Movies that have that Ravenloft feel

[alhoon]

Thank you all!

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Any good werewolf-horror movies? That are not cheesy AND the werewolf is the bad guy that needs to be killed with silver and stuff?

Silver bullet, based on the Sttephen King novella.

[High Priest Mikhal]

Any good werewolf-horror movies? That are not cheesy AND the werewolf is the bad guy that needs to be killed with silver and stuff?

Silver bullet, based on the Sttephen King novella.

There's also Dog Soldiers but that's more of a soldier movie with werewolves in it. And we never see much of said lycanthropes.

[IanFordam]

There's also Dog Soldiers but that's more of a soldier movie with werewolves in it. And we never see much of said lycanthropes.

Dog Soldiers is a seriously intense movie, and I mean that in the best way.

[Manofevil]

I kn ow this is all fluffy and musical. but with all the spells and wishes it still feels pretty Ravenlofty.
https://archive.org/details/1977-once-u ... hers-grimm

[alhoon]

I don't know if anyone mentioned it yet but:
"From" is a 2022 tv series that gives MAJOR Ravenloft vibes - even though not Gothic Horror from what I have seen.

The premise is more or less a domain (hard to call it anything else) where people can't leave. If you drive you end up back in the same town as if you drive in circles or as if trying to escape Dementlieu when the borders are closed. There are CLEARLY artificial elements (similar to Ravenloft) like lamps etc working without copper in the wires and cows and sheep appearing out of the woods once a while. On top of that, there are nasties that trick and kill people. I haven't watched far enough to know if they are undead or fey but they are clearly supernatural (I.e. they are not aliens or genetic mutations or what-ever-else from sci-fi).
Difference is that EVERYONE in the domain is an outlander. Some are there for a few years, some for a few months. Honestly, the "old guard" are people that survived for more than 2 years or something with people saying "Listen to X. He/she is trapped here for over 3 years!" with most of the people mentioned being there for a few months to a year.

There are some elements of Gothic Horror - mainly nature being uncaring about your plights + decrepit locations but that's the gist of the Gothic Horror elements from what I have seen. Of course there are the not-just-gothic horror elements of isolation and nasty monsters that kill people brutally and violently.


As a series, the premise is good, the world-building is good, the effects are good (not too much, not crappy) and the acting is... meh. I wouldn't call it cringy or downright bad, but some actors are simply not up to the task.
Period-wise, I honestly wish the setting was in the early 19th century. Frankly, it would make MUCH more sense. Instead of "We have phones, radios etc that don't work" and "cars are useless since they bring us back" and "look, the lamps and appliances that work, do so mystically." it would make more sense to be in the 19th century. The usable technology is more or less at that level anyway, due to isolation. Yes, there is a health center that lacks most things you will see in a modern one.
I don't say 16th century because there is a kind of democracy (even though the rules are brutal by necessity), people are literate (not that it matters) and there are photographs. But 1820s? Yeah, it could be 1820s and nothing would practically change, tech-wise.

[Manofevil]

This is Disneyfied and sterile but the book it's based on is much more hardcore. The point is, this smells of Ravenloft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQEG4AaTuSE

Edit:
This guy also smells of MotRD
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Syn

[alhoon]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0464141/

This movie, Orphanage, was presented to me as a good, modern take on Gothic Horror. I am ... doubtful since Gothic Horror is quite peculiar. Anyone can verify whether it is indeed Gothic Horror?

[High Priest Mikhal]

I actually hesitate to post this because it's much more comedic than horrific but The Boneyard (1991) has some things that fit well with Ravenloft. The curse that Mr. Chen and his ancestors labored under keeping kyonshis (properly chiang-shi, since Mr. Chen is Chinese) pacified to prevent them from going on a rampage from hunger by feeding them pieces from his "clientele" as a mortician is something I can see in Ravenloft.

The creatures themselves are more like ghouls than vampires, given they feed on living and dead flesh rather than blood. But their portrayal drives home how defenseless ordinary people against even "weak" monsters. What happens to Phyliss Diller's character after they force feed her some of their flesh (how they spawn) looks like the end result of ghoul fever, though the "monster" Miss Poopinplatz becomes is a total caricature. Same with her poodle.

[KingCorn]

While too nonsenicle to really have a Ravenloft fell, the Lucio Fulci 'Gates of Hell' trilogy (City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, House by the Cemetary). His style was very much dream-like, with story being secondary to terrifying and enthralling the audiance. In a way, this makes it great for some of the more dream-like domains such as the Shadow Rift or the Nightmare Lands.

[High Priest Mikhal]

While too nonsenicle to really have a Ravenloft fell, the Lucio Fulci 'Gates of Hell' trilogy (City of the Living Dead, The Beyond, House by the Cemetary). His style was very much dream-like, with story being secondary to terrifying and enthralling the audiance. In a way, this makes it great for some of the more dream-like domains such as the Shadow Rift or the Nightmare Lands.

I would say they're more "gory" than "nonsensical." Fulci is known for being graphic. I've also mentioned how City of the Living Dead has a scene that shows how horrific a Spawn of Kyuss really is (the car scene with the girl).

[High Priest Mikhal]

This should go without saying, but Wes Craven's Prince of Darkness. Forget the main plot and just focus on the terrifying atmosphere created through the odd behaviors among the people caused by Satan once it's unleashed from its glass prison. The homeless people, certainly, but also the doctorate students being influenced by it. There's nothing overtly horrifying by what they do yet it's terrifying all the same because it preys on fears of the unknown and the unknowable.

The ending is also an excellent plot element showing how today's victory can turn out to have devastating consequences down the line. Especially if the heroes don't fully understand what they're doing and what they're facing.

[De Montour]

Le Vourdalak (2023). French Language movie. Haven't seen it as yet but the trailer just reeks of Ravenloft. Set in Balkan Europe in the early- mid 18thC. Seems to be an adaption of 'The Family of the Vourdalak' by author Count Tolstoy(not Leo Tolstoy). Further research into this revealed that there seem to be several films of this story including an animated version and one that seems to be reskinned to an early-mid 20thC setting.

[De Montour]

Nosferatu (2024). Willem Dafoe and Nicholas Hoult(?). A remake of the classic.

[alhoon]

Le Vourdalak (2023). French Language movie. Haven't seen it as yet but the trailer just reeks of Ravenloft. Set in Balkan Europe in the early- mid 18thC. Seems to be an adaption of 'The Family of the Vourdalak' by author Count Tolstoy(not Leo Tolstoy). Further research into this revealed that there seem to be several films of this story including an animated version and one that seems to be reskinned to an early-mid 20thC setting.

How was it?