Harefooted Halloween: The Vourdalak

What I Liked: What a nice simple little vampire tale that’s based on an 1839 Tolstoy novella.  A French marquis gets robbed on his travels in eastern Europe so he’s told to go to the Gorcha house where they’ll supply him with food, shelter and a horse to continue on his way.  When he gets to the tiny estate he’s greeted hospitably but the family’s in the middle of a crisis.  Turks have attacked the surrounding area so the patriarch went out to hunt them down for revenge.  He tells them if he doesn’t return in six days then he’s become a vourdalak, or vampire (not sure how that works but ok).  And yep, that’s what happens.  Some members of the family believe he’s completely fine but others think he’s definitely a vampire.  While the family deals with this emergency a horse for the marquis will have to wait leaving him stuck in a sticky situation.  Vampire shit ensues.

On the technical side they knock it out of the park.  The movie is beautifully shot (on film too) with foggy woods, candlelit interiors, a mostly locked down camera and carefully chosen angles to accentuate the puppet’s features (you read that right, we’ll get there) and hide its operators.  The production and costume design also wonderfully immerses you in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century.  The marquis’ look is the most striking with his almost neon blue coat, powder white face, red hair and red lips.  It contrasts nicely with the Gorcha family’s modest all tan and brown outfits.  The entire picture takes place in the eerie stony Gorcha house and surrounding forest and it all feels appropriately cold, uninviting and with little comforts.  Lastly I want to shout out the period suitable harpsichord soundtrack as well.  It lends effectively to the unsettling atmosphere.

All the performances are good but of course the stand out is Kacey Mottet Klein (Sister) as the marquis.  He’s such a fop in his appearance and manner but thankfully he isn’t a total sniveling annoying idiot.  Instead he’s grateful towards the Gorcha clan for helping him out and is open to the vampire lore.  The guy’s in a foreign land being taken in by folks whose customs he’s unfamiliar with, plus some weird shit has been going on, so he does his best to comprehend and accept the situation.  The marquis isn’t an angel though.  He tries to shag the gypsy black sheep of the group almost as soon as he arrives.  Klein does an excellent job of balancing the scared/concerned and curious/gallant sides of the character.  Not easy to do.

Alright let’s address the dummy in the room.  If you’ve heard of this film the one thing you probably know is that the Gorcha father, the vourdalak, is played by a human sized puppet.  Does it work?  I’m split on it.  On one hand the filmmakers were able to essentially have a corpse star in the lead role with its skeletal structure, hairless body, sickly gray blue complexion, sunken eyes and lipless mouth with protruding teeth.  The thing looks undeniably cool.  On the other hand…

What I Didn’t Like: …its movements are janky as heck, the mouth can’t do anything more than open and shut so talking looks silly and it has a smooth texture all over with no pieces of flesh, hair, veins or anything else you might find on an undead creature.  My point is I never forgot I wasn’t looking at a goddamn puppet.  The character is played seriously though with no hint at satire which I appreciate.  According to director/writer/puppet maker Adrien Beau the decision to use a puppet was made early on.  Budget constraints and a desire to use practical effects are the reasons given.  Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.  And sure, a puppet as your main villain is a kind of selling point.  It’s different.  I would say this decision is more quirky than anything else.  They don’t do anything unique with the puppet that would be impossible otherwise which is perhaps a missed opportunity.  A regular human actor in the role probably would’ve kept you engaged in the story more, but would it be as memorable?  I dunno.  This is a personal preference situation.  You’ll have to watch it for yourself and see how you feel.

Not a huge negative but the pacing is a bit slow.  The filmmakers take their time building atmosphere and suspense which is fine, however, the release of the tension is also a touch slow.

Overall Impressions: I dig this one.  It may not be the best vampire picture but the straightforward story and impressive technical achievements make for a pleasant outing.  I would love to see what Adrien Beau does next because this is a very promising start.