Strigoi (2009) User Reviews

Wasted potential

[zombieninjapirate · 4/10 · 6 March 2011]

I'm surprised that this movie got such a high score. I was really interested in this movie after reading the plot, and seeing the images on the back. But the moment the talking and acting started, I knew this was going to be pretty bad. Not only did they choose to replace the real native language with silly accents in English, removing a lot of the credibility, but the accents are so laughably bad that I just could not take this seriously. The acting was, most of the time, really stiff and unbelievable. To me it seemed like some of the actors where actually good at acting, but couldn't mimic the accent properly. Most of them spoke in one monotonous tone all the time.

This movie had a lot of potential, because I found it very well shot and the characters and environments sure looked just right. The music is good and the make-up really good, but it's all lost in a very confusing and slow-moving story. There are so many unanswered questions, plot holes, random happenings and unexplained behaviour that it just feels like they tried their best to make this a confusing mess, even though the story as a whole don't seem that advanced or deep. I also felt that they could have used the setting more to their advantage, to create a creepier and more eerie feeling. There where a few pretty hilarious moments, I'll definitely give them that, but it did not make the movie worth the watch.

Now if you're a fan of vampires, horror, dark comedy, gore, intelligent, political, or just plain good movies, stay away. This movie seemed to promise it all(except the gore), but delivers on none.

Slow, so very. very ssslllooowwww....

[lanoraruiz · 4/10 · 20 August 2012]

I can't believe I sat through the entire movie without turning it off! This could have been a great movie. The concept and the history involving the location could have made this a great movie but somethings never happen like you hope they would. First why is this movie in English? Do they think everyone is so dimwitted that they just won't read subtitles? Secondly the phony accents do not match the nationality. I know Romanians and they sound NOTHING like the people in the movie. If you have watched everything available and it is a rainy Sunday and you don't mind watching a movie that has an ending that is even more confusing then any thing you have ever seen then watch Strigoi, but do not say you where not warned!

It's a Mystery Movie

[yaktheripper · 6/10 · 6 October 2012]

NOT a vampire film. That's the first and most important fact you should know before watching. Second, it's a rather dry if not dull film that sparkles with just enough charisma to pull off an above average effort. The acting is fine, in fact it's pretty good. Yes, they are Romanians speaking in English but their accents are not hard to comprehend. At least I had no problem following them. This isn't a knee slapper type of comedy. I can't imagine the personality that would label this a comedy to be honest. It's just not funny. Amusing? Sure. Funny? I didn't laugh once. I smiled...the cast has a sort of neurotic charm that fuels your desire to reach the end. Don't watch it expecting to unearth a great vampire movie that no one else has seen. Watch it expecting a murder mystery with Romanian vampire mythology thrown in the mix as a sort of seasoning. Lower your expectations created by a few people that are raising an unrealistic bar and you might enjoy it more then others. Or you might be bored stiff. It's just that type of movie.

Vampire Comedy, Romania Style

[gavin6942 · 4 August 2011]

When the villagers killed Constantin Tirescu, they thought it was justice. Vlad Cozma thinks it was murder. Now Constantin thinks pickles might go nice with blood.

Dennis Harvey at Variety called it "drolly funny if a tad long-winded". I think he is right on both points. Second one first -- coming in around 104 minutes, I think shaving ten minutes off would help the pacing and get more of an audience. Not saying it drags, but it could be faster.

First point second, it is quite funny, in an offbeat way. Romanians doing a conga line to "Spirit in the Sky", old men asking if Italy has nice pizza (it does, and ice cream, too). And weird comments like a character being "too ***** to stick his finger up my ***." The fast food nightmare scene was excellent, too, both funny and sickening at the same time.

Faye Jackson says, "Romanian is a language that uses a lot of word play and slang and my Romanian simply isn't good enough to write dialogue that sounds like Romanian as it's spoken. So I had to write it in English." She has been asked why it was not in Romanian since they filmed it there and it starred Romanians. Perhaps the right thing to do would be to get a new director, but since Jackson did so well, that seems unnecessary in hindsight.

The gore is commendable, very good and not too gross for a horror film, especially the scene with the police officer. I am not entirely clear why the cop has born without ribs, though. (I suppose he might have been born with ribs and had them removed later, but it is still weird.) I am waiting to see what Faye Jackson does next. The director's next project is "sort of Dirty Pretty Things meets the A Team, except nothing like that at all". Wow. Yep, wow.

Unfathomably boring...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 31 December 2015]

As much as I enjoy movies that involve the undead in all their shapes, forms and sizes, then "Strigoi: The Undead" just didn't appeal to me, and I ended up giving up on it shortly after 45 minutes into the movie.

Why didn't the movie appeal to me? Simply because it was so incredibly slow paced, so horribly, horribly slow paced. Nothing much had happened 45 minutes into the movie, so my interest was smothered and terminated. It is rare that I stumble upon a movie this slow paced. It was just awful.

It should be said that the acting in "Strigoi: The Undead" was actually quite good. And it is always nice to see brand new faces and talents in a movie. Just a shame that they suffered under a boring script and a lack of storytelling talent at the hand of director Faye Jackson.

All in all, this is a boring movie which isn't worth the time, effort and most importantly of all not worth your money.

Unknown gem in a sea of poor to mediocre

[acantho77 · 7/10 · 18 August 2009]

I've just recently seen Strigoi at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and was absolutely surprised at how good the film was. The trailer I had seen for the film made it seem like a very low budget, campy, been there done that vampire film. What I was shown was a well produced, professional, good looking film with an interesting vampire story. As an added bonus, there are some funny moments and good jokes mixed in throughout the film so that it doesn't come off stale.

The only real problem I had with the film was the slow pacing and longer than necessary runtime. Had the film been cut down by 10-20 minutes, I think it would become 100 times more enjoyable.

I was surprised to find out that the film has technically been done since early in the year but had only now, played in front of an audience. I am lucky to say I was able to catch this little gem at it's world premiere.

I hope to see more from this talented writer/director in the future and wish Strigoi all the best. With no big name actors, it may be a hard sell which is a damn shame. Genre fans need to see this film. In a genre where the market is flooded with the taste du jour and the films often leave a bad taste in your mouth, Strigoi serves up a platter of delicious offerings genre fans are sure to eat up.

Not sure what all the hype was about

[brendan-268 · 3/10 · 17 April 2012]

I rented this film based on all the glowing quotes from movie critics that were plastered all over the DVD cover - my experience is one which proves the old adage that not everything you read in print should be taken at face value.

This film started out really well, good pacing, interesting style, great deadpan black humor in an eccentric village - basically like Waking Ned Divine, except this time it was Romania, not Ireland, and there were vampires.

However, after about 30 minutes the film became bogged down, and all of a sudden the pacing slowed to a crawl, the humor and gags started to become monotonous, and the plot suddenly seemed to consist of the lead character going back and forth from one part of the village to another in an effort to try and unravel the mystery - in the end he seemed to spend more time pointlessly moving about than the plot did.

I really liked the first 20 minutes of this film, so I was absolutely disappointed when it fell off the pace and lost its way, becoming mired in its own overly complicated plot and overly-repetitive ethnic gags.

All they needed to do here was take a leaf out of the script writing playbook that gave us Waking Ned Divine and this would have been a classic plot driven black comedy about an eccentric village that kept you hooked by progressing the story beyond that of a mere land dispute, or bogging it down in local politics to the point of losing its universal appeal and themes.

It's not often that a movie snatches defeat from the jaws of victory, but this was definitely one of those cases - everything was started right, the technical aspects were excellent, acting good, but it never managed to bring it all home or maintain the initial hook of the first 20 minutes.

Dark-creepy Romanian take on the vampire myth

[Filippos01 · 7/10 · 11 April 2010]

Unfortunately this is a hard to find movie, but trust me if u ever get a chance you'll certainly enjoy it!

The plot starts where our hero young doctor returns from his internship in Italy to his in-the-middle-of-nowhere village. He finds that a kind of weird old man has been dead. In Romanian tradition when someone dies his friends must stay up with the dead body for three full days, just to make sure that nothing goes out of the way...! He sees five villagers staying up and drinking next to its coffin. But, they hardly liked the dead man. And this is where all creepiness starts taking place...

Through out the film everyone seems emotionless, they all talk slowly, amazing things happen and they act like it's everyday routine. This bizarre non linear beat of the movie is what makes it creepy and kind of disturbing. To add to all this bizarre world comes moments of dancing to Bregovic music...!!

If you ever been to Eastern Europe you do get that weird feeling as if everything is heavier than it should be and that people do have this distinct- chilly- unemotional tone in their voice. It always creep me out, and that's exactly what I got from this film.

Certainly a gem, certainly out of the ordinary and a great idea to watch an "original" Romanian take on vampires. If u get a chance, do watch it!

A delightful dark comedy

[deacon_blues-3 · 7/10 · 5 February 2016]

Strigoi is a funny little film. It's a mystery-horror-comedy-adventure. The dialogue and folksy music blend to create a thoroughly dry, witty atmosphere.

Poor Vlad has returned home from studying medicine with his father in Italy, but he finds everything in his little village has taken a turn for the strange. His grandfather complains about the communists stealing his dog and the Gypsies stealing his cigarettes. Old Florin has been killed and the men of the town claim that it was an accident, but what kind of accident leaves thumb-shaped bruises on the throat? Something weird is going on with the Tirescus, the long-time patrons of the village. Constantin says he is always hungry, and his abdomen rumbles continuously to prove it. Constantin's wife has taken up residence in Vlad's aunt's kitchen, eating everything in sight and demanding ever more food. Vlad awakens in the night to find his grandfather sucking his blood from a curious welt on his thigh. Someone is buying up all the land around the town without the permission of its owners. Where will all this lead? Vlad has no idea, but he is learning that there is much more to the old legends he heard as a boy than he'd always assumed.

This film is full of the ironies of small town life, presented in a dark but charming manner. Sort of a Romanian Green Acres with vampires.

A Funny, Surreal, Creepy Mystery

[bradleedjohnson · 8/10 · 20 April 2012]

It is well written, well directed, and well acted.

This isn't a knee slapper. It isn't an in your face "Boo!" fest. It doesn't make your skin crawl like a Hannibal Lector. It isn't a Sherlock Holmes mystery.

But its wry and amusing. There are scenes so odd in light of the circumstances that they stand out as surreal and yet right for some reason. The whole movie revolves around getting to the bottom of why or what this Strigoi vampire nonsense is all about.

While set in Romania the language is English and well spoken. As a native English speaker it is easy to follow along while still getting the sense of being in a foreign world -- a place where the undead still have their wrongful place in the world.

Strange film

[TheAlmightyFinger · 6/10 · 11 July 2019]

This Romanian film (in English) has good acting and camerawork, quite a few memorable characters and universally strange plotting. I would have liked to score it higher, but it is a bit plodding. The actors speak English with a Romanian accent, but it is understandable.

The Strigoi is a Romanian-type vampire that does not adhere to the rules of the Anglo-Saxon one. This film, however, is less about vampires and more about odd interpersonal relationships, resentments, and traditions in a Romanian village.

Unfortunately the pacing is a bit slow and the thought-processes of some characters are unfathomable. If you are patient, you will be rewarded with a healthy dose of weirdness, a pretty good soundtrack and maybe a little insight into small-town Romanian culture.

Funny, well-acted, WELL DONE!

[dawnpilkington-833-997772 · 1 November 2013]

My husband and I loved this movie for:

1) it's quirky humor -- humor that we found intensely funny (laughing out loud in almost every scene).

One running joke is about Vlad's squeamishness. In spite of going to med school, Vlad failed to practice medicine, presumably b/c of this reputed squeamishness -- well-known to everyone in the small town. So, just about every character says something to Vlad about his squeamishness, as he is faced with increasingly challenging or gruesome tasks. The remark: "Everyone knows you're a pussy, Vlad" is repeated by several characters. The delivery is not teasing or mocking; it's deadpan and matter of fact way, which is much funnier.

2. the political and social context -- very interesting

3. the blood sucking/greedy eating as a metaphor for the communists' greedy thieving of people's land

Tips -- it's not scary -- not supposed to be, but it has a few gross out moments.

LOVED IT!

Huh....

[faircruelty · 6/10 · 28 September 2020]

I have to say I did enjoy watching this film. It's quirky and fun but... I'm not really sure what the point was. There are no answers given to the many questions raised. Are they vampires or not? What's with grandpa? Where are this guy's parents? What's the deal with the papers? Why does this guy who studied to be a doctor give a damn about solving this crime? I was left feeling cheated with no resolution to ANYTHING! But it was well acted and the production was great. I just sat there at the end thinking "that's it?!?". I don't regret watching it, but it felt unfinished.

Fluidly made to move a story, and funny.

[lorddrewsus · 7/10 · 26 July 2020]

The characters are developed pretty well for a "low budget" horror movie. Some extremely funny laugh out loud dialogue also. Not really much on gore or anything else, so you shouldn't treat it like other lower budget movies. Very strange and engulfing take on "bloodsuckers".

Solid Find

[caverats-71890 · 7/10 · 28 November 2021]

It gets a bit slow in spots, but a solid sense of humor usually carries it through. It at least counts as a breath of fresh air in movie world dominated by rehashes and remakes.

Funny, Inventive, Intelligent and Touching ... Rare these days

[boydwalters · 9/10 · 28 July 2011]

Well this came as a welcome surprise ... Well written ... Well acted ... Well shot ... And with a heart ... Such a rarity in "cinema" these days OK ... So it is low budget and there aren't planets exploding and people turning into beasts of some sort or another... Oh hold on... There are beasts sort of ... But much more subtly :)) Seeing the hugely baroque churches hovering over the poor homes of the Romanian villagers is a very bizarre sight ... I've never been to Romania but this made it a place I'd definitely be interested in visiting I'm kind of hoping the strigoi part was fiction of course : )) Give this one a go ... Its well worth an evening of your time

Not your typical consumer movie

[kps13 · 9/10 · 20 April 2012]

First off, it's not like van helsing, or blade, or underworld. Not that those are bad movies, but the plot here is more grounded in mythology and less about the characters, focusing on perspective instead of the intro, climax, and resolution. Seeing how the actors were Romanian, I wondered about the earlier comment on their accents, which seemed fine to me. The acting wasn't typical either, it was sort of routine and believable. The film was more indie style, and reminded me of wrist cutters a love story in the way the plot is delivered. I wouldn't say the movie was "scary," but rather creepy and slightly unsettling. The comedy is subtle and enjoyable, 'are you sucking my blood?! no, go back to sleep.' If you're a fan of indie movies and vampires, its definitely worth watching.

Overall, I would suggest reading the wikipedia article on Strigoi before watching the movie, as it contains a few useful things to keep in mind.

Great Film

[alrc2007-847-854729 · 8/10 · 17 November 2013]

I don't know where one of the reviewers got that the accents were bad/fake/not genuine, however these ARE Romanian actors, speaking English with Romanian accents. If you are used to English accents from Americans, then of course you may be suffering under illusions about how people in the real world Eastern Europe truly speak English.

The film is amusing, well made, interesting and surprising. I enjoyed it quite well. Acting was on par with this sort of indie film, and in most cases, believable. Effects were not computer generated, however the story moved a bit slowly. I certainly enjoyed the beautiful countryside of Romania and reminded me of the time I visited.

Surprising and enjoyable

[exanastonia · 8/10 · 7 July 2013]

I can understand how some might find this movie slow or dull. I can see how someone expecting a traditional vampire movie would be disappointed. But this is a movie that asks to be taken on its own terms. If you're willing to go where it takes you, it's absolutely entertaining.

No spoilers here, except to say as others have that it's not a standard vampire movie in any respect. (For me, that's a plus. I'm a lifelong horror fan, but the older I get, the more I appreciate subtlety; and Strigoi is certainly subtle.) I concur with other reviewers who say it's a tough movie to categorize in terms of genre; I found it dryly funny, but I wouldn't call it a comedy. Neither is it a horror movie in any conventional sense. There's a touch of magic realism in that the vampires are not so much literal entities as they are metaphors for a past that refuses to die - understandable, since the movie is very firmly located in modern Romania.

That specificity of time and place is one of my favorite aspects of the film. While I don't have direct personal experience of Romania, I do have family from other parts of Eastern Europe, and the film's casual mix of modernity and tradition ring true for me. So do the characters' droll humor and level of comfort with death and the unknown, all of which is met with a shrug, a wink, and/or a raised glass. The script is excellent and captures the banter between families who have known each other not only for a lifetime, but for generations.

The acting, too, is strong. Cătălin Paraschiv as the protagonist, Vlad, scarcely alters his voice or facial expressions throughout the film but still manages to convey a wide range of emotions and remains sympathetic. The ensemble cast is endearing, particularly the local policeman (who speculates that a local landowner ought to consider growing marijuana, because it's natural and never hurt anybody) and the mourners keeping vigil over the body of a local patriarch to ensure he doesn't become strigoi. The Romanian accents are thick but intelligible, and it's clear that everyone's having a good time with the material.

Did I mention the music? The music's great.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy Strigoi anywhere near as much as I did, so I'm happy to pass along a recommendation in the hopes that someone else will find the film entertaining as well.

Hysterical! Don't Overlook this Film!

[samkan · 8/10 · 22 December 2012]

Only ten COMMENTS so far but I think Gavin and Bradlee got it right: This is a tongue-in-cheek adventure using a legendary genre with contemporary setting and language but mining some of the funniest deadpan humor ever! Truly the plot and it's background are interesting enough but I found myself laughing out loud at the characters and dialog. Such is never stand-alone comedy but situational; e.g.:

Vlad: "Were you drinking my blood?"

Grandfather, "It's okay."

Vlad: "No it isn't! Were you drinking my blood?"

Grandfather, "It's okay."

Vlad:"NO IT IS NOT OKAY!"

Much humor happens just in mere pauses and blank stares. Other hilarity results from the contrast between the horrific legend and storyline competing with the mundane; e.g., on more than one occasion we are engrossed in a character's suspicious, furtive actions only to discover he is looking for cigarettes. Similar, however frightening are the scenes involving the insatiable appetites of the undead, I LOVE LUCY comes to mind in mother's race to serve more food before herself becoming the meal! You may have a hard time getting a grip on how to read STRIGOI. Once you do it's an hysterical ride!

Stunning Romanian Surprise

[nm4701284 · 10/10 · 27 October 2014]

I have to say it: Beautiful!

The Romanians did it this time. This American-Romanian collaboration brought the Romanian production value to a new level. I was impressed of how ALL the Romanian actors spoke English so relaxed, the story was good, the cinematography and the entire production was tight together in one really nice final product.

I love how they took the so popular subject of the Transilvanian Vamipre and brought it down to earth in such a simple and so realistic manner that it will make a lot of people wonder if these things are really happening.

Impressed!

Class warfare plus vampire issues in Romania.

[suite92 · 8/10 · 12 October 2013]

Vlad Cozma is almost a doctor, but he's queasy around blood. He's an omega male, and is ignored and shown disrespect regularly, often in vulgar fashion. He's the protagonist since he wants certain mysteries solved.

After World War II, the Communists stole a huge amount of land in Romania, sending a modern nation back into feudalism. The landowners could get their land back after the fall of communism. However, the rising capitalist/carpetbagger class finagled laws requiring that original land deeds be produced to successfully conduct such claims.

One of Vlad's mysteries was, "where is grandfather Nicholae's land deed?" That takes up a large chunk of the film.

Early on, Vlad signs a death certificate, which he should not have done. He never quite got those medical credentials. The police ferret this out, and one of the detectives, Octav, uses this fact to force Vlad to assist him in the investigation of the death.

The third major thread is the matter of who is a strigoi (vampire) and who was not, along with whether the strigoi exist or not. The strigoi make Vlad's other two investigations that much more difficult.

By the end of the film, Vlad is no longer the omega male.

------Scores-------

Cinematography: 8/10 Occasionally dark, but mostly competent.

Sound: 8/10 A little low at times.

Acting: 10/10 Just right for the screenplay.

Screenplay: 7/10 The plot was murky, but moves along. The conclusion was difficult but also satisfying.

So much more than folklore it's about the death of small towns and a generation.

[tsallison · 8/10 · 30 March 2020]

I'm American and the garbage coming out of Hollywood the last 15 years has been repulsive. This well shot movie was not exactly a horror film but a coming of age picture about a young man who watches his dreams slip away as all of our generation has and we have to go home to tell the most important people in our lives we have failed only to see the beautiful countryside towns we grew up in have gasped their last breaths without the people who have fought to keep them alive, our town matriarchs. There is always someone stealing from the hardworking people in small towns, we have always been abused and our elderly have hidden most of this abuse from us with fairytales and dreams of going to the city or a far away place for a better life but they are not understanding that when we all get to that golden age we need our history , our people and without them crammed into a city we are nothing without our families. Watching a small town slowly die to outsiders who want to bring industry and change always scares our elders. They are the most valuable treasure and the only thing that teaches us this lesson is loss and time.