Name: Retro Film Review: Nadja (1994)
Item: Nadja
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

There are plenty of reasons why vampirism remains a popular subject among filmmakers. It allows for the exploration of various themes while providing entertainment for the audience. Vampirism can be explored from different angles and in different styles, although this doesn't always result in entertaining films. One such failure is Nadja, a 1994 horror drama written and directed by Michael Almereyda.

The protagonist of the film is Nadja (played by Ellina Löwensohn), an attractive and exotic woman who spends every night cruising New York bars and picking up men. Those men who accompany her soon discover that Nadja is interested in their blood rather than sex. She is the daughter of Count Dracula and a Romanian peasant, and after 400 years of vampire-like existence, she craves a normal life. Meanwhile, boxer Jim (played by Martin Donovan) has to bail out his uncle, Benjamin Van Helsing (played by Peter Fonda), from prison. Van Helsing is there for putting the stake through Count Dracula's heart. Jim manages to get his uncle out only to find out that his depressed wife, Lucy (played by Galaxy Craze), has become a victim of Nadja's seduction. Jim and his uncle can save Lucy from becoming a vampire if they travel to Romania and kill Nadja with the help of her sick brother, Edgar (played by Jared Harris).

Almereyda tried very hard to make Nadja different from other vampire films. He partially succeeded in this. The all-too-familiar plot about ancient Transylvanian vampires stalking their prey in modern cities is modified in an interesting fashion. Van Helsing, a character of vampire hunter, is transformed from a dedicated scientist into a half-crazed, pathetic wreck not very different from the monster he has to fight. The black-and-white cinematography also suggests an unconventional vampire film. However, being different wasn't enough for Nadja to be good. While the acting in the film is great, with independent cinema icons Löwensohn and Donovan well matched by Galaxy Craze and veteran Peter Fonda, Almereyda's direction leaves much to be desired. Too often the images are blurry for no particular reason. The biggest flaw of Nadja is the poor balance between the film's self-ironic script and the actors' deadpan, serious delivery. Too bizarre to be taken seriously and not funny enough to be entertaining, Nadja is just one example of an independent film that didn't live up to its potential.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on April 22nd 2004)