The acting is so awful, watching and especially hearing (accents and voice acting reminds me of dubbing in cheap B movies) Julie Delpy is so cringeworthy. Even William Hurt looks lost. The story unfolds in a monotonous boring way, terrible script. Delpy should take lessons from successful actors turned directors like Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson,... to see how it is done.

The legend of Hungarian countess Elisabeth Bathory isn't as well known as rumored distant relative Vlad the Impaler (aka Count Dracula), but her story has created much curiosity because of her vicious deeds. Raised by an equally cold mother to be regal, brilliant, brave and unfeeling, she accidentally discovering the curing power of blood in the de-aging process. Looking much older than her 39 years when she begins this reign of terror, she goes between youth and looking aged, always cool in the way she gets the blood from these young virgins, even ordering one to run or be killed in a sudden burst of conscience. Julie Delpy keeps her cool even in the most tense moments, adding a sort of divine right to do what she's doing.The historical aspect of this is fascinating, but I found myself turning my head during some very tense torture moments. There's also her dark, rather evil lover who enjoys being the recipient of sadomasochist tortures. This tries to give the impression that as a woman suppressed in a man's era, she was somehow the victim of a conspiracy and committed these sins because of a lost love. This sends mixed messages to the viewer, especially since they also have her documenting everything she did. The case of Elisabeth Bathory was simple. She was a blood thirty vain power obsessed psychopath whose legend should be a warning about the evils of excessive vanity.

It's amazing that a film with such an intriguing story, breathtaking sets, and gorgeous costumes can be so god-awful! With the singular exception of William Hurt, the acting is just bad. Julie Delpy delivers her lines with the enthusiasm of a child forced into doing the school play. I've seen more convincing acting in porno movies. The actress portraying her witch lesbian lover is even more dismal, if that's even possible. I was hoping to be drawn into a thrilling telling of the "true" story of the Countess Bathory, but instead wasted over an hour and a half of my life that I will never get back. Avoid this movie like the plague!

I really wanted to like this. Based on the true story of 17th century Countess Bathory, who grew obsessed with retaining her youth, and decided the best way to do this was by bathing in the blood of virgins. What could have been a disturbing descent into madness turns out to be a dull by the numbers bio-pic/period piece.Julie Delpy does an alright job in the titular role, but the departure from her usual romantic roles doesn't really work, as Delpy just seems like she's on auto-pilot throughout most of the film. The script, written by Delpy, treats the Countess as some sort of feminist pioneer, and at other times, shows her to be a monster. The movie wants to have it both ways, but in the end it it just seems really confused and tiresome.