Search - Eternal (2004) on DVD

It only feels like an eternity.

Melancholy | Salisbury, Maryland | 12/19/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

""Eternal" totters on being a decent film, but injecting the over-used "gritty, world-weary detective" motif into what would have been an intriguing pseudo-vampiress flick causes the film to repeatedly trip over its own incongruity. Mixing dark, lavish gothic sets and persistently-brooding supporting characters with a bald-headed, unshaven, foul-mouthed, squinting gnome threatening to get a warrant every five minutes keeps tugging the audience out of the horror fantasy and into a bad episode of [insert generic cop drama here].



With unrepentant tenacity, Conrad Pla's portrayal of Detective Pope drags down the performance of everyone around him by a combination of endless profanity and odd outbursts of pointless violence. His character isn't so much emotionally conflicted as prone to randomly-regurgitated emotion. We have to keeping asking the ether, what is he doing in this film? As if to remind us that Pla is, in actuality, a fighter-turned-actor, there is a brief, inexplicable scene of him hitting a punching bag. Either as a poor casting choice or a poorly-written character, the detective's role reduces the potential of this film dramatically.



Rescuing this film from complete mediocrity is the luxurious performance of Caroline Néron; her every motion and inflection seems perfectly timed for proper effect, making each line a mix of duplicity and crippling honesty. Bravo! If you must, see it for no other reason than her.

"

Soft porn meets lesbian erotica.

Aegis Nod | Smalltown, USA | 06/23/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Beauty, excitement and seduction. Elizabeth Kane can give you all that, but all she asks for return...is just your blood.



When Montreal Detective Raymond Pope discovers his wife's involvement with this mysterious and wealthy woman, he is both repulsed and drawn into her personae and her strange world. As his investigation delves deeper and closer to her secret, threatening her quiet existence, Elizabeth begins a psychological killing dance. In turn, she becomes intrigued with Pope, who's growing frustration and fascination with this mysterious woman nearly drives him over the edge. But Pope is not deterred. Despite his attraction to her, his instincts say that Kane is not only dangerous but a killer. As he continues onward, those he loves are either killed and linked to Pope, or they turn against him, merely pushing him to go to extremes to keep his sanity and to clear his name of crimes he has not committed. At the same time he is also trying to hold onto a life he knows will never be the same but more importantly, keeping his own life out of the clutches of horror that he witnesses in Kane.



Kinky. Blood and death. Sex. Beautiful cinematography, great costuming and set decoration (especially for the last scene in Venice), stellar soundtrack--even good acting with an interesting twist to the Erzebet Bathory lore, it had all the makings of an above average, never-heard-of, pseudo-vampire movie. The vehicle of the story is about Pope and Kane and their inevitable and fatalistic attraction. Everything and everyone else fades away, which is why the story itself can seem chaotic and meandering. It's about two worlds clashing, about two people fighting for survival, and at the end of it, you're not quite sure who won, or if it's even possible.



As such, the fixation of the classic male fantasy (girl-on-girl action), S&M bondage, and ego (Pope is quite the player and quite the a-hole too), it was actually done with some flair and taste, rather than pushing that cringe-worthy cheesy and seedy button. Eternal could have really broken the bland and seen-heard-watched-that-before mold but the editing is terrible. Some more focus on the characters would have helped as well, not focusing so hard core on the sexual element that vampires are known for though the horror element was surprisingly good.



Conrad Pla as Raymond Pope, who's entry into Kane's world, is both maddening yet inescapable wasn't always a smooth ride and he wasn't always likable either. His character is aggressive, gritty and unapologetic but well played. It's an interesting juxtaposition with Caroline Néron as the sensual and beautiful Elizabeth Kane, a la Countess Erzebet Bathory, who was mesmerizing to watch and listen to, always seductive and never crude. Power is not just about the sex or in the sex but through blood, and the binding power of attracting prey and getting them to want what they can't possibly understand they are giving up. Under the fear of growing old and no longer beautiful, is also a woman tired of running, a woman who knows that what she is and what she does, will never change, and nothing will ever change her. She is who and what she is, good or bad, or brutally ugly. It is through Néron's take on a centuries old real life woman, that makes this movie stand out.



There are no extras and no soundtrack available, which is a shame. The music set the mood and tone, both adding to the tension and the action, but never getting in the way.



Hit or miss, watch it once and forget it, it'll at least make you raise your brows, or make you blush. Either way, you'll be watching, eyes wide open."