Vincent Lannoo’s ‘mockumentary’ shows us a community of vampires in Belgium. The two ‘parents’ of the family are George and Bertha, who have two teenage children – or rather, they raise two former humans who they turned into vampires. Son Samson is a bit of a jack the lad: enjoying the sexual freedom of vampire life, with all the vigour of an irresponsible young adult regardless of consequences (even incest is not frowned upon in their world, where the word ‘wife’ is often synonymous with ‘mother’ or ‘sister’). Daughter Grace yearns for humanity in a different way: applying fake tan to get rid of her vampiric pallor, dressing in pink clothes, wishing she could feel emotion and even having a human boyfriend.
Writing
Ruthlessly dry satire of vampire lore and family dynamics.
Acting
Cast commits to the bit with zero winks to camera.
Director
Vincent Lannoo
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Belgium's small film industry often uses genre to punch above its weight—this predates What We Do in the Shadows by four years but never broke out internationally.
Lannoo shot in actual abandoned châteaux and used real Flemish aristocracy as extras, blurring documentary reality.
FR
