The movie

As a legendary character having inspired many films and novels – and metal bands – the countess Erzebet Bathory thought, it is said, the young virgins’ blood to have rejuvenating properties. She would thus have used it thoroughly in baths that helped her preserve her beauty. As an actress who then became director, July Delpy has moved away from the simply horrifying aspect of those human sacrifices so as to make the countess a powerful and relentless person, yet also a loving woman blinded by her desire to please a younger lover. The obsession is made all the more dangerous as it mingles with pernicious political intrigues. Shot in sumptuous sets, the countess’ devouring passion offers a startling echo to the contemporary worship of the body.