If you're a fan of something different in a vampire movie, you really need to check out an older movie Byzantium. I came upon this movie out of sheer boredom and was completely taken back of the story, acting, in other words the whole total package. This is not your run of the mill vampire story.

Had you asked me yesterday which vampire movies are the best, I would have said "Let the right one in" and "Only lovers left alive". Now I have a third favourite. I can't understand the few negative reviews, both from critics and audience. The sombre, melancholy atmosphere, the musical score, the acting - all sublime. Sure, they broke w/ a few of the vampire stereotypes, but that made it all the more interesting, I thought.

It is great! A true story of brilliance! Thought provoking and interesting when they show how different Clara and Eleanor choose to feed. Eleanor with compassion and Clara with purpose and exacting finality. I really enjoyed it!

A truly underrated film. The low ratings is only an indication that its ahead of its time. Neil Jordan always delivers an ace team! The shots, the sound track, Gemma stealing and stabbing in every scene she's in! These low ratings are dumb! Lol. Someone mentioned best since Interview and I'd have to agree. Byzantium feels like the beginning of a bigger adventure. More!

A great modern day vampire movie of a mother and daughter vampires duo struggling with themselves and each other of how to survive the world day by day.

Best movie since interview with a vampire! Yes we need a part 2!

Ok script made better by its strong cast.

This is a fairly atmospheric watch, with a solid performance by Saoirse Ronan. Its somewhat dark and fairly sinister in tone I suppose, although it does feel like the whole vampire category of horror/thriller film has been, pardon the pun, done to death by now, so in that sort of a sense its fairly predictable. I liked the use of music in it and I suppose it didn't feel as tacky as some of the similar films aimed at teens do (like Twilight etc.). The cast is good and it was interesting to see in terms of it being set in Britain, rather than the US, for a change but I can't say I found it entirely engrossing or anything like that. Its ok and I liked that Tom Hollander (who plays Rev in the BBC sitcom of the same name) is in it but its not a great watch, so I wouldn't expressly recommend it as such, no.

Nice sympathic to vampires tale!

Slow but macbre and compelling. A romantic vampire tale that works for adults.

It is one of the best vampire films. Neil Jordan makes a modern day vampire film after gothic interview with the vampire. If you are looking for a typical vampire horror, it is not for you but if you are after a drama with vampire it is the for you.

Definitivamente vampiros não são meus personagens folclóricos preferidos, mas admito, que gostei levemente do drama, provavelmente pelas protagonistas femininas, e principalmente pela Saoirse Ronan, adoro essa guria, linda e talentosa, e Gemma Arterton esta perfeita como a irmã lasciva e egoísta, sombrio, sensual, romântico, dramático, sanguinário, muito bom...

Interesting title, decent reviews for a story about two female vampires on the run(it's not what you think.) Felt focused with what seemed like good production value and solid performances. If you can deal with female vampires you shouldn't have much of a problem with this. It does get kinda muddled in the middle as it plays around with different eras and characters via flashbacks but it does make you curious enough to want to see where it's going.

"Byzantium" (2021) is a vampire-themed mixed drama/thriller film directed by Neil Jordan (director of Borgias) and written by Moira Buffini (by Jane Eire, The DIg), and based on a play and book of her own (A Vampire Story, respectably from 2008 and 2016). The story revolves around Eleanor and Clara, two vampires, mother and daughter who constantly change cities and try to survive. Clara in jobs into nightclubs to try to make money, and feed by killing bad people - while Eleanor survives as a kind of liberating angel for people close to death. Clara on an encounter ends up killing a member of a mysterious organization and the two are pursued, eventually returning to their city of "origin" and taking shelter in a hotel that gives the film its name. The story itself is not so interesting, but the parts that I liked the most are the ones that tell of the protagonists' past and how they have become what they are today, despite being a recurring theme in vampire films. The film has an interesting development, reminds me in part of some inspiration in Anne Rice's books, and it even ends up holding attention, especially in the parts in the past. For me, the script is ruined on the final two-thirds of the movie, specifically in the end that ends up losing the impact and a little coherence... I found it kind of dull and predictable. In the lead roles, Saoirse Ronan as Eleanor Webb (Hanna, Lady Bird, Brooklyn) and Gemma Arterton as Clara Webb (Prince of Persia, The Girl with All the Gifts). In particular, Saoirse acts well, with the vampire personality of melancholic tone and generally without expression. In the production the music is work of Javier Navarrete (Greta, Pan 's Labyrinth), being well done, with the songs in certain tones according to the moments of the film. The cinematography is by Sean Bobbitt (12 Years a Slave, The Rhythm Section, Oldboy remake), which was the primary reason for wanting to see the film (along with the poster) - it's dark and well done, with use of bokeh and good color and light contrasts. A movie that is ok if you like the theme, but loses a lot in the story in my point of view, and especially in the characters in the modern time, who are kind of without charisma... is worth for the cinematography tho. I'd score it a 6 out of 10.

This is a vampire movie from a different perspective beautifully filmed and wonderful acting from two strong female characters. This movie also addresses some questions one might have if vampires were to actually exist such as how do they gain any income. The campiness of a vampire tale is present but through the storytelling and visual feast it feels secondary to the emotional path of the characters.

This is an erotic-fantasy-horror. Although it has a great concept at its core, the story itself could be more compelling. The characters are solid, and the actors are brilliant. Really enjoyed it

Director Neil Jordan's approach to horror avoids sensationalism and lurid indulgence even in moments of violence and terror. His surreal dark fantasy film, The Company of Wolves, a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood based on the works of author Angela Carter, is one of my absolute favorite horror films, and, in my opinion, the best werewolf movie. His adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire is melancholy and overwrought at times, but memorable for its portrayal of vampires as sympathetic and pitiful creatures. Jordan's best horror films have two things in common: they examine well known movie monsters from a different perspective while still being effective horror movies, and they are based on the work of female authors. Byzantium, written by Moira Buffini based on her play, A Vampire Story, gives us, once again, a different kind of vampire movie about a different kind of vampire, and, again, one of my absolute favorite horror movies. "Humans need to tell stories. It's a fundamental and uniting thing," says the teacher of Eleanor Webb, a teenager whose aloof demeanor suggests a much older soul. Eleanor is in fact over two hundred years old. She is a vampire, of sorts. She doesn't sleep in a coffin and can be out in daylight. She has no fangs but an unnaturally sharp fingernail to puncture the wrist or neck of a victim to drink their blood. Eleanor, played wonderfully by Saorise Ronan, may not be human but she longs to tell her story. She writes her life story down then tears up the pages and scatters them in the wind. Eleanor's mother, Clara (Gemma Atherton), also a vampire, hides a dark secret about their origin and why they live like nomads, fleeing at a moment's notice. Eleanor is tired of telling made up stories about herself and her mother to the people they encounter. She wants to tell someone the truth. So, she tells us. Saorise Ronan has always possessed a preternatural acting talent and it is on full display here. She does a great job of playing a weary old soul; someone who despite her young face conveys a profound wistfulness. Still, Eleanor, not knowing all of the facts, makes foolish mistakes that teenagers often make. She hides truths in plain sight, saying things like "She got bitten by a vampire" or that she has been playing piano for 200 years, so plainly that you wonder how people could think she is joking. Gemma Atherton as Eleanor's mother, Clara, is very protective of their secrecy, which their lives depend on. She preys on lascivious predatory men that would take advantage of her, taking their cash and blood instead. Atherton plays the different layers of Clara with great believability. She is a determined survivor, vengeful, protective, cold, and also kind. Atherton runs after the men that have kidnapped her daughter with an unquestionable urgency and fierceness that only a mother could possess. Clara has the opposite approach to immortality from her daughter. She possesses all of the lively youthfulness that her daughter lacks. Clara's big mistake is one that only a parent could make: she thinks that not telling Eleanor the whole story will protect her, but instead it leads Eleanor into danger. We see in flashbacks to the late 18th and early 19th centuries that as a young girl Clara met two British navy officers: Darvell (Sam Riley), a young officer that shows her kindness and Ruthven (Johnny Lee Miller), an older officer that forces her into prostitution. We also learn that, unbeknownst to Eleanor, she and her mother are being pursued by a vampire brotherhood determined to kill them for violating the brotherhood's code (i.e. not being men). Moira Buffini's story is greatly influenced by the gothic atmosphere and language of the stories written by Lord Byron and Dr. John Polidori during the "haunted summer" of 1816 as part of a contest with Mary Shelley. The vibe of Byzantium is indeed best described as modern gothic. Lines of dialogue like "Does the light offend you?," "Knowledge is a fatal thing," and "She was morbidly sexy" could be ridiculous but are delivered with intrigue and casual confidence by major and minor cast members alike. Byzantium was released in 2012 in the wake of the angsty teen vampire-romance Twilight movies and suffered unfairly from comparisons at the time. There is a romantic subplot as Eleanor is drawn to a meek but persistent young man recovering from leukemia played by Caleb Landry Jones. Eleanor certainly qualifies as an angsty teen longing for a connection and disillusioned with the way she lives, but having lived in such a way for so long, conveyed convincingly by Ronan's performance, gives serious weight to her emotions. This is a brilliantly made film with poetry in its words, imagery, and music. There are a few bloody and graphic scenes but overall Byzantium has an exquisite visual aesthetic. You could pause this movie at any given moment and have a beautiful still image. The locations feel lived in but not gritty. The look of every scene is muted but not dour. This is a great horror film to watch with people that don't like graphic or intense horror. The violent scenes are few and far between and, so, more powerful when they do occur. At certain moments the flowing blood even accentuates the poetic tone of a scene. Like The Company of Wolves, Byzantium has an ethereal, dreamlike tone. It is a dark fairytale that leaves you lying awake, haunted but deeply satisfied. I am fascinated by the "haunted summer" of 1816 that inspired Mary Shelley to write Frankenstein, changing the course of science-fiction and horror forever, and John Polidori to write The Vampyre: A Tale, allegedly the first story to portray a vampire as a sophisticated seducer. Byzantium also feels like a story that also would have been inspired by that dreary haunted summer.

Byzantium is Interview with a Vampire, minus the style. Somehow this movie fails to work the way Interview with a Vampire did. Byzantium is basically a version of the same joke as Interview - two vampires walk into a bar, one is overjoyed their playing Ground Hog day, again, the other one thinks it sucks. It's the same character dynamic here, plus that sweet, unique voice over of Saoirse Ronan, but somehow the plodding along here just plods.

ahh I loved this movie!, good actors.

Very enjoyable, but felt a bit slow paced