Day 19:The Legend Of Blood Castle

 

  Legend of Blood Castle (AKA Blood Ceremony) is a Spanish production based on the tales of Elizabeth Bathory. Bathory was a serial killer and is considered the most prolific female murderer in history. Legend has it that she would bathe in the blood of virgin women believing that it would preserve her youth. These stories are generally regarded as untrue, but that is how she is portrayed here.

    Blood Castle is a slow burn, low payoff bore of a film. There are themes of vampirism and blood bathing, but even that isn't enough to hold attention spans. It's another classic case of boring characters going through the motions. Liz Bathory seems like a fascinating character. But her portrayal here is so dry that she fails to draw you in. Ironic, since she spends a portion of the movie covered in blood. She has no charisma and nobody in the supporting cast could do anything to salvage this story.

     The Bathory story has been recounted in many films. Most famously in Hammer's "Countess Dracula". I have yet to see the Hammer take on the legend. But it's hard to imagine that it could be more boring than this. This was absolute torture for me to sit through. Maybe I have a short attention span, but I found myself checking my phone constantly or finding things to distract myself from the nothing that was happening on my television. The key to any good slow burn is to have great characters and to build anticipation towards your climax. No interesting characters and I really never cared what the climax was going to be. My advice is to avoid Legend Of Blood Castle.

Body Count:3
Side Note: I find the Elizabeth Bathory story interesting. Hopefully I can get around to seeing Countess Dracula and hopefully its better.