This movie has a lot going for it from the outset - a creepy atmosphere, a creepy French countryside setting, a big old creepy house in that creepy French countryside setting, a vaguely hinted at backstory, and a gorgeous lead actress. What it lacked was coherence, and anything resembling narrative structure. Three typically stupid teenagers break into an old mansion out in the middle of BFE to steal the quasi legendary treasure of comatose resident. Highjinks ensue. The last 45 minutes I had no idea what was going on. Are these vampires? Are these witches? Are these vampire witches? Are these vampire witches with a penchant for ballet? Multiple tropes from dozens of other movies are all stirred together in a large pot with the hope of it somehow coalescing into a scary movie. While undeniably rich on atmosphere, it falls flat, and never turns into what it could have been. I've yet to be convinced the French can make a decent horror film. Too bad, what with the wealth of history and legends and stories that country has, you'd think they'd be able to churn out some pretty solid spook shows. But no, they're all like this one: loaded with potential if you're lucky, but never delivering. I gave this film a generous three because of all that creepy atmosphere that they unfortunately wasted. Meh.
