Renfield, The Count, The Vourdalak... Vampires have invaded cinemas in 2023

An inexhaustible source of audiovisual inspiration, the vampire was particularly present in the year 2023.

The year 2023 is a year rich in vampire incarnations. New adaptations, interpretations and proposals have involved the immortal figure of the vampire – this half-man, half-creature avatar has used liters of ink and miles of film to satisfy the insatiable thirst of those wanting to unravel the mystery of Nosferatu. This year especially, this totem of horror has been duplicated in colorful cinematic projects, although traditionally it persists in turning vermilion.

Let us look below at a handful of films from 2023, different and paradoxically complementary, having featured the creature of the night.

The Vourdalak ofAdrien Beau with Kacey Mottet-Klein, Ariane Labed, Gregoire Colin And Vassili Schneider.

The first film ofAdrien Beau, The Vourdalak (adaptation of the novel byAlexis N. Tolstoy published 50 years before the famous Dracula by Bram Stoker) turns out to be an honorable cinematographic challenge, notably through extraordinary staging choices (of mortals). Filmed in 16 mm, the grain of the image contributes to this hostile environment into which the frightened Marquis d’Urfé, infatuated with the enigmatic Svenka, rushes. They say that you cannot see the reflection of a vampire, here he wanders before everyone’s eyes, without anyone managing to thwart his plans.

The Vourdalak confirms its place in the vampire film which tends to Freedom ofAlbert Serra, by the singularity of its decorations, noble and forest. What makes the experience unique is the honesty shown by the filmmaker in exposing his vampire puppet to natural light: she speaks, articulates ridiculously, but she avoids nothing. Horror occurs, even if the undead vampire indulges in approximate gestures, limited by his grand-guignolesque features. You won’t see two projects like this in a year…and that’s exquisite!

The count of Pablo Larrain with Jaime Vadell, Gloria Munchmeyer, Alfredo Castro on Netflix:

It is in a black and white setting that this count attempts to address the most worrying problem in the condition of a vampire: his distraction. From a philosophical point of view, The count addresses the existential procrastination of a vampire at the end of his career. The lightness of these concerns clashes with the burning subject of the Chilean dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet from 1974 to 1990. Who else could play a bloodthirsty vampire?

Unlike the previous project of Pablo Larrain, No (2012), The count era between the tragi-comic twists and turns of an aging vampire, robbed by vulture heirs eager for a substantial inheritance. Black and white inevitably contributes to the mediocrity of this vampire exhausted by these questions. Dracula, the Transylvanian count, disguises himself as a Chilean dictator, the myth is debunked to its roots for an atypical version of the vampire. Netflix added The count on September 15, four days after the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the 1973 coup d’état.

Renfield directed by Chris McKay with Nicholas Hoult And Nicolas Cage.

What would the couple Renfield and Dracula be like in the #MeToo era? Imagine the mythical duo composed of the servant and his master at a time when the liberation of speech is in the news. It is in these modern times that Renfield sees the opportunity to throw off his chains by denouncing the perverse narcissistic behavior of his master, Count Dracula, played by Nicolas Cage who respects the draculian dress code by pinning her hair Bela Lugosi. A charismatic personality was obviously needed to appreciate the full implications of the breakup of this unbreakable duo.

Namely that Renfield is the key to the Transylvanian Count’s journey. He is his servant, he transports the victims and takes care of his master’s living and transport conditions, always with the aim of prospering and conquering new lands. Here, the characters engage in (comical) acrobatics worthy of a comic strip. There are many points in common, notably for its garish colorimetry, composed of green, blue and red except when it breaks with dull shades combined with the sharp fangs of the bloodsucker. The theatricality of this gory B series has its effect.

The Last Voyage of Demeter of André Øvredal with Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham.

This is probably the most mysterious ellipse in Gothic literature. In the novel of Bram Stocker, the tragic fate of the ship’s crew is told to us through the testimonies of the sailors once they reached the English coast. What is certain is that what happened on board was appalling. The Last Voyage of Demeter joins Nosferatu of Murnau (1922) as well as the version of Werner Herzorg with Isabelle Adjani And Klaus Kinski (1978) in the adaptation of a fundamental episode in the vampire’s quest: the conquest of London.

With a black vampire hunter as the main character and a woman of action involved, this adaptation sets out to conquer a younger audience, likely to appreciate these new archetypes of horror. Mainly commercial project or clumsy attempt to pay homage to the most mysterious episode of horror stories – this survival naval is running out of steam due to the slowness of the journey. The figure in the story is replaced by a creature resembling a human-sized bat; anthropomorphism has set sail.

Continuing this bloodthirsty emulsion, the year 2024 is in turn called upon by a major vampire project. Robert Eggers director of The Northman And The Lighthouseplans to release a Nosferatu film with a five-star cast, composed of: Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, William Dafoe And Nicholas Hoult who seems to continue his subscription to the vampire (after Renfiled), but this time in a role similar to that of Jonathan Harker. It will not be complicated to dub the filmAndrew Øvredal but will the project be able to play in the same category as Murnau And Herzorg ?