Vampir (2021 film)

Vampir is a 2021 European arthouse horror film. It was premiered at the 2021 Sitges Film Festival.

Plot
The story takes place in rural central Serbia, from where the vampire myth originates.

After witnessing a crime in London and looking for a place to hide for a while, Arnaut is offered a job by the charming yet ruthless local Vesna to look after a cemetery in a small remote village in Serbia. He soon starts to have nightmarish visions and is frequently visited by the mysterious older woman Baba Draga who guides him into the darkness. Only the village priest seems to be trying to keep him safe from the sinister intentions of the villagers.

Production
The movie was set for production in June 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Filming took place in September 2020.

The movie is a British-Serbian-German co-production.

It was shot in the municipality of Trstenik and it was the first time for Tomović to shoot in Serbia. Vampir is the first horror movie for the Yugoslav and Serbian actress Eva Ras.

Director's statement
"Vampir is inspired by the real vampire cases that occurred in Serbia in the early 1700s. Those were the origins of vampires. Though our film is set in modern times it's based on those myths, superstitions and folk elements. I wanted to show a more mysterious side of Serbia."

The film also serves as an allegory of an immigrant child who was raised abroad and comes back to his ancestry's country, where he is confronted with the local habits, traditions and way of life which are hard to accept at first.