Strigoi

In Romanian mythology, strigoi (English: striga, poltergeist) are the troubled souls of the dead rising from the grave. Some strigoi can be living people with certain magical properties. Some of the properties of the strigoi include: the ability to transform into an animal, invisibility, and the propensity to drain the vitality of victims via blood loss. Strigoi are also known as immortal vampires.

History

Origin

According to Adrien Cremene, strigoi date back to the Dacians. The strigoi are creatures of Dacian mythology, evil spirits, the spirits of the dead whose actions made them unworthy of entering the kingdom of Zalmoxis. As these stories were transmitted only by oral tradition, the legend has lost its original substance, and Romanians have transformed strigoi into bloodthirsty creatures.

Middle Ages

The Croatian Jure Grando, who died in 1656, was the first vampire whose existence is documented. In his native Istria, he was called strigoi, a local dialect word to describe a vampire. He terrorized the villagers until beheaded in 1672.

Strigoi (film)

Strigoi is a 2009 British comedy horror based on Romanian mythology. The film is directed by Faye Jackson and stars Constantin Bărbulescu, Camelia Maxim, and Rudi Rosenfeld. The film involves vampires in Romania, which are referred to as "strigoi".

Plot

After failing to establish himself abroad as a doctor, Constantin returns home to Romania, where he becomes convinced that his village is subject to vampire attacks.

Cast

Release

Strigoi debuted on 17 August 2009 at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival and opened in other film festivals on the dates given below.

Reception

Dennis Harvey of Variety called it "often drolly funny if a tad long-winded ... a witty and unpredictable upending of genre tropes".Bloody Disgusting rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "While the overall relaxed tone sometimes slows the pace, satire and dramatic moments fill any voids." Kurt Halfyard of Twitch Film, in comparing it to contemporary vampire films, wrote that it is more akin to an art-house film that eschews shallow exploitation in favor of occasionally gory metaphor about Romania's history.