Rating: 2.5/5
Hooptober 7.0 | 4/32 | Countries 4/6 | Yugoslavia
One night, a man covered in hair enters a watermill near Zarožje, where Vule works and sleeps. It leaps on Vule, baring its fangs, and bites into Vule’s neck, killing him. Vule is the fourth miller to die that year.
Meanwhile, many desire Živan’s beautiful daughter, Radojka, referring to her as a she-butterfly. Radojka is in love with Strahinja. They would like to marry, but Živan rejects Strahinja for being poor.
So, Strahinja travels to the neighboring village of Zarožje and becomes their new miller. Strahinja sleeps in the mill’s attic and thereby avoids the attack from the hairy man.
The following day, he describes the attacker to the villagers. They know who it is — Sava Savanović, the infamous vampire. With this knowledge, they look for a way to stop him.
Radojka and Strahinja still meet in private. But her demeanor changes when something lures her into the woods.
Leptirica, or She-Butterfly, is the first Serbian horror film, even if writer/director Kadijević doesn’t believe it is horror. The line between horror and fantasy is always blurry in folklore with monsters.
Sava Savanović is a legend in Serbian folklore. They consider him the first vampire, originating in the 17th century. In the lore, a vampire can take the form of a butterfly. Hence, the title’s dual meaning.
Vampire bites in this movie aren’t the two neck pricks we know — it’s a hole burrowed into the chest.
The filmmaking is competent, even if the story barely knows what to do with its one-hour runtime. The movie isn’t essential watching, but worthwhile for vampire or horror enthusiasts.