Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 22: The Vourdalak (2023)

A few posts back I was lamenting the growing disappearance of practical effects in modern horror movies, and lo and behold, here's one that does just that, and it's probably the best thing about the movie.

The Vourdalak is a French adaptation of a story by Tolstoy that was also adapted for the screen as one of the stories in Mario Bava's 1963 anthology film Black Sabbath (check back tomorrow for that one). The setting for this version is Eastern Europe in the 18th-century, where a French Marquis (Kacey Mottet Klein) is robbed and loses his horse. He seeks help from a family who are awaiting the return of their patriarch who has left to fight the Turks. When that patriarch does return, he...well, he looks like a desiccated corpse.

This is where the practical effects come into play, as that talking corpse is very obviously a life-size puppet. The Vourdalak does have a sense of humor about it, as no one in the family seems to be quite as aghast about the patriarch's appearance as they should be. That paired with the utter dandiness of the Marquis means I did have a few good laughs. But I also had a few yawns, and ultimately found the movie a bit of a bore. Definitely pretty, and strange! But also slow and repetitive.

I watched The Vourdalak on Shudder but it is also is available on Kanopy and Tubi.