deacon_blues-3
Strigoi is a funny little film. It's a mystery-horror-comedy-adventure. The dialogue and folksy music blend to create a thoroughly dry, witty atmosphere. Poor Vlad has returned home from studying medicine with his father in Italy, but he finds everything in his little village has taken a turn for the strange. His grandfather complains about the communists stealing his dog and the Gypsies stealing his cigarettes. Old Florin has been killed and the men of the town claim that it was an accident, but what kind of accident leaves thumb-shaped bruises on the throat? Something weird is going on with the Tirescus, the long-time patrons of the village. Constantin says he is always hungry, and his abdomen rumbles continuously to prove it. Constantin's wife has taken up residence in Vlad's aunt's kitchen, eating everything in sight and demanding ever more food. Vlad awakens in the night to find his grandfather sucking his blood from a curious welt on his thigh. Someone is buying up all the land around the town without the permission of its owners. Where will all this lead? Vlad has no idea, but he is learning that there is much more to the old legends he heard as a boy than he'd always assumed.This film is full of the ironies of small town life, presented in a dark but charming manner. Sort of a Romanian Green Acres with vampires.
Dawn Pilkington
My husband and I loved this movie for: 1) it's quirky humor -- humor that we found intensely funny (laughing out loud in almost every scene). One running joke is about Vlad's squeamishness. In spite of going to med school, Vlad failed to practice medicine, presumably b/c of this reputed squeamishness -- well-known to everyone in the small town. So, just about every character says something to Vlad about his squeamishness, as he is faced with increasingly challenging or gruesome tasks. The remark: "Everyone knows you're a pussy, Vlad" is repeated by several characters. The delivery is not teasing or mocking; it's deadpan and matter of fact way, which is much funnier. 2. the political and social context -- very interesting3. the blood sucking/greedy eating as a metaphor for the communists' greedy thieving of people's landTips -- it's not scary -- not supposed to be, but it has a few gross out moments.LOVED IT!
bradleedjohnson
It is well written, well directed, and well acted.This isn't a knee slapper. It isn't an in your face "Boo!" fest. It doesn't make your skin crawl like a Hannibal Lector. It isn't a Sherlock Holmes mystery.But its wry and amusing. There are scenes so odd in light of the circumstances that they stand out as surreal and yet right for some reason. The whole movie revolves around getting to the bottom of why or what this Strigoi vampire nonsense is all about.While set in Romania the language is English and well spoken. As a native English speaker it is easy to follow along while still getting the sense of being in a foreign world -- a place where the undead still have their wrongful place in the world.
Boyd
Well this came as a welcome surprise ... Well written ... Well acted ... Well shot ... And with a heart ... Such a rarity in "cinema" these days OK ... So it is low budget and there aren't planets exploding and people turning into beasts of some sort or another... Oh hold on... There are beasts sort of ... But much more subtly :)) Seeing the hugely baroque churches hovering over the poor homes of the Romanian villagers is a very bizarre sight ... I've never been to Romania but this made it a place I'd definitely be interested in visiting I'm kind of hoping the strigoi part was fiction of course : )) Give this one a go ... Its well worth an evening of your time
AD
