First of all, this movie as an extremely slow pace. So readied yourself for a 2h45 min movie.
The imagery is beautiful and I really enjoyed the original score. The issue with it is that it's trying to be artsy at time. The shower scene with Rebecca (the main female lead), is one example : she is preparing to take a shower while looking at her reflexion in the mirror, than she is in the shower and blood start dripping on her, than she is back in front of the mirror, than she imagine walking back to the ballet she just watch, than she is in the shower again.
It was a bit too much, as this happen several time.
For the score, it is reminiscent of Wojciech Kilar, who composed the soundtrack of Bran Stoker's Dracula. A LOT !!! I would listen to this soundtrack while doing other things. The choice of piece is also a bit over the top sometimes, too dramatic for my taste in some scene. It is more to create atmosphere than for theme.
I like the fact that everything is grey, the colors are really neutral, which makes the blood pops out more on screen.
The vampires are clichéd... A LOT ! Fangs out, hissing, laughing at human misery, blood dripping from their mouth. They are also sexuallized, which goes along the line of victorian era vampire litterature. But they are also stuck in the past, like sending letter sealed by wax, classic tailored dress, etc. Oh, and the vampire is from Eastern Europe. Caleb even as 2 brides (as Dracula had 3...)
The characters are also clichéd, typical villagers who issued veiled threat, complescent priest, etc. It would work great in a parody but the movie takes itself seriously.
At least, the actors give themselves to their role. That I respect ! It just the way they were written. The acting is ok, but I was often left wondering how were characters feeling about stuff. The translation is way off. I would have like an original version with subtitles.
I would have prefered a more nuanced approach. For example, with all the vision the main character has, they could have played with her mental state but they did not set the table for this. The villagers could have been excessively nice instea, up to the point of creepiness.
One thing have don't understand is how they know that Caleb is the villain with just their hallucination ? It does not work. There should have been concrete evidence at some point instead of characters just saying : "Oh, this girl dissapear ? Let's go to Caleb's house because he's more dangerous then we think..."
What makes absolutely no sense at all is the dissapearance of people, sometimes whole groups, and not attracting the attention of anyone nor anything. I get it : it is to convey a feeling of powerlessness. In this univers, the law cannot protect you. Fine. But a whole group of young ballerinas ?!?!?! Nope !! They would have posted on instagram that they were going to Timere. One of them would have mentionned on social media that they were going to meet Caleb, etc... No way would there families have left that slide by.
The imagery is beautiful and I really enjoyed the original score. The issue with it is that it's trying to be artsy at time. The shower scene with Rebecca (the main female lead), is one example : she is preparing to take a shower while looking at her reflexion in the mirror, than she is in the shower and blood start dripping on her, than she is back in front of the mirror, than she imagine walking back to the ballet she just watch, than she is in the shower again.
It was a bit too much, as this happen several time.
For the score, it is reminiscent of Wojciech Kilar, who composed the soundtrack of Bran Stoker's Dracula. A LOT !!! I would listen to this soundtrack while doing other things. The choice of piece is also a bit over the top sometimes, too dramatic for my taste in some scene. It is more to create atmosphere than for theme.
I like the fact that everything is grey, the colors are really neutral, which makes the blood pops out more on screen.
The vampires are clichéd... A LOT ! Fangs out, hissing, laughing at human misery, blood dripping from their mouth. They are also sexuallized, which goes along the line of victorian era vampire litterature. But they are also stuck in the past, like sending letter sealed by wax, classic tailored dress, etc. Oh, and the vampire is from Eastern Europe. Caleb even as 2 brides (as Dracula had 3...)
The characters are also clichéd, typical villagers who issued veiled threat, complescent priest, etc. It would work great in a parody but the movie takes itself seriously.
At least, the actors give themselves to their role. That I respect ! It just the way they were written. The acting is ok, but I was often left wondering how were characters feeling about stuff. The translation is way off. I would have like an original version with subtitles.
I would have prefered a more nuanced approach. For example, with all the vision the main character has, they could have played with her mental state but they did not set the table for this. The villagers could have been excessively nice instea, up to the point of creepiness.
One thing have don't understand is how they know that Caleb is the villain with just their hallucination ? It does not work. There should have been concrete evidence at some point instead of characters just saying : "Oh, this girl dissapear ? Let's go to Caleb's house because he's more dangerous then we think..."
What makes absolutely no sense at all is the dissapearance of people, sometimes whole groups, and not attracting the attention of anyone nor anything. I get it : it is to convey a feeling of powerlessness. In this univers, the law cannot protect you. Fine. But a whole group of young ballerinas ?!?!?! Nope !! They would have posted on instagram that they were going to Timere. One of them would have mentionned on social media that they were going to meet Caleb, etc... No way would there families have left that slide by.