A troubled newly wed couple on their way to meet his mother are forced to stay in an off-season hotel, where a mysterious woman traps them in her malevolent web.
Interesting start to this, with lots of movement as we discover the flawed nature of the marriage. Great performance from the actress playing Barthory, who has real presence on screen and does great close-ups. But the hammy performance of the concierge sets off the alram bells, and sure enough the story stutters and starts and loses its pace even as the ridiculous killings are ticked off. This actually had the potential for a psychological thriller, but they decided to just give it a lick of the supernatural instead. And what's with the mother? Weird but random.
Lots of praise for the eroticism, but it fell flat for me. There are some good two-shots of faces closing together, but it really doesn't take its time and is a bit prudish with the wife.
The lighting of the hotel foyer was too bright and flat, but otherwise it looked good. And the music was interesting.
Overall, a misconceived story that doesn't really pack a mythology, but it looks good and covers up some of the weakness through the central performance.
Interesting start to this, with lots of movement as we discover the flawed nature of the marriage. Great performance from the actress playing Barthory, who has real presence on screen and does great close-ups. But the hammy performance of the concierge sets off the alram bells, and sure enough the story stutters and starts and loses its pace even as the ridiculous killings are ticked off. This actually had the potential for a psychological thriller, but they decided to just give it a lick of the supernatural instead. And what's with the mother? Weird but random.
Lots of praise for the eroticism, but it fell flat for me. There are some good two-shots of faces closing together, but it really doesn't take its time and is a bit prudish with the wife.
The lighting of the hotel foyer was too bright and flat, but otherwise it looked good. And the music was interesting.
Overall, a misconceived story that doesn't really pack a mythology, but it looks good and covers up some of the weakness through the central performance.