The Vourdalak

Dir. Adrien Beau. 2023, 90 mins. France, DCP. With Kacey Mottet Klein, Ariane Labed, Grégoire Colin, Vassili Schneider. A genuinely eccentric spin on the vampire story, integrating uncanny puppet effects with its live-action storytelling, this unsettling, lovingly crafted—and often funny—period creep-show adapts “The Family of the Vourdalak,” a novella by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy written in 1839—that’s nearly 60 years before Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Lost in a misty forest on a royal errand, the foppish Marquis d’Urfé, a diplomatic envoy for the King, happens upon a Serbian family’s home for shelter. Their village ransacked by the Turks, the clan nervously awaits the return of its patriarch, who has been gone six days to fight the enemy; upon his return, he has decidedly transformed into something both more and less than human. Adrien Beau’s ingenious twist on vampire folklore has the genuine feel of a classic horror short story, while its daring marionette effects and widescreen, super 16mm cinematography create a singularly eerie experience.

Tickets: $17.50 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth / $7 MoMI members. There is a $1.50 transaction fee per ticket for all online purchases. The cost of admission may be applied toward a same-day purchase of a membership.

Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission.