Bathory: Countess of Blood

Set in sixteenth-century Hungary, Bathory: Countess of Blood centres on Countess Erzsébet Báthory, who marries the nobleman Ferenc Nadasdy and becomes one of the most powerful women in the Habsburg realm. While her husband earns renown as the "Black Knight" in battles against the Ottomans, she remains at home, where she begins an affair with the painter Caravaggio and takes beauty advice from a woman reputed to be a witch. Her sometimes harsh treatment of her servants later becomes the basis for the accusations levelled against her once her husband dies and both the king and the church cast their eyes on her estates. The film presents her as a Renaissance woman who became a victim of men's ambitions for power and wealth, rather than the murderer of legend.

Juraj Jakubisko directed and wrote the screenplay, working from a large international production mounted with a budget of around 18 million US dollars. Anna Friel leads the cast as the countess, with Karel Roden, Vincent Regan, Hans Matheson, Deana Horváthová and Franco Nero among the credited performers. The film sits between Jakubisko's earlier work and The Feather Fairy - Two Worlds, which followed in 2023. Against its cost, it took roughly 7 million dollars worldwide, and audiences have been reserved: on IMDb it holds 5.8/10 from about 4,800 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 5.7/10 from 119 votes.