SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Matialth
Good concept, poorly executed.
FuzzyTagz
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
nm4701284
I have to say it: Beautiful!The Romanians did it this time. This American-Romanian collaboration brought the Romanian production value to a new level. I was impressed of how ALL the Romanian actors spoke English so relaxed, the story was good, the cinematography and the entire production was tight together in one really nice final product.I love how they took the so popular subject of the Transilvanian Vamipre and brought it down to earth in such a simple and so realistic manner that it will make a lot of people wonder if these things are really happening.Impressed!
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.
gavin6942
When the villagers killed Constantin Tirescu, they thought it was justice. Vlad Cozma thinks it was murder. Now Constantin thinks pickles might go nice with blood.Dennis Harvey at Variety called it "drolly funny if a tad long-winded". I think he is right on both points. Second one first -- coming in around 104 minutes, I think shaving ten minutes off would help the pacing and get more of an audience. Not saying it drags, but it could be faster.First point second, it is quite funny, in an offbeat way. Romanians doing a conga line to "Spirit in the Sky", old men asking if Italy has nice pizza (it does, and ice cream, too). And weird comments like a character being "too ***** to stick his finger up my ***." The fast food nightmare scene was excellent, too, both funny and sickening at the same time.Faye Jackson says, "Romanian is a language that uses a lot of word play and slang and my Romanian simply isn't good enough to write dialogue that sounds like Romanian as it's spoken. So I had to write it in English." She has been asked why it was not in Romanian since they filmed it there and it starred Romanians. Perhaps the right thing to do would be to get a new director, but since Jackson did so well, that seems unnecessary in hindsight.The gore is commendable, very good and not too gross for a horror film, especially the scene with the police officer. I am not entirely clear why the cop has born without ribs, though. (I suppose he might have been born with ribs and had them removed later, but it is still weird.) I am waiting to see what Faye Jackson does next. The director's next project is "sort of Dirty Pretty Things meets the A Team, except nothing like that at all". Wow. Yep, wow.
Filippos01
Unfortunately this is a hard to find movie, but trust me if u ever get a chance you'll certainly enjoy it!The plot starts where our hero young doctor returns from his internship in Italy to his in-the-middle-of-nowhere village. He finds that a kind of weird old man has been dead. In Romanian tradition when someone dies his friends must stay up with the dead body for three full days, just to make sure that nothing goes out of the way...! He sees five villagers staying up and drinking next to its coffin. But, they hardly liked the dead man. And this is where all creepiness starts taking place...Through out the film everyone seems emotionless, they all talk slowly, amazing things happen and they act like it's everyday routine. This bizarre non linear beat of the movie is what makes it creepy and kind of disturbing. To add to all this bizarre world comes moments of dancing to Bregovic music...!! If you ever been to Eastern Europe you do get that weird feeling as if everything is heavier than it should be and that people do have this distinct- chilly- unemotional tone in their voice. It always creep me out, and that's exactly what I got from this film. Certainly a gem, certainly out of the ordinary and a great idea to watch an "original" Romanian take on vampires. If u get a chance, do watch it!
