★ 5 / 10
The Barcelona Vampiress, is a Spanish Gothic horror/crime
MovieGuys
The Barcelona Vampiress, is a Spanish Gothic horror/crime thriller. Presented in a highly stylised form, in black and white, this film delves into the crimes…
The Barcelona Vampiress, is a Spanish Gothic horror/crime thriller. Presented in a highly stylised form, in black and white, this film delves into the crimes attributed to convicted Spanish child serial killer, procuress, madam and prostitute, Enriqueta Martí i Ripollés, in the early 20th century.
Essentially, it takes the side of historical researchers who doubt the guilt of Marti, who was dubbed by the press at the time, "The Vampire of Barcelona".
Whether Marti was guilty or not, is hard to know but as we have seen in recent years, women have played an integral part in the despicable procurement of children and the young, for prostitution.
What this film does do well, is look at the wider picture, the clients who exploited children for their own dark appetites and went unpunished. The proud, the sanctimonious and the powerful, who hide their crimes behind a veneer of respectability.
Its a slow watch and at times, unsurprisingly, a disturbing one too. Acting is excellent and helps alleviate the lethargy that I found setting in. This film needed more, to my mind, perhaps it would have been better to remain neutral and explore both sides of this grim tale.
In summary, this is a watch for the very patient viewer. Its a slow burn but does have merit. I did feel it could have made more with the material on offer, which would, I believe, have made this film a more compelling experience.
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★ 5 / 10
Not a horror movie about vampires...
Vanessydelg
...and definitely not for the average viewer. The Barcelona Vampiress is a crime story in which a journalist struggles with the use of morphine, lack of sleep…
...and definitely not for the average viewer.
The Barcelona Vampiress is a crime story in which a journalist struggles with the use of morphine, lack of sleep and his own emotions and the political evil in town while trying to solve the disappearances of homeless children in the streets.
The film is in black and white, and just like Schindler's list, the only colour that you can see now and then is red, usually where blood is shown. There is a moment when the red also shows in another object, perhaps forecasting a twist in the plot.
THE GOOD:
-Interesting theatrical settings.
-The plot is nothing we haven't seen yet, but it's decently conveyed.
-Artistic but not presumptuous.
THE BAD:
-The main character is far from a character one would like to identify with, but this doesn't make him an anti hero. Quite the opposite. He is the epitome of pathetism, can't handle the situation in his hands and never sees it coming.
-The story is pointless and fails to communicate anything beyond the fact that you can't fight the system when you can't even fight your own self.
-The ending is easily expected, and also exaggerated: Everyone is corrupted to the core, even some children, who lie out of their mouths just because.
-The time in which the story is set (1912) sometimes looks like the middle nineteenth century.
-The pace is too slow and reaching many points of boredom.
-The title, although relevant to the story (in a forceful way) might be misleading because it does not describe the theme of it. It's just the nickname in which a suspect of murder is blatantly called on some tabloid in order to deviate the information and sell extra copies.
All in all:
The whole thing was well intended, but not necessarily successful. A must-see if you are new to this type of cinematography and don't read much, but totally forgettable if you have some textual training because it won't surprise you in the least.
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80%
AUDIENCE
5.8/10
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