Leptirica



AKA: The She-Butterfly

The small village of Zarožje is in a bit of a pickle. Over the past year every man sent to tend the mill down by the river has wound up dead, the last one being Vule who was found just that morning. Considering there have been four deaths in quick succession, no one wants to tend the mill anymore, as many of the villagers are now convinced that famed local vampire Sava Savanović has returned from the dead and is now preying on the isolated millers. Which is bad, because the villagers really need the flour that the mill produces so they can eat. But as luck would have it a local young man named Strahinja finds himself in need of a job. Especially if he ever hopes to gain the approval of a local land baron, so he can have his permission to wed his daughter Radojka. And thus, Strahinja and some of the village elders take it upon themselves to track down and vanquish the sudden return of the bloodthirsty vampire, Sava Savanović.



I was actually planning on watching something else this week, but then this popped up on my “you might also like this” list and I thought, “A Serbian horror film? I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Serbian horror film…” (We do not speak of A Serbian Film.) So I went with this instead. And in fact Leptirica is actually considered one of Serbia’s first true horror films, so there’s a nice little historical aspect attached to it to boot… Well, actually, there are a lot of historical aspects attached to it, because the movie is based on the story After Ninety Years (1880) written by Milovan Glišić, which is itself based on a Serbian folktale about a vampire named…wait for it…Sava Savanović, who killed and drank the blood of the millers from Zarožje when they came to mill their grain. Hell, even the mill seen in the movie is supposedly the mill where Sava killed and drank the blood of his victims, and if including the supposed ‘death mill’ in your film ain’t dedication to your story then I don’t know what is (for those curious, the mill in question collapsed in 2012, but since it’s a local tourist attraction they’re rebuilding it.) Granted, from what I’ve read the film ended up changing much of the ending from that of the original story, but that doesn’t keep the film from being any less interesting.


This is Vule. I just wanted to post a picture of him so that everyone can appreciate the glory of his most amazing mustache. Thank you.

Honestly though, despite Serbia’s labeling of this as a horror film, it never really feels that way. Even director Đorđe Kadijević considers it more of a fantasy film, and I feel thinking about it in that light actually makes the film work much better. And this is partially due to the fact that you often have no idea why certain things are happening in this movie. Or, I guess I should say, a lot of westerners aren’t going to have any idea what’s happening in this movie, because Leptirica is a film deeply steeped in local customs and traditions. So unless you’re really familiar with vampire tales or various Eastern European folklore, odds are you’re going to be very puzzled. Because the movie fully expects you to know the reasoning behind a lot of its more eccentric story elements. Why is the vampire covered in fur? Why is it sifting the flour? Why do these fools spend so much time looking for a black stallion? Why is Radojka riding Strahinja around like a horse-y at the end of the film? What the hell is up with their obsession with moths? Don’t know the answer to your queries? Well then, sucks for you, because the movie isn’t going to spend its precious time explaining itself. Yes, some of them you can figure out on your own – for instance, the black horse is used as a means to find the vampire’s grave – but for the most part you’re either supposed to know what everything means, or do a quick Google search and figure it out for yourself. So yeah, while the film has a lot of horror elements, the specter of the many unknowns will likely give the film more of a mystical supernatural vibe to many viewers, as opposed to a scary one.


Maybe the vampire really appreciates good flour?


Still not sure what’s going on here, though. For all I know it’s a kink thing. If so, yee-haw, I guess.


Spoiler: In certain folklore Butterflies and moths can be a form assumed by a soul. So when something like a vampire is impaled, a butterfly/moth around/exiting the grave could indicate that the vampire has transfigured and is trying to avoid death. *Enter The More You Know gif here*

The only other thing of note about the film is to remember that, why it’s quite good, especially if you like tales involving vampire and folklore, is that this is a movie from the early 70’s, made in Serbia, for television. So while the acting can be quite good (even the goofy comedy bits they added in for levity) one shouldn’t expect miracles in the quality department. The movie does have some truly lovely shots, especially when Radojka is on screen. But for every beautiful moment (the movie’s got some awesome atmosphere), there’s another with some wonky framing. And no matter the quality of the version you choose to watch, whether it’s the original or one where the print has been cleaned up a bit, there’s a graininess to the film that can never be fully removed. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for the time period, and you can still see everything quite clearly (thank goodness), but it does add a bit of a ‘grind-house’ aesthetic and shows the film’s age.






Alright, I guess I’ll post a picture of Strahinja too.

Leptirica is an interesting vampire movie, in that it’s a vampire movie with surprisingly little focus on the actual vampire. It slows up at the beginning and the end, but kinda buggers off for the rest of the film so the movie can focus on Strahinja and Radojka’s relationship, and the quest of the weird village elders (that seem to also double as the town drunks) to track down the vampire’s grave. So yeah, kinda odd. But also interesting if you enjoy folklore and other countries takes on various vampire legends. Plus, it’s only a little over an hour long, so it’s quick to get through and respects your time. It’s not at all scary, so some horror fans may be disappointed, and the film’s visual quality probably isn’t as good as some would like it to be. But its heart and atmosphere make up for a lot. So if you’re looking for a new, or different vampire movie to watch then feel free to give it a try.

Leptirica is available on a variety of streaming services.

Leptirica is also available on DVD and Bluray (in certain territories).

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