Wonderful character development!

Strictly average movie

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Super Atmospheric, Good Acting and Music, The Story needed more workVery atmospheric, eerie characters. I saw the German version with English subtitles. Something may have been lost in the translation. Or maybe some parts were cut out. But the characters and the story was not well thought out or displayed in this version. Best part was when the old man walked in on the young drifter and just stared. Very creepy. Acting was good, but not great. Cinematography captured the scenes well. Music was good.Worth checking out. But I can only give this a C, 5 stars.

Despite having dialogue this feels very much like a silent film. This dated, spooky little gem concentrates on visual imagery rather than concentrate dialogue and this fact gives it a dreamy, ethereal quality rarely seen in modern cinema. Indeed the film works best as a series of haunting visual images as our hero experiences weird events, hallucinations, and frightening dreams. Although difficult to watch and not exactly entertaining, VAMPYR is nonetheless a fascinating horror film which taps into some of our deepest fears.Despite having a vampire, this is a film which actually feels like a ghost story due to some spooky scenes of character's spirits coming out of their bodies and walking about in dream states. Exceptional use is made of shadows as they are given lives of their own in a very unsettling way. The acting is understated and efficient, but there is little in the way of a linear plot or storyline - it's just the images, linked together to form a puzzling whole. This is definitely a unique item and a good example of expressionistic cinematography, and it stays in the mind long after viewing.

Julian West plays Allan Grey, a young man with an intense interest in devil worship and the supernatural. His journeys take him to a secluded inn, and subsequently, an estate where the family in residence is falling prey to vampirism.Adapted from Sheridan Le Fanus' enduring story, which has helped to inspire many other film adaptations over the years, this is striking in a quiet but genuinely eerie way. It plays like somebody's nightmares captured on film. As co-scripted and directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, it's done in the best tradition of silent film, with the occasional bits of spoken dialogue mouthed in different languages by the actors and then dubbed by speakers of those languages.What Dreyer chooses to do is to tell his story not with words so much but with images, and he creates some very stark and wonderfully chilling visuals. His use of camera angles, light, and shadow are exemplary - that scene with the solder is a prime example. The 1930s era special effects are also quite good. Cinematographer (and future director) Rudolph Mate does a particularly fine job crafting the look of the film.Although the cast is largely made up by non-professional actors and actresses, they're still compelling to watch. Jan Hieronimko as the village doctor is especially fascinating with that amazing face of his. Exposition is conveyed by having characters read from old books, with the text shown on screen.Overall, a haunting and stimulating experience that's sure to be appreciated by lovers of classic black & white horror.Eight out of 10.

I'm not exactly a fan of most really old films, most of them just don't really hold up for me or are just not my cup of tea; could be a generation thing or just simply me I don't know. But this is one of those gems that I really can sink my teeth into.I'll admit to me this is probably one of the most bizarre horror films I've seen. It's a vampire film and yet it isn't; to me it's kinda more of an art horror film since there really isn't much in story or characterization, it's a film where were really in it for the visuals and this film had got some damn good visuals which help make this not just a classic but a great experience.The film to me is sort of has a dreamlike quality to it as if your walking into a nightmare. From just the use of light, shadow, as well as most of the countryside and shack they shot the film at they've succeeded in creating a world that is dark, foreboding, where there can be danger hiding within the shadows, or in the next room. The music is great it has a very eerie tone to it that evokes a feeling of unsettlement or even dread in some places.But of course the visuals are the highlight of the film, you might even have to watch this film again just to uncover more. From some room with skulls and strange items in it, a witches room? Shadows moving in places and disconnected from other presences. A character seeing his own death which I'll admit was creepy because like him I wondered when the heck did that happen, then turning into a ghost for a while. But my favorite and to me most creepy visual was the infamous bellman with a scythe, it looked like the grim reaper to me.I'm not sure whether the film has a theme or not, it sort of left up to you to draw your own conclusions on that. To me I always thought it was on the fear and inexcapablity of death, since images of death are invoked throughout the film. Or even our never ending fear and attraction toward the darkness of life and ourselves, since the main character always goes toward dangerous locations in the film and the lure and temptation of vampirism becomes strong for one woman bitten by a vamp. I don't know like I said it's up to you which to me is part of what makes the film special.Venture into the darkness if you dare.Rating: 4 stars