Strigoi (2009)
Distributor: Eurkea Video/Bounty Films
DVD Release Date (UK): 22 August 2011
Directed by: Faye Jackson
Starring: Catalin Paraschiv, Constantin Barbulescu
Review by: Aaron Williams
Having been involved in film making myself, I know only all too well how much of a battle it is bringing your precious vision to the screen, especially when you lack the fundamental basics needed such as a budget. This is probably the reason why whenever I sit down to give one of these independent horror films a shot, I want to like them. How maddening it must be to pour everything you have into a production, maybe even mortgaging your mother’s house, just to have some stranger sat behind a keyboard critically rape your little opus. I like to think I’m way more forgiving than a lot of horror fans.
I approached Strigoi with a wide open mind and I’m sad to say this was one huge disappointment.
Nearly every recent vampire movie claims to have subverted the sub genre, promising us that if we spend the cash to see their movie, we’ll see something we’ve never seen before, only to let us down spectacularly. Now we have Strigoi. A vampire film set in a small Romanian village. Sounds promising, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. The vampire film has come full circle, returning to its homeland.
Vlad Cozma (Catalin Paraschiv) heads home from his studies in Italy, greeted by the strange sudden death of one of the villagers. Convinced something rotten is going on he begins to investigate, discovering disputes of land ownership with Constantin Tirescu (Constantin Barbulescu) and his wife. He confronts them and realises some horrifying truths, that will not only rock Vlad’s existence but those of the entire village too.
The Strigoi myth is an interesting superstition of the unmarried dead returning to life with magical abilites, able to change form at will and cursed with the thirst for human blood. I mean, if you’re trying to cook up a decent little horror tale from this, where can you go wrong?
The problem here is not only are all the old genre clichés gone, there are barely any signs of a vampire flick here at all. When you forget the film you’re watching is supposed to be a vampire film, you’re in trouble. Maybe this film shouldn’t have been called a vampire flick in the first place. Then again, how else are you supposed to market a film concerning Romanian superstitions of the undead returning to life with a thirst for blood?Perhaps the attention should have not been so set on the villagers but the Strigoi myth itself. The villagers lead pretty uneventful lives, the story seems almost starved of drama. This is pretty much a whodunit set in a backwards post communist Romanian village, seemingly convinced of it’s ‘kooky’ charm and understated humour.
There are pretty much zero scares and zero laughs, failing as both a horror and a comedy, leaving the majority of the film without a leg to stand on and me confused as to why it was awarded the Toronto After Dark festival best independent feature award. Did you actually watch the film guys?
I found myself wondering if this were just a overblown postcard from the Romanian tourist board.
It’s not very often I watch a horror film and end up this uninterested so early on in its running time. For me that’s the one sin all horror films should stay away from: boring their audiences. Just writing this review is a struggle as I found myself forgetting it way before the final credits roll. Strigoi’s pacing is so deathly dull I found it nearly impossible to focus and it will more than likely test the patience of even the most forgiving horror lover.
Strigoi is out on DVD on August 22 (and August 2nd in the US through Vicious Circle Films). If Romania or its folklore is your bag, give it a shot. If it’s anything remotely fun or scary, go do something else. Like watch paint dry.