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Dampyr (film)

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Dampyr
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed byRiccardo Chemello
Screenplay by
Story by
Based on
Produced by
  • Roberto Proia
  • Vincenzo Sarno
  • Andrea Sgaravatti
Starring
CinematographyVittorio Omodei Zorini
Edited byJulien Panzarasa
Music byLorenzo Tomio
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • 28 October 2022 (2022-10-28)
CountryItaly
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[3]

Dampyr is a 2022 English-language Italian fantasy horror film directed by Riccardo Chemello, based on the comic series Dampyr published by Sergio Bonelli Editore.

It is the first installment of the Bonelli Cinematic Universe (BCU), a shared universe between movie and television projects by Bonelli Entertainment, division of Sergio Bonelli Editore.[4][5]

Plot

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The woman goes into labor, giving birth to a baby named Dampyr aided by the three nurses, but she dies of birth complications. The nurses, revealed to be witches, holds back an approaching knight using their magical barrier, who he is revealed to be the baby's father, and he demands to see his son but the nurses refuses.

In 1992, during the Bosnian War, soldiers led by commander Emil Kurjak are tasked with holding a position in the town of Yorvolak when they spot a large group of cadavers, humans dying under mysterious and grizzly circumstances. They come across one of the survivors inside the church who later gets shot by Stefan, warning that they must call the Dampyr. The Dampyr now lives as Harlan Draka, a con artist and an alcoholic plagued by his recurring nightmares, who travels the villages performing fake exorcisms with his assistant Yuri, while trying to conceal his actual identity as a vampire hunter of which he was inherited. He and Yuri were taken by soldiers to Kurjak, who agrees to the soldier's plan to use him as bait. However, when the vampires attack Harlan as they launch an attack at night, his blood gravely injures one of Gorka's servants who was sent to kill Dampyr.

His soldiers, upset about the prospect of having to fight against vampires; of which they have no experience of, desert Kurjak and take Yuri with them as he locks both Kurjak and Draka inside the church with the hidden vampire named Tesla Dubcek, who reveals that she serves Gorka, a Master of the Night—a much more powerful vampire who can create vampires with his bite and resist sunlight. She explains that Harlan is a true Dampyr, the son of the Master of the Night, whose wife that had died of childbirth was a human. Harlan senses Gorka's presence, who attacks the soldiers and captured Yuri. Tesla, having covered herself to protect from the sun, offers to take Harlan and Kurjak to her Master, as she hates him.

Upon arriving in Sarajevo, where Gorka hides, the three kills the soldiers who have become vampires using bullets that Harlan has soaked with his blood, but Harlan is injured by Tesla, who is revealed to have been telepathically controlled by Gorka. She apologizes before he is scurried.off.

After recovering, Harlan and Kurjak enter the library where the Master is hiding; Kurjak succumbed to his hallucinations and he, as well as Tesla, are taken captive, where Stefan, his former right-hand man and now transformed as a vampire, tortures her. Enraged, Kurjak manages to free her and torch Stefan. Harlan confronts Gorka, and faces against Yuri, now a vampire, but he kills himself by coming into contact with the friend's blood. Harlan is initially overpowered by Gorka but wakes up when he hears his friends in danger. Hearing a voice telling him to make his choice, he develops new powers that allow him to resist Gorka's abilities and kills him by strangling him with his blood-stained hands.

With the Master's death, the three find a room with a book containing the faces of several Masters of the Night, including Draka, Harlan's father, realizing that their war against the vampires is just beginning. Draka, visiting the grave of Velma, Harlan's mother, speaks of his son and is then joined by the three witches, who tell him that the Dampyr has made his choice. However, the Master says that one day, his son will be consumed by his thirst for blood.

Cast

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Production

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A film adaptation of Dampyr was announced by Sergio Bonelli Editore at 2018 Lucca Comics & Games.[6][5] Directed by Riccardo Chemello and produced by Bonelli, Eagle Pictures e Brandon Box,[5] filming started in Romania in October 2019.[5][7] On 1 November 2019, the cast was revealed, with Wade Briggs as Harlan "Dampyr" Draka, the titular character, Stuart Martin and Frida Gustavsson as Dampyr's allies Emil Kurjak and Tesla Dubcek, David Morrissey as the antagonist Gorka, Sebastian Croft as Yuri and Luke Roberts as Draka, Harlan's father.[5][7][8]

Release

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The film was theatrically released in Italy on 28 October 2022.[9]

The movie was later released in the United States on 8 August 2023 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on PVOD, and on 23 November 2023 on Netflix.

Accolades

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Dampyr was nominated for an award at the 68th David di Donatello Awards for Best Visual Effects VFX.[10]

Awards and nominations received by Dampyr
Award Category Nominee Result
68th David di Donatello Best Visual Effects VFX Alessio Bertotti and Filippo Robino Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (28 October 2022). "Lucca Comics: Live Action Movie of Italy's Popular 'Dampyr' Fantasy Ready For Release – Watch First Clip (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  2. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (1 November 2022). "Sony, Tarak Ben Ammar's Eagle Pictures Ink Distribution, Co-Production Pact". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 December 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Iniziate le riprese del film di Dampyr". Lo Spazio Bianco (in Italian). Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  4. ^ "Sergio Bonelli Editore, Brandon Box e Eagle Pictures annunciano un accordo epocale" (in Italian). 3 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Movie Adaptation of 'Dampyr' Comic Sets Cast, Starts Production (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 31 October 2019. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  6. ^ "Sergio Bonelli Editore, Brandon Box e Eagle Pictures annunciano un accordo epocale" (in Italian). 3 November 2018. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Bonelli ha annunciato il cast del film di Dampyr". Fumettologica (in Italian). 1 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Italian Comic Heroes heading for the big and little screen (and an intriguing Batman crossover project)". downthetubes.net. 13 November 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Dampyr, il trailer del film tratto dal fumetto Sergio Bonelli Editore". Sky TG24 (in Italian). Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
  10. ^ "GLI EFFETTI SPECIALI DI DAMPYR CANDIDATI AI DAVID DI DONATELLO!" (in Italian). March 30, 2023. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
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