Nonureva
Really Surprised!
Sexylocher
Masterful Movie
CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
deacon_blues-3
Strigoi is a funny little film. It's a mystery-horror-comedy-adventure. The dialogue and folksy music blend to create a thoroughly dry, witty atmosphere. Poor Vlad has returned home from studying medicine with his father in Italy, but he finds everything in his little village has taken a turn for the strange. His grandfather complains about the communists stealing his dog and the Gypsies stealing his cigarettes. Old Florin has been killed and the men of the town claim that it was an accident, but what kind of accident leaves thumb-shaped bruises on the throat? Something weird is going on with the Tirescus, the long-time patrons of the village. Constantin says he is always hungry, and his abdomen rumbles continuously to prove it. Constantin's wife has taken up residence in Vlad's aunt's kitchen, eating everything in sight and demanding ever more food. Vlad awakens in the night to find his grandfather sucking his blood from a curious welt on his thigh. Someone is buying up all the land around the town without the permission of its owners. Where will all this lead? Vlad has no idea, but he is learning that there is much more to the old legends he heard as a boy than he'd always assumed.This film is full of the ironies of small town life, presented in a dark but charming manner. Sort of a Romanian Green Acres with vampires.
Dawn Pilkington
My husband and I loved this movie for: 1) it's quirky humor -- humor that we found intensely funny (laughing out loud in almost every scene). One running joke is about Vlad's squeamishness. In spite of going to med school, Vlad failed to practice medicine, presumably b/c of this reputed squeamishness -- well-known to everyone in the small town. So, just about every character says something to Vlad about his squeamishness, as he is faced with increasingly challenging or gruesome tasks. The remark: "Everyone knows you're a pussy, Vlad" is repeated by several characters. The delivery is not teasing or mocking; it's deadpan and matter of fact way, which is much funnier. 2. the political and social context -- very interesting3. the blood sucking/greedy eating as a metaphor for the communists' greedy thieving of people's landTips -- it's not scary -- not supposed to be, but it has a few gross out moments.LOVED IT!
exanastonia
I can understand how some might find this movie slow or dull. I can see how someone expecting a traditional vampire movie would be disappointed. But this is a movie that asks to be taken on its own terms. If you're willing to go where it takes you, it's absolutely entertaining.No spoilers here, except to say as others have that it's not a standard vampire movie in any respect. (For me, that's a plus. I'm a lifelong horror fan, but the older I get, the more I appreciate subtlety; and Strigoi is certainly subtle.) I concur with other reviewers who say it's a tough movie to categorize in terms of genre; I found it dryly funny, but I wouldn't call it a comedy. Neither is it a horror movie in any conventional sense. There's a touch of magic realism in that the vampires are not so much literal entities as they are metaphors for a past that refuses to die - understandable, since the movie is very firmly located in modern Romania.That specificity of time and place is one of my favorite aspects of the film. While I don't have direct personal experience of Romania, I do have family from other parts of Eastern Europe, and the film's casual mix of modernity and tradition ring true for me. So do the characters' droll humor and level of comfort with death and the unknown, all of which is met with a shrug, a wink, and/or a raised glass. The script is excellent and captures the banter between families who have known each other not only for a lifetime, but for generations.The acting, too, is strong. Cătălin Paraschiv as the protagonist, Vlad, scarcely alters his voice or facial expressions throughout the film but still manages to convey a wide range of emotions and remains sympathetic. The ensemble cast is endearing, particularly the local policeman (who speculates that a local landowner ought to consider growing marijuana, because it's natural and never hurt anybody) and the mourners keeping vigil over the body of a local patriarch to ensure he doesn't become strigoi. The Romanian accents are thick but intelligible, and it's clear that everyone's having a good time with the material.Did I mention the music? The music's great. I wasn't expecting to enjoy Strigoi anywhere near as much as I did, so I'm happy to pass along a recommendation in the hopes that someone else will find the film entertaining as well.
Robert Harding
I've just recently seen Strigoi at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and was absolutely surprised at how good the film was. The trailer I had seen for the film made it seem like a very low budget, campy, been there done that vampire film. What I was shown was a well produced, professional, good looking film with an interesting vampire story. As an added bonus, there are some funny moments and good jokes mixed in throughout the film so that it doesn't come off stale.The only real problem I had with the film was the slow pacing and longer than necessary runtime. Had the film been cut down by 10-20 minutes, I think it would become 100 times more enjoyable.I was surprised to find out that the film has technically been done since early in the year but had only now, played in front of an audience. I am lucky to say I was able to catch this little gem at it's world premiere.I hope to see more from this talented writer/director in the future and wish Strigoi all the best. With no big name actors, it may be a hard sell which is a damn shame. Genre fans need to see this film. In a genre where the market is flooded with the taste du jour and the films often leave a bad taste in your mouth, Strigoi serves up a platter of delicious offerings genre fans are sure to eat up.
