German film legend Ulrike Ottinger offers a unique, ironic take on the vampire myth, in which Isabelle Huppert plays the hedonistic vampire Countess Erzsébet Báthori, who revels in a life of eternal beauty. Every 25 years, she awakens from a deep slumber and terrifies Austria with new victims. This time, in addition to the delicious red elixir, she wants to find and destroy a book which, according to legend, when moistened with a vampire’s tears, can turn a vampire back into a human. Accompanied by her loyal servant Hermine, she sets out in search of the dangerous book, which holds the power to destroy all evil—including vampires like herself. The duo embarks on a sort of treasure hunt through the city’s impressive historical sites. The ladies enlist the countess’s melancholic nephew—a vegetarian vampire named Rudi Bubi—and his psychotherapist in their search, and as their quest moves to Bohemia, their circle expands even further. But a pair of vampyrologists and a police inspector are hot on their heels... Ulrike Ottinger offers an original interpretation of the vampire myth as a lavish adventure story, brimming with macabre black humor and a deep appreciation for Vienna’s architecture.
Ulrike Ottinger
Ulrike Ottinger studied painting and photography at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. She completed her studies in ethnology, religion, and art history at the Sorbonne. In 1973, after returning to Berlin, she began making films. She gained fame with her experimental film *Mrs. X: The Absolute Ruler* (1977). Ottinger is a versatile artist—director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, set designer, costume designer, painter, and photographer.
Directed by: Ulrike Ottinger
Austria, Luxembourg, Germany
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Birgit Minichmayr, Thomas Schubert, André Jung, Marco Lorenzini
Language: German, French
Subtitles: Lithuanian, English
