El Conde is a 2023 Chilean dark comedy horror film about a 250-year-old vampire who, tired of being remembered as a thief, decides to die.
Directed by Pablo Larraín from a screenplay co-written with Guillermo Calderón. Produced by Juan de Dios Larraín. Executive produced by Cristian Donoso and Sergio Karmy.
The Fabula production stars Jaime Vadell, Alfredo Castro, Paula Luchsinger and Gloria Münchmeyer.
Reviews:
“El Conde is a clever film with a great premise, excellent technical execution, and fantastic performances from the entire cast, but it’s sadly neither as funny nor as original as it thinks it is. But you’ll still enjoy it if you’re a fan of the director’s style, and if you manage to sit through its longer first half, you’ll be rewarded with a great twist at the end.” ★★★½ Loud and Clear
” …a fascinating kind of cognitive dissonance throughout the film, and that sense elevates what is inherently a fairly straightforward satire. The joke isn’t simply that Pinochet is a literal monster, flying around Chilean cities and the countryside in his full military uniform on the hunt for blood.” 3 out of 4, Mark Reviews Movies
“Lorrain and Calderón’s most pungent idea is in the choice of their narrator, a searing condemnation of the Western leaders who aided and abetted the dictator’s brutal rule (it’s not too difficult to figure out who will be revealed based on the voice and language). El Conde might just have something for about everyone outside of those who still admire its subject.” B+ Reeling Reviews
” …the film never really leans into the farcical possibilities of its premise nor its earnest appraisal of the dictator’s legacy. Throughout, Larraín and co-writer Guillermo Calderón are eager to show, across scenes in which characters run down Pinochet’s laundry list of bad deeds, that they’ve got their subject’s number. But it’s difficult to shake that El Conde exists primarily for the unwashed, and that its characters sound like mouthpieces parroting predigested attitudes…” ★★ Slant
“The film looks brilliant, the black and white photography superb, with a real Gothic edge, and the acting is top-notch. The story, as mentioned, is on the surface really simple but the political discourse is interesting and has not only much to say about Pinochet and the enduring impact of his legacy, as well as wider nationalism, popularism and neo-liberalism/capitalism conversations, but also plenty to say about the church as well.” 7 out of 10, Taliesin Meets the Vampires
YouTube reviews:
Trailer:
Release:
The Count aka El Conde is available on Netflix worldwide on September 15, 2023.
Filming locations:
Santiago, Chile
Movies free to watch on YouTube
