I had high expectations for this movie which made my disappointment all the worse. Maybe it was cognitive dissonance because of my familiarity with the story it's based upon, Carmilla. First, the things that were right about the film. The acting was very good. Eleanor Tomlinson (Lara) does a great job portraying of the dark and disturbed teenager who accompanies her father, Stephan Rea (Dr. Hill) an art restoration expert, on a journey to the Hungarian town of Styria.. It's 1989 and both of them carry dark secrets when they arrive at the deteriorating castle that had served as a tuberculosis sanitarium during the early part of the 20th century. A renowned muralist had been a patient there and painted his
final murals on its on its walls.
It's not the actors that disappoint; rather it's the characters they portray; the gruff and sullen Dr. Hill has shunted his now teenage daughter off to a boarding school since the age of six following the death of her mother whose early demise remains a mystery till late in the movie. Lara for her part accompanies her father on this trip only because she'd been expelled from the school for her alleged involvement in a violent act against another student which she denies. Neither of these characters are very likable except to the extent I felt pity for the girl.
The scene takes place at the end of the Cold War and has the heaviness we usually associate with life behind the Iron Curtain. The rotting castle and gloomy scenery create an atmosphere ripe for vampires.
Upon their arrival tLara and her father are introduced to the villainous General Spiegel (Jacek Lenartowicz), a very creepy guy who rules over the town and exploits his subjects, especially the women. It is through this that we are introduced to the mysterious Carmilla (Julia Pietrucha).
Carmilla and Lara immediately form a bond because of their mutual isolation. From there the mysterious events and strange dreams begin for Lara, usually ending with Lara waking up on the floor and not knowing what happened. Scary events ensue and dead girls begin to accumulate.
The story violates a lot of the conventions of vampire fiction which is fine so long as we know what the vampire universe looks like. Here it is introduced as-it-happens which left me confused a good deal of the time. The original LeFanu story also contained a lot of sexual tension between Lara and Carmilla which was largely lacking in this modern adaptation.
The acting and production values and some of the vampire world it introduced made it worth a watch but it created more questions than it answered. Watch it on a raining Saturday afternoon. It should keep your interest.
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