I have seen a couple attempts at putting the so-called Blood Countess on films. For instance The Countess with Julie Delpy, has fine acting, but is very slow and wants me to over identify with the countess and empathize with her.
This movie at least offers better production values, non-terrible child actors that you can root for and at least a nod in the direction of historical accuracy. (The one thing I am unclear on historically is any evidence that she might have killed any significant numbers of young boys. Her treatment of young girls is reasonably well-documented.)
So while it is a bit cheesy and overdramatic at times, it has much more going for it, than many adaptations of this historical tale. The actress playing the countess is also quite good at projecting a certain mixture of menacing intensity overlaid with a nonthreatening approachable veneer. Also these resourceful gypsy kid protagonists are great. Some small bits of it are predictable enough, but there a few surprises to hold your interest.
I'm not saying this should top any horror movie lists, but it certainly shouldn't be tossed at the bottom of the horror barrel with Asylum films either.
This movie at least offers better production values, non-terrible child actors that you can root for and at least a nod in the direction of historical accuracy. (The one thing I am unclear on historically is any evidence that she might have killed any significant numbers of young boys. Her treatment of young girls is reasonably well-documented.)
So while it is a bit cheesy and overdramatic at times, it has much more going for it, than many adaptations of this historical tale. The actress playing the countess is also quite good at projecting a certain mixture of menacing intensity overlaid with a nonthreatening approachable veneer. Also these resourceful gypsy kid protagonists are great. Some small bits of it are predictable enough, but there a few surprises to hold your interest.
I'm not saying this should top any horror movie lists, but it certainly shouldn't be tossed at the bottom of the horror barrel with Asylum films either.