Synopsis
Empire V follows a 19-year-old Moscow nobody who receives an invitation to join an elite and powerful echelon of society, only to discover the bloody secrets of a vampiric dictatorship who has controlled humanity since time immemorial.
Review
In 2004 I fell completely in love with Russian vampire masterpiece Night Watch (Nochnoy Dozor). That film, directed by Timur Bekmambetov from the novel by Sergei Lukyanenko, was a breath of fresh air to a sub-genre of horror which had – apologies in advance – lost its bite. Now, in 2023, writer/director Victor Ginzburg is attempting to do the same with an adaption of Russian novelist Viktor Pelevin’s Empire V.
The film opens with Roman (Pavel Tabakov) who awakens to find himself held captive by Brahma (Vladimir Epifantsev). Barhma is Empire V‘s equivalent of a vampire and he quickly turns Roman, re-christening him as Rama. A quick flashback tells us that Roman lived at home with his mother, loaded trucks for a living after failing at journalism school and possibly had issues with drugs. But now Rama has a chance at something different, something great, as his eyes are opened to the millennia-old forces which run the world.
Empire V quickly launches into an incredibly rich and rewarding world-building narrative. It subverts expectation at every turn, upending vampire-lore and rewriting it with a cutting criticism of Russia’s elitism. That razor-sharp satire is one of the reasons the film was banned in its home country ahead of planned 2022 launch. But it’s also the reason that Empire V has now found itself on the world’s stage. But let’s start with the vampires…
In this version, the legendary literary monsters don’t drink blood. They don’t even call it that. The “Red Liquid” as it’s referred to in the film is actually a conduit by which to access the memories, personality and skills of another person. They aren’t afraid of sunlight and there is neither a stake nor bulb of garlic in sight. Ginzburg’s script even mocks those classic conventions, explaining that Russian vampires have funded many Hollywood vampire movies in order to proliferate falsehoods about their existence. Genius eh? But more than that, Ginzburg takes the essence of the vampire character and is able to modernise them to fit his political commentary.
Instead of blood, these vampires feed on money, capitalism and domination. Sound familiar? The comparisons aren’t subtle at all. But they aren’t meant to be. Ginzburg lays it on thick and fast but with so much lore and world building going on it never feels abrasive or off putting.
As for the world building itself, it’s accomplished through a mix of impressive imagery and heavy exposition. Empire V relies heavily on visual effects in its early stages. A sprawling sequence in Rama’s training zips through human history, imagining the character as various military generals, philosophers and historical figures. There’s some overtly sexual imagery which stands out in a film which is oddly asexual for a story about vampires. Another classic trope which is ejected for Ginzburg’s satirical commentary. Elsewhere his various mentors and associates in the world of the vampire postulate on their domination of humanity. They lament the foolishness of humanity and their manipulation of the public conscious. The film makes regular reference to the ethos of Glamor and Discourse. These are the methods the vampires use to control the human race.
Glamor is the use of sexual imagery, particularly through advertising and mass media. The vampire lure the humans in to a false sense of security and then employ the notion of Discourse. This political and philosophical writing is what indoctrinates the humans to their obsession with money and power. By aligning the human race (or Russia?) to the common idea the vampires are able to harvest Bablos, a powerful drug-like substance which is intoxicating.
There are more fantastical elements in Empire V. There’s the mythical Great Bat character who lives unground and who is the originator of the vampire race. Possibly an alien, maybe something else. It’s presented to Rama as the goddess Ishtar with a dismembered head (played by Vera Alentova) through which it communicates. The concept of the vampire as a worm inside the brain is also a little difficult to swallow at times without further context. But it’s clear that Empire V has one eye on potential future storytelling.
The production itself is pretty solid. This isn’t a $100M blockbuster and so the visual effects aren’t on the same level as your typical vampire thriller. But what it lacks in bank, Empire V makes up for in ripping up the rule book and creating enough anarchy to upset President Putin.
Verdict
Empire V doesn’t just take a bite out of the vampire sub-genre. It’s a cutting criticism of the Russian elite which plays out through an often subversive yet subdued vampire drama. Though slow-paced it’s a rewarding, rich, world-building experience with strong performances.
⭐⭐⭐.5
