Brightlyme
i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
Chonesday
It's one of the most original films you'll likely see all year, which, depending on your threshold for certifiably crazy storylines, could be a rewarding experience or one that frustrates you.
Edwin
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
JoeB131
Redbox got rights to this 2008 reject from Czech TV, and melted it down into a 3 hour movie that they tried to pass off with a horror sub-title, "Countess of Blood".Instead, what you get is a Hungarian History lesson that is about as clear as Goolash. They take the notorious Blood Countess of Hungary, Erzabet Bathory, who was one of the influences for Dracula, and actually try to spin her in a positive light (Namely, that if she was brutal at all, she was brutal for the time she lived in.) A tighter, shorter movie would have worked better, without the unneeded characters like the two monks who come up with wacky steam-punk inventions.I think the movie looks great and puts you in that time period pretty well... and it quickly touches on the politics of feudal Austria-Hungary. But it's really just too long and unfocused.
Sheena Aikens
The review that I just read was pretty accurate...I do not think they quite understood what I took as the meaning as the movie. The confusion in the movie was the entire point in my opinion. She was never tried and proved guilty...everything was confusing during that time whether she was guilty of anything at all. She lost her temper and killed a couple of people...when someone was sneaking mushrooms into her drinks. IF they were wanting to go about it in a actual historically accurate method...which they did...she was possibly the victim of a political/religious conspiracy with the church wanting her land and all. Look up Elizabeth Bathory on Wikipedia. It goes through a thorough synopsis of her entire life...the accusations and also the conspiracy theory. Nothing was ever confirmed...so unless the people who made the movie wanted to give their opinion, which I do not believe they intended to do...they would have to leave it just as confusing and surrounded by myth as the entire story was. I kind of thought it was a good little effect on how much myth there was when they had her burn the castle she was imprisoned in...when in all reality nobody knows how she died or when she died. There were several days of uneaten food when they found her. Speculation was the point and the "spies" were there because they were there in real life. I have not found any information regarding an affair with the artist so that might have just been to show that she was possibly a normal wanting love kind of woman....we all have a romantic side even us torturers in the world.
wewilsons
The period history is exceptionally done. The amount of effort it took to portray the often brutal, calculating undercurrent and intrigue of the time was an excellent work. Visuals and acting is also mostly excellent. I was surprised how enthralled I became watching the very difficult and cruel life they lived. Costumes are excellent. Sets are excellent. Props and carriages and towns are excellently done.What are a little odd for me are Elsebeths dreams. Even though I now recognize the coloration changes indicating her dreamstate it was sometimes hard to determine when she was dreaming and when not. This may have been intended as she had the same difficulty. The thing that did not belong at all in this movie was a very minor comic relief (yes comic relief) from the 2 monks who for some crazy reason had rollerskates, key wound power shoes and other technology that had no bearing on this movie at all. While the film is Czech and possibly "different" ,whomever had the idea to do this did not belong.What was done nicely was the wrap up at the end of that Elsebeth was likely framed by the Hapsburgs. That to me is the most believable explanation of what she was accused of. To have killed 650 or even 50 maidens and bathed in their blood while everyone feared Gods wrath at every corner and everyone in the town would have know is a pretty ludicrous idea. It is more likely she was innocent and framed for her wealth and power. Worth watching for any history buff, but be forewarned, it is a long ride.
Bogdan Ionescu
I saw the film yesterday and it charmed me. It is a very attractive version of the life of countess Elizabeth Bathory, one in which she is not a murderer but a victim of a plot carried out in order to spoil her of her fortune in the medieval Hungary. Anna Friel made a great role. She a stunning beauty as the countess Bathory, in front of our eyes seems to be the real countess who somehow managed to come in the present times. The passionately love story with the painter Caravaggio is very catching. If I would have lived in the 16th century and I would have seen Anna Friel as the countess Bathory I had fallen in love with her for sure. The rest of the actors and the director did a good job. Apart of Anna Friel I liked Hans Matheson especially, who played Caravaggio.