Nadja (film)
Nadja is a 1994 American horror film written and directed by Michael Almereyda, and starring Elina Löwensohn in the title role and Peter Fonda as Abraham Van Helsing. Nadja is a vampire film that treats genre elements in an understated arthouse style.[2] It received mixed reviews from critics.
Nadja | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Michael Almereyda |
Written by | Michael Almereyda |
Produced by | Mary Sweeney Amy Hobby |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Jim Denault |
Edited by | David Leonard |
Music by | Simon Fisher Turner |
Production company | Kino Link Company |
Distributed by | October Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1 million[1] |
Box office | $443,169 |
Plot
Count Voivoide Arminius Chousescu Dracula dies with a stake in his heart, and his daughter Nadja (Elina Löwensohn) shows up to claim the body, hoping that his death will free her from the life her father has forced on her. She has the body cremated and prepares to take the ashes to Brooklyn and pay a visit to her twin brother Edgar whom she hasn't seen for a long time. Before she leaves, however, she stops for a drink and meets Lucy. Lucy is also feeling a sense of emptiness, so she takes Nadja home. They appear to cheer each other up, and they wind up having sex together.
Van Helsing (Peter Fonda) killed Dracula and his nephew Jim, who also happens to be Lucy's husband, has to bail him out of jail. Helsing knows that, if Dracula's body is not destroyed properly, he'll be back. When Helsing learns that Dracula's body has been removed from the morgue, he enlists Jim's help.
Meanwhile, Nadja goes to visit Edgar, who is sick, and meets his nurse and live-in lover Cassandra. Nadja persuades Cassandra to move Edgar to her apartment where she can help him by transfusing him with plasma from the blood of shark embryos, which is what Nadja uses to stay healthy. Edgar revives enough to drink some of Nadja's blood. However, Lucy has fallen under Nadja's mesmerism. She leads both Jim and Van Helsing to Edgar's house where Nadja is staying with Renfield. Edgar awakens long enough to warn Cassandra to leave the house, as she is in danger. Cassandra, who just happens to be Van Helsing's daughter, attempts to escape with Nadja pursuing her, Lucy pursuing Nadja, and Jim pursuing Lucy. Cassandra runs into a gas station where it looks like two burly mechanics are going to protect her, but Nadja mesmerizes them and kills one of them. A policeman enters the gas station and shoots Nadja in the abdomen.
Edgar, who is improving, unites with the Helsings to stop Nadja. He receives a "psychic fax" from Nadja, telling him that she is injured and must return to Transylvania. She also mentions that she's taking Cassandra with her, so Edgar and the Helsings high-tail it to Transylvania, too. As they approach the castle, Nadja begins a transfusion of Cassandra's blood while Cassandra sleeps. While Jim fights with Renfield, Edgar and Helsing drive a stake through Nadja's heart. Lucy is released, Nadja is destroyed, and Cassandra wakes up. However, not all is as it seems. Nadja narrates the epilogue: "They cut off my head...burned my body...no one knew...no one suspected that I was now alive in Cassandra's body. Edgar and I were married at City Hall...there *is* a better way to live."
Cast
- Elina Löwensohn as Nadja
- Peter Fonda as Van Helsing
- Suzy Amis as Cassandra
- Galaxy Craze as Lucy
- Martin Donovan as Jim
- Karl Geary as Renfield
- Jared Harris as Edgar
- David Lynch (also Executive producer) as morgue attendant (cameo)
- Nic Ratner as Bar Victim
- Jack Lotz as Boxing Coach
- Isabel Gillies as Waitress
- Jose Zuniga as Bartender
- Bernadette Jurkowski as Dracula's Bride
- Jeff Winner as Young Dracula
- Sean as Bela
- Bob Gosse as Garage Mechanics
- Rome Neal as Garage Mechanics
- Giancarlo Roma as Romanian Kid
- Anna Roma as Romanian Mother
- Thomas Roma as Romanian Policemen
- Aleksandar Rasic as Romanian Policemen
- Miranda Russell as Lucy's Baby
Production
Michael Almereyda wrote Nadja after a planned project between himself and David Lynch centered around Edgar Allan Poe called Fever failed to attract financing.[3] The 1928 surrealist novel Nadja by André Breton served as an inspiration for thematic approach with Almereyda also studying several classic vampire films and lore.[3] Even with a comparatively more commercial script than Fever, the production still faced hurdles in acquiring financing due to the decision to film Nadja in black & white rather than color which was deemed necessary as both a cost saving measure and thematically important.[3] When Financing fell through, Lynch financed the entire film himself.[3] To attain a "blurry, out of focus" look to convey the point of view of the living dead, Almereyda shot the film using a Fisher-Price PixelVision camcorder.[3] Almereyda attempted to make the film in a similar style to Roger Corman with the Corman produced Poe films a particular source of inspiration for not only style and tone, but also frugal film-making.[3] The movie was filmed over the course of five and a half weeks in New York City.[3] An abandoned hospital on Central Park West was used to simulate a Transylvanian castle.[3]
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Nadja holds an approval rating of 64% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critics' consensus reads: "Nadja approaches the Dracula legend from an idiosyncratic angle - and with just enough visual style to overcome uneven storytelling."[4]
Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film a rating of two-and-a-half out of four stars, characterizing it as "an example of a genre we can call Deadpan Noir. It's the kind of movie that deals with unspeakable subjects while keeping a certain ironic distance, and using dialogue that seems funny, although the characters never seem in on the joke."[5]
References
- Gelder, Ken (December 11, 2012). New Vampire Cinema. British Film Institute. ISBN 1844574407.
- Vagg, Stephen (October 26, 2019). "Peter Fonda – 10 Phases of Acting". Filmink.
- French, Lawrnece (November 1995). "Vampire Girl". Cinemafantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- "Nadja (1995)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- Ebert, Roger (September 1, 1995). "Nadja movie review & film summary (1995)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
External links
- Nadja at IMDb
- Nadja at Rotten Tomatoes
- Nadja at Box Office Mojo
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