Free to Stream: A Vampire Film Fans Are Calling a “Deliciously weird French gothic gem”
If you’ve been here for a while, then you already know that here at Dread Central, we love vampires. From Robert Eggers’ gothic hit Nosferatu to Francis Ford Coppola’s seductive Bram Stoker’s Dracula and everything (and we mean everything) in between, we can’t get enough. But what if I told you there’s another vampire film worth watching? The bloodsucker at its center isn’t a sexy count, and he’s certainly not a fast-moving, feral creature. But I think he’s one of the most interesting (and creepiest) vampires I’ve seen in a while. He doesn’t have a name. He is simply known as the Vourdalak.
Streaming free on Tubi, Adrien Beau’s feature debut The Vourdalak plays like a fairytale and looks like one, too. Every frame is colorful and lush, and because Beau worked as a designer for John Galliano and Christian Dior, the costumes are ornate and accurately capture the essence of each of the film’s unlucky characters.
The story is simple: after his horse and driver are murdered, the Marquis d’Urfé (Kacey Mottet-Klein) wanders through the woods in search of Gorcha, a man who might be able to help him finish his diplomatic journey. Instead, he finds Gorcha’s family—Jegor (Grégoire Colin), Piotr (Vassili Schneider), Sdenka (Ariane Labed), Jegor’s wife Anja (Claire Duburcq), and their son Vlad (Gabriel Pavie). Gorcha is away seeking vengeance against the Turkish warrior who stole his horses. The family warns the Marquis that he might not return. But they also mention something else. If he happens to return after six days, they can’t let him in.
When Jegor discovers Gorcha collapsed in the bushes nearby, he’s sure his father has only fainted out of exhaustion. He’s an old man who managed to carry the warrior’s head all the way home, after all. But as the patriarch begins slowly unwrapping his layers of scarves and robes, it becomes clear they have welcomed something terrible into their home.
Now, this isn’t a spoiler (plenty of reviews include this one little detail), but before I say what makes The Vourdalak different from other vampire films, I want to mention that if you decide to go into this blind, you’re in for a delightful surprise. But if you’re not sensitive to spoilers or you’ve seen it before, then you know that the Vordalak isn’t played by a human, but by a life-size marionette.
Watch the trailer below:
I’m sure an actor could have easily been the Vourdalak, but I’d argue that Beau’s decision to use a marionette makes sense considering the film’s strange, whimsical tone. It also helps that the performances, especially Mottet-Klein’s fussy, flirty Marquis, gives the film an off-kilter sense of humor from the start. By the time we get the Vourdalak’s reveal, we already know we’re in for something delightfully bizarre.
Over on Letterboxd, viewers are calling The Vourdalak “a deliciously weird French Gothic gem.” Meanwhile on X, people can’t get enough of the vampire puppet (which is why I ended up watching this in the first place):
If you’re a vampire fan or if you love a freaky puppet (are there any Dead Silence truthers here?), then The Vourdalak is for you. And if you end up watching, let me know in the comments below or on social media: @ashjenexi on Instagram and X.
Categorized: Streaming News
