Directed By: Neil Jordan

Starring: Caleb Landry-Jones, Saiorse Ronan, Gemma Arterton

Saiorse Ronan and Gemma Arterton eschew the glitter and capes for this classy romantic horror about a pair of disarmingly attractive vampires living under the radar in modern Britain. Byzantium is the perfect companion to Neil Jordan’s previous directing work on Interview With A Vampire, and casts the bloodthirsty abominations in the same sexy (moon)light as 1994’s Brad Pitt vehicle.

Ronan’s character, Eleanor, is tired of living under the radar and longs to tell her newfound beau Frank (Played by the perpetually ill-looking Caleb Landry-Jones) her story, while Gemma Arterton’s matriarchal Clara fights to protect her ‘sister’ from a mysterious secret society that would rather see them dead.

The story is complex, tragic, dramatic and powerful in equal measure, jumping between the period-drama past and drab, present-day Britain throughout the film.

Arterton and Ronan are solid and believable as the wily lady-vamps, but Landry-Jones’ steals the show as the lovestruck, terminally-ill teen; blending an awkward, meek boy with the kind of stubborn desperation for happiness only a dying person has. It’s a superb performance in a movie full of great ones, and I expect we’ll be seeing this dude a lot more in years to come.

It’s not afraid to throw around a bit of blood too, which is a good thing considering the importance of delicious human-juice to the very existence of the creatures themselves. A vampire film without blood is like an action film without explosions, or an answer-phone message from Mel Gibson with no racism. It just wouldn’t make sense.

In summary, even if you don’t really appreciate vampires (like me), Byzantium is worth a watch. It’s a classic(ish) vampire tale brought simply and smoothly into modern day, with a great setting and plenty of juicy character development to sink your teeth into.

4/5