mario_c
It's a disappointing and clichéd movie that uses the name of Elisabeth Bathory to call attention, but completely fails about the true historic essence of that sadistic woman which lived in Royal Hungary in the beginning of the XVII century.Of course that when I decided to watch this movie I wasn't expecting a documentary or even a historic movie about Elisabeth Bathory, even because it's set in present times, but I wasn't expecting such lame pseudo-detective plot either! Elisabeth Bathory is not "Catherine Tramell" from BASIC INSTINCT! But at many parts of the movie I thought I was watching some cheap imitation of BASIC INSTINCT instead of some story related to the Bathory legend! Another lousy imitation is done from the movie EYES WIDE SHUT, when in this fantastic film occurs the weird/bizarre party. ETERNAL cheaply imitates that too!This film is really just a mixing of other movies' imitations, distrustful description of Elisabeth Bathory's tale, bad acting and, to culminate, the "great" plot of some 80's bad Hollywood cop action movie! Even the supposed erotic scenes were disappointing! The premise of creating a story related to a "21th century's Elisabeth Bathory" was quite good, and it was what called my attention, but the way this movie was done was truly bad! If you want to watch a better movie related to Elizabeth Bathory myth, search for Walerian Borowczyk's CONTES IMMORAUX (1974). At least this one is more accurate!
Maciste_Brother
This French Canadian production is so bad that it doesn't even deserve a decent review. Acting, production, script and dialogue, action, etc, are all bad. Cheap porno films have more value than this Euro-cult wannabe. The story of a woman who lives eternally from the blood of young women has been done to death. I think I've seen a dozen already and oddly enough none of them are good. I decided to watch it because it's never been done correctly or even decently. Well, after watching this one it appears this story is forever cursed to be recreated in execrable films made by people without any talent whatsoever.The acting is especially bad. I've never seen such an ensemble of bad "actors" in one film. The cop was especially bad. Where oh where did they fish this guy from? Honestly, Conrad Pla cannot be considered an actor. I really thought the producers couldn't afford a decent actor so they just hired a security guard or something.If you want kinky sexy stuff, just go on the web. There's a billion websites out there with more "rewarding" stuff that the entire boring two hours of this movie.
siderite
Policeman searches for the murderer of his wife which happens to be a beautiful yet evil vampire lady. For some reason I think Conrad Pla had potential as an actor. I also liked Caroline Néron (yummy) in the role of the vampire. However, the eroticism that should have saved this movie from a horribly unoriginal script failed miserably. I mean, if you want to make a vampire movie, at least try to do something that hasn't been done yet.It was nice that the vampire sidekick was named Irina in the movie, which is a real Romanian name, even if she was an actress born in the Canary Islands, but then she says she is a companion of the vampire for two years, so what was the point?The way the cop is fooled by the vampire is also interesting as is the little twist that he didn't really care too much about his wife. However the whole Vatican priest thing at the end is plain dumb.I liked the absence of garlic and wooden sticks, but then again, any real attempt to vanquish the vampire is absent as well.Bottom line: it was a decent attempt, but let's face it, it failed.
fembuck
Let's not mince words, "Eternal" is an entertaining, beautifully shot, and gorgeously populated movie, but it is not going to be winning any indie awards. So, if you're looking for a movie that is going to make you think deeply about the human condition, challenge previously held ideas about vampires and vampirism, or psychologically dazzle you ... well, you're probably asking for too much ;) "Eternal" kept me interested in what was happening on screen until the closing shot, and in more than a few places I actually found myself awed by how lovely some of the shots were (I so totally want to go to Venice now!). So for being interesting and pretty I'm giving it 7 stars out of 10.(However, if you're a big fan of rough and pretty femme/femme action, and French accents, then you can bump that on up to an 8.5) SlightSpoiler Warning for rest of review...The plot of the movie is your basic murder-by-numbers thriller (only with vampires! Yay!). In a nutshell, the young, pretty wife, of a Montreal Detective Raymond Pope goes missing. Pope dedicates himself to finding out what has happened to his old lady, and his investigation leads him to the home of the beautiful and mysterious Elizabeth Kane (descendant? of the legendary and Evvvvvil Erezbet Bathroy). After this meeting Pope's life becomes filled with death, intrigue, and loss, all of which he believes can be traced back to the reclusive Kane, if only he can prove it! On to the characters: 1. Elizabeth Kane. Truthfully, a huge part of the success of the film is due to Caroline Neron's portrayal of the beautiful, mysterious, and devilish Erezbet Bathroy/Elizbeth Kane. Neron is not only captivating in this role but sizzles as the sexy, charming and most certainly deadly Kane. She manages to enthrall the audience with a dark, exotic charm that leaves the viewer as captivated by 'Elizabeth' as her victims are. This is the first role I have seen Neron in, but I want her get a lot more work after this! One of the greatest things about this character is that she is cold! You do not get any warm/fuzzy feelings for her; she is a predator, not a baby-saving champion, or a broodingly romantic hero. She is a stone cold killer, a lioness in slinky gowns and heels. The scariest thing about her isn't a huge sword, or kung-fu-jitsu-kata or whatever, it is *charm* and the fact that while watching the film you know that if you met her, you'd follow her back to her 'love den of death' like a little puppy, where you would die (probably happy).2. Detective Pope. Your typical gruff, stubbly, has a problem with authority, babe magnet jerk, with a hidden dark side, and requisite picturesque family and home. Conrad Pla does as well with the role as he can, and was actually very good when the script wasn't making Pope act like yell-y, asshole. However, Detective Pope's ... um, extracurricular activities are something different from your regular 'thriller' fare and create a nice tension between him and Elizabeth.3. Irina/Inevitable Henchwoman. The Igor to Erezbet Bathroy's Victor Frankenstein, the Robin to her Batman, the Lassie to her kid who owned Lassie (Timmy? Jimmy? Whatever). She is the inevitable henchwoman, and while pretty to look at Victoria Sanchez isn't really called on to do anything here but look pretty and move the plot along. Her characters relationship with Elizabeth had the potential to be very interesting and the actresses did the most with it they could, but the script left them without much to work with.4. Wine. No seriously, there's a lot of it in this movie. A lot. It's practically it's own character. It is red (always), delicious and DEADLY. I want some, but I'm scared.So, in conclusion, despite a sometimes predictable/lazy script (and sometimes annoying and under developed characters), and it's pseudo-history, "Eternal" is actually an entertaining movie. The acting is good, the cinematography is beautiful, the cast is pretty, I like vampires, and Caroline Neron is a shot of adrenaline that sets the film back on course whenever it begins to miss a beat. So if you like, vampires, Marlow-ish detectives, cop-dramas, pretty locations, and enchantresses, you should enjoy "Eternal"!
