Review of The Countess (2009) by Tom M — 03 Jan 2012

Love, greed, myth and manipulation are juggled together in Julie Delpyâ(TM)s telling the tale of one of the first famous serial killers, Erzebet Bathory. Itâ(TM)s a tragic story of two lovers pulled apart by so many things out of their control: time, class, war, conquest...Only leaving a hole to be filled by Bathory with an insane notion that drives a need for the precious resource of blood in a misplaced exchange for time and youthfulness.

The direction is straightforward and the cast is dower and scheming, manipulating things to their own ends. Delpy tells the tale with a kind of cold economy that really shows a lot of restraint despite the subject matter while maintaining a kind of emotional realism for the folks who were living in those dark times.