AllMovie

The infamous Countess Erzsebet Bathory, who is said to have maintained youth and beauty into her old age by bathing in the blood of virgins, has her life story told in a more balanced but still provocative manner in this grand-scale historical drama. Bathory, played by Anna Freil, is portrayed in three important episodes from her life. Bathory falls in love with the legendary artist Caravaggio (Hans Matheson) and attempts to win his heart, which doesn't much amuse her husband Ferenc Nadasy (Vincent Regan). Later, Bathory becomes close friends with Darvulia (Deana Jakubiskova), a woman said to have remarkable healing powers, as observers remark upon Bathory's beauty which seems impervious to the passage of time or the stress of her life. And after the death of her husband, Bathory rises to a position of political power in Hungary, as Palatine Thurzo (Karel Roden) leads a plot to scuttle her ambitions. Bathory also features Bolek Polivka as a monk who narrates the countess's remarkable story.