampire.
Vampires on film have gone through many transformations over the years. They have been terrifying denizens of the underworld, like in Stephen King’s ‘Salem’s Lot, and they have been lusting teenagers searching for true love, like in Twilight. They have been located in the Louisiana bayou, like in HBO’s True Blood, and they have been quintessential examples of Gothic high romance, like in Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola. Beau’s new film essentially finds an untapped reserve of vampire blood and tells a wholly original tale that feels fresh — well, as fresh as an undead corpse can be.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
The Vourdalak (2023), directed by Adrien Beau, is now playing in movie theaters. Written by Beau and Hadrian Bouvier. Starring Kacey Mottet Klein, Ariane Labed, Gregoire Colin and Vassili Schneider. Released by Oscilloscope Laboratories. Running time: 91 minutes. Not Rated. Rating: 
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