Hailed by many working and volunteering at 2024’s Glasgow Film Festival as the festival’s must-see feature, The Vourdalak (adapted from Tolstoy’s novella The Family of the Vourdalak) lets you know within the first five minutes whether or not it is the film for you. Lavishly styled, equal parts strange, sinister, and amusing, and with a puppet for its titular proto-vampire, this film never attempts to be universally likeable. Fortunately for me, within those first five minutes I had decided that this was exactly my kind of film.
For a debut feature film, Adrien Beau’s The Vourdalak is admirably strong in its stylistic convictions, paying homage to films of folk horror past. In its camera angles, cinematography, and editing, the film is transportive, taking us back to the soft, glowing hues of the seventies; recalling films like The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy’s 1973 original, rather than its infamous 2006 remake). Perhaps The Vourdalak’s boldest choice, however, is choosing to depict the patriarch-turned-vampire with a life-sized puppet. It must be said that, from time to time, this led to scenes in which I wasn’t sure whether I was supposed to laugh or not – moments of sinister stalking couldn’t help but look just a little silly with the vourdalak’s fixed, bug-eyed stare. However, the choice also offers the film an undeniably unique spot in the vampire movie’s rich canon, and the puppeteering was complex and impressive.
As mentioned before, this film has something of a tonal sticking point. While it’s clear that the film intended to be funny at times, there were also moments in which the film’s strangeness (and it’s eerie puppet) tipped from the sinister to the comical. An intimate moment between the film’s protagonist (Kacey Mottet Klein as the Marquis Jacques) and his lover was perhaps the film’s worst offending moment. This being said, The Vourdalak also has its moments of striking tragedy and suspense, helped along by the commitment of its cast, its ethereal score, and frankly grotesque sound design. I truly hope The Vourdalak gets the recognition it deserves for its unique and colourful concept, and while I suspect it will continue to divide audiences, I hope more people get the chance to see this gem of a film.
[Grace Murray, they/them]
[Instagram: @gracefrom._space]
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