The Vourdalak Review: A Chilling Throwback to Horror’s Roots

Lost in a misty forest one stormy eve, a French diplomat named Jacques comes upon an isolated homestead far from familiar comforts. Its inhabitants seem welcoming yet harbor peculiar secrets. So begins The Vourdalak, an entrancing new folk tale from writer-director Adrien Beau.

Based on a 19th-century Russian novella but feeling fresh, this 2023 film transports viewers to a remote countryside emerging from war. Shot on grainy 16mm, it crafts an eerily charming world where superstition shadows certainty. As Jacques discovers the true nature hiding behind the family’s strange behaviors, Beau steadily builds an unsettling atmosphere you feel wrapped in.

Lead Kacey Mottet Klein brings stately charm to Jacques, an outsider drawn to mystery. But the real star is a looming marionette beast brought to unnerving life. Beau makes the unnatural feel uncannily natural, feeding our need for folk horror’s blend of chills and character drama. Fans of gothic literary thrillers will find much to admire in this deceptively simple fable that stays long in the mind.

The Vourdalak’s Deadly Homecoming

Lost in a remote forest, French diplomat Jacques seeks shelter from a storm. Rebuffed elsewhere, he arrives hopeful at the estate of Gorcha, only to find the patriarch absent—fighting invaders who recently plagued the region.

Gorcha’s odd family receives Jacques curiously. Eldest son Jegor seems domineering in his father’s place. Sister Sdenka carries an ethereal air, capturing Jacques’ eye. The younger brother Piotr appears eccentric. All await Gorcha’s return or news of his demise, as prescribed.

Before leaving, Gorcha warned that if, after six days, he returned, they must shun him. For he would be cursed, transformed into a dreadful “vourdalak.” A ghoul that haunts native folklore, driven to feed on its own bloodlines.

As the sixth night falls, Gorcha appears—victory over the Turks is hard-won. But his homecoming is horrific. Returning not as patriarch but as monster, a ghoulish marionette is brought to unsettling life by Beau’s vision.

With chilling puppetry, the vourdalak exerts new control. Perverse and parasitic, it psychologically enslaves the family through twisted bonds of obligation. Their plight deepens as the vampire orchestrates escalating depravities to sate its unholy hunger.

Caught within the vourdalak’s dominion, Jacques bears terrified witness to its depraved deeds. What tragic end, or fate worse than death, awaits the family beneath the vampire’s sway? The Vourdalak’s unsettling climax promises to unsettle all who view its unnatural terror until the final frame.

The Vourdalak’s Vintage Terror

Adrien Beau’s The Vourdalak plunges viewers straight into a bygone era of uncanny atmosphere and vintage chills. The filmmaker embraces 16mm film with mesmerizing results, conjuring the mood of classic Hammer Horror flicks through atmospheric visuals. Period costumes and rustic Eastern European sets immerse us in a folklore-steeped world.

Within this setting, Beau and cinematographer David Chizallet craft unforgettable imagery. Scenes of creeping fog enveloping the forest and manor produce an unshakeable sense of gloom. Darkness prevails, lit only by flickering firelights. These shadows heighten the sensation of lurking threats that are unseen. Subtle tricks, like reflecting the marquis’ silhouetted panic upon the first home’s door, ingeniously build foreboding.

Sound likewise plays a haunting role. Howling winds and booming thunder forge an isolated and foreboding world. Even mundane sounds unnerving—chattering teeth and slobbering bites send shudders down the spine. Mixing with eerie non-diegetic notes, this unsettling design maximizes tension without reliance on cheap jump scares.

Through these vintage techniques, Beau revitalizes the gothic horror genre. His old-school approach to light and lens feels refreshingly authentic. We become fully submerged in the film’s setting, sharing the marquis’ escalating terror. The Vourdalak ensures its horror stems not from graphic gore but from potent atmospheric building. In an era where many films rely on slick digital tools, Beau’s mastery of visual storytelling through practical means stands out as a marvel of the genre.

Peculiar People of The Vourdalak

The inhabitants of the remote farmhouse in The Vourdalak are a truly bizarre bunch, but the cast brings them vibrantly to life. Kacey Mottet Klein is superb as the shocked and bewildered Marquis, his horrified reactions grounding the escalating strangeness. We share in his culture shock among these rural oddities.

Ariane Labed particularly stands out as the ethereal yet unnerving Sdenka. Her wandering eyes and disturbing worm-eating quirk hint at darker depths. Labed lures us under her spell even as she repels. Vassili Schneider, meanwhile, is captivating as the gender-bending Piotr, his relaxed flamboyance a stark contrast to the others’ fear and anger.

Grégoire Colin menacingly dominates scenes as domineering brother Jegor. We understand his family’s terrified obedience to their absent patriarch. Claire Duburcq and Gabriel Pavie round out the troubled household with troubled spouses Anja and nervous Vlad. Each personality brings unique color to the fractured dynamic.

Yet the true star proves to be none of these talented actors, but rather director Adrien Beau’s uncanny puppetry as the monstrous Gorcha. This no-frills creature has very little—some rattling teeth and a lolling head. Through voice and movement alone, Beau crafts a seriously unsettling screen presence. It’s no wonder his disturbed clan shudders in its chilling shadow.

Together, the ensemble breathes chilling life into this community of the weird and woeful. Their intense performances keep us as unbalanced as the Marquis, drawing us deep into this disturbed family’s dark world of rural Gothic folk horror.

Inherited Torment

There’s much to unpack thematically in The Vourdalak. On the surface, Gorcha’s return as a vampire explores patriarchal control and how it warps family dynamics. As patriarch, Gorcha maintains dominion over his frightened kin even in death. Trapped by bonds of love and duty, the family submits to his monstrous rule.

This submission hints at deeper themes. Gorcha’s condition, inflicted while defending his homeland from invaders, acts as an allegory. His vampirism represents the lingering trauma of war that never fully leaves the body or soul. An ever-present injury that, like PTSD, remains long after its cause ends. Just as survivors struggle with wounds both seen and unseen, Gorcha and his family wrestle with the torment he brings home.

The Vourdalak thus becomes a symbolic tale. Gorcha’s vampirism parallels how societies cope with trauma inherited from past conflicts. His family grapples with damage done generations ago, just as countries still reel from history’s impacts today. In this isolated rural world, revolution feels like a distant dream. Instead, change happens slowly through tales that interrogate the systems weighing on common lives.

With his deceptively simple folk horror, Beau crafts an allegory that resonates across eras. The Vourdalak dissects how power structures like patriarchy or nationalism can continue oppressing through the scars they leave behind. Even in death, the wounds of past evils fester. It will take recognizing the roots of that inherited torment before anyone may find release from its ceaseless grip.

A Unique Type of Vampire Terror

The Vourdalak does things a bit differently than your usual vampire tale. For one, its monster doesn’t go after innocent villagers or seduce strangers. Gorcha targets the people closest to him—his own flesh and blood. Being turned makes him see his family not as loved ones but as livestock for his unending thirst. There’s an added layer of tragedy since they can’t simply run away either, bound as they are through familial bonds and duty.

It’s a grim twist on the vampire formula, making the horror more disturbing through its intimate violations. We’ve seen bloodsuckers menace townsfolk before, but few put them in the position of actively preying on those they once protected. It emphasizes how the condition utterly strips away humanity, leaving only a savage and uncaring beast. Their dynamic shows the corruption of relationships; we’d give anything to keep them safe from harm.

Another aspect that sets The Vourdalak apart is its literal, hands-on approach. Rather than rely on CGI or makeup, the vampire is portrayed through an eerie, life-sized puppet. It’s a stroke of cinematic brilliance that pays off with uncanny results. Witnessing its jerky movements and skeletal frame is far creepier than any digital effect. The unnaturalness of its marionette form enhances its otherworldly terror in a uniquely tactile way.

Compare that to glossier contemporary vampire movies, where they glamorize bloodsucking as a romantic affliction. The Vourdalak presents a grittier vision where turning destroys all trace of the person you were. It’s a refreshingly old-school take that favors practical scares over flashy spectacles. When its villain invades your nightmares through puppetry instead of pixels, the night walks alone in a new terrifying fashion.

A Distinctively Dark Delight

The Vourdalak proves itself a vampire tale that truly sinks its teeth in. While the genre has been done to death, this film revives old traditions in a thrilling style. It peels back flecks of horror history with its period setting and practical creature design. Yet this is no musty costume drama; thanks to truly unsettling touches, it creeps with modern prowess.

The puppet protagonist looms as one of cinema’s great monsters. With no digital enhancement, it simply seems like a nightmare sprung from your fears. Watching its chilling movements sends shivers even before drawing blood. Alongside a convincingly distressed cast, it makes for scenes more disturbing for their rawness.

Directed with care for dark craft, every frame oozes eerie allure. Lurking forests and lantern-lit interiors seduce the eye into its morbid tale. A sure sense of building dread and dreadfully human tragedy keeps viewers firmly in its clutches. Though it plays by vintage rules, the film feels fresh through its fierce original style and feel.

For those eager to stray beyond franchise fare into fresher frights, The Vourdalak offers biting surprises. Its melange of chills and chutzpah makes for required viewing, even for non-horror fans willing to take a walk on the weird side. Long may its unique brand of atmospheric terror sink roots in the minds of all lucky enough to encounter its nightmares. When it comes to offbeat filmic feasts, this one truly satisfies.

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