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‘The Blood Countess’ Review: A Hilarious Isabelle Huppert Fully Puts the Vamp Into Vampire

February 16, 2026 at 08:45 PM
By Guy Lodge
‘The Blood Countess’ Review: A Hilarious Isabelle Huppert Fully Puts the Vamp Into Vampire
Whether saturating entire frames or dribbling down a rare contrasting design element, there’s red everywhere you look in “The Blood Countess,” as you might well expect. Little of it, however, is the dark congealed claret of blood as we know it. Ulrike Ottinger prefers to paint in the garishly declarative, candied reds of off-brand ketchup, […]

Analysis & Context

Whether saturating entire frames or dribbling down a rare contrasting design element, there’s red everywhere you look in “The Blood Countess,” as you might well expect. Little of it, however, is the dark congealed claret of blood as we know it. Ulrike Ottinger prefers to paint in the garishly declarative, candied reds of off-brand ketchup, […] This article provides comprehensive coverage and analysis of current events.
Whether saturating entire frames or dribbling down a rare contrasting design element, there’s red everywhere you look in “The Blood Countess,” as you might well expect. Little of it, however, is the dark congealed claret of blood as we know it. Ulrike Ottinger prefers to paint in the garishly declarative, candied reds of off-brand ketchup, […] Home Film Reviews Feb 16, 2026 12:45pm PT ‘The Blood Countess’ Review: A Hilarious Isabelle Huppert Fully Puts the Vamp Into Vampire Cult German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger teams up with Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek, no less, for a loopy, queer Viennese vampire hunt that couldn't be more exquisitely tailored for its star. By Guy Lodge Plus Icon Guy Lodge Film Critic @guylodge Latest ‘At the Sea’ Review: Amy Adams’ Commitment Can’t Save a Recovery Drama as Immediately Forgettable as Its Title 3 hours ago ‘We Are All Strangers’ Review: Anthony Chen Completes a Singaporean Trilogy With a Protracted but Poignant Family Melodrama 7 hours ago ‘Rose’ Review: Sandra Hüller Amazes, Again, in Markus Schleinzer’s Immaculately Controlled Tale of Gender Privilege 1 day ago See All Courtesy of Amour Fou Vienna, Amour Fou Luxembourg, Heimatfilm, Ulrike Ottinger Filmproduktion / P. Domenigg Whether saturating entire frames or dribbling down a rare contrasting design element, there’s red everywhere you look in “The Blood Countess,” as you might well expect. Little of it, however, is the dark congealed claret of blood as we know it. Ulrike Ottinger prefers to paint in the garishly declarative, candied reds of off-brand ketchup, kickass lipstick and iridescent B-movie gore effects — the good, lurid, fake stuff, all the more appropriately artificial for a delirious vampire movie that piles lore upon mythology upon pizza-dream vision, hurtling its story several planets past the true one of its ostensible protagonist, Countess Elizabeth Báthory. Related Stories Mexico’s Cinemex Nabs ‘Abracadaver’ (EXCLUSIVE)

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