A big problem which I see in most vampire stories is that they include too many supernatural elements. Byzantium goes for a more physical approach and I like that. Some elements which could be interpreted as supernatural are actually left to interpretation by the viewer. I think that it could have done better with the means by which people become vampires. But the rest is a purely physical tale. I also like the female orientation of the tale. The story also touches on some thought provoking sociological elements.

Worth at least 8! as now 6.5, ridiculous.The cast, story , picture is great.It is a bit slow but that is very appropriate for this movie. When he directed Interview wt a vamp, it was a different story and take of the vampires.This director is amazing.It seem the vast majority of his work is great.

I saw this on live TV either the year it came out or the following year. This one moved me. Unlike any other film I have ever seen. Only negative is it left me wanting more. Masterfully filmed, written and the acting is top notch. This is a powerful story of female vampires or revenant beings who do not age. What I loved about this film is how it felt like watching two films side by side one that takes place centuries ago in the past and another in modern day. I was fascinated by the unique approach the creators chose to explain how a revenant is made.

This movie lacks a good story and good sense. It has good actors and a nice mood but it's just not enough. It treats the subject of sexual abuse and forced prostitution in a scandalously offhand manner as something that adds "spice" and "feist" to a pretty female character. Really, zero sensitivity or thought went into that whole back story presented for the purpose of male viewer titillation. It also takes a cartoonish view of female teenage depression which is presented as some sort of vaguely romantic, trembling lower lip melancholy with the ultimate goal of landing a suitable young man (which, of course, is the miraculous cure). When you remove the blatantly insulting bits you're left with a very mediocre, rehashed vampire story set in an ugly, nowhere town.