La Mort Pourpre (or The Crimson Death in English) is a short film directed by Erwan Ott and co-written by Ott and Salah Maalem, which follows Seth Gecko, a nomadic vampire hunter, as he arrives at a village hit by a series of violent murders during the Middle Ages.
There’s a lot to say about this film, the first of which is that this is an amazing love letter to vampire movies. Any lover of this genre will be delighted with everything here, from its terrific animated prologue to its dark atmosphere to its several references to famous movies. If you have seen films such as From Dusk Till Dawn or Nosferatu, you will catch them right away.
The film follows Seth Gecko (played by actor and producer Kevin Sakac, whose work we have been fortunate enough to review in the sci-fi feature Give Me Your Hand), a vampire hunter who is in search of Count Orlock Van Drakul, as Orlock has committed a series of gruesome murders (particularly among young females). Together with the help of fellow vampire/warrior Alucard Tepes (played by Ott), they head on a quest through medieval France until they find their enemy, leading to a bloody battle.
As noted, what makes this film so compelling is its clear love for the genre. Filmmaker Erwan Ott understands the vampire subgenre perfectly and follows its rules while flexing them a little bit to create a compelling action-adventure piece that offers solid worldbuilding as well. Actually, if this was meant to be a “proof of concept” film for a larger project we wouldn’t be surprised (and we kind of hope it is because there’s so much more to explore in this world), but even if it isn’t, with its 30-minute length, Ott has managed to create a very engaging experience that feels like an actual film. The story is nicely built, the characters are intriguing, and the overall production design feels quite professional. For a short film, the locations, costumes, and action sequences are very convincing, helping to create a realistic atmosphere.
Beyond this, the performances and dialogue work great as well. Both Sakac and Ott play Gecko and Tepes perfectly, creating a solid dynamic between the two vampire hunters that is cool and badass, while Guilhem Thiel creates a very different version of Count Orlock, funnier in a way, and somehow more dangerous as he is free to go in the world, finding new victims.
All in all, this is a delightful experience for any vampire fan in every possible aspect. It has an interesting story, solid acting, and great atmosphere, and, again, we really believe that this project has so much more to offer. The opening sequence alone promises a fantastic world in which vampires live among people, hidden in plain sight, creating war and destruction in their own benefit, and only fellow Ekon vampires can kill them. We saw some of this in this film, but it leaves us wondering what else could happen, especially after defeating Orlock. What consequences will Gecko face? Will there be more vampire attacks or vendettas? Maybe even a war? The possibilities are endless for a world like this, so we encourage Ott, Maalem, Sakac, and company to keep exploring this idea. After all, being this the second “Cheap Productions” film to review in our festival, we can tell that their commitment and enthusiasm for filmmaking is genuine and that they are improving their craft with every new project, so we have high hopes to see more of their works soon, whether it be a larger version/continuation to La Mort Pourpre, or something else. Who knows! But one thing is for sure: these filmmakers and their production company are ones to keep an eye on as their passion is only compensated with their desire to innovate, and we want to congratulate them for their effort.
Director’s Biography:
Cesare Catania. Established painter, sculptor and digital artist. Born in Milan on 1 February 1979.
In his works of art, painting, sculpture and digital art interact harmoniously, giving life to unique creations imbued with hyperrealism and geometric art at the same time. A continually evolving experimental artist, capable of being both traditional and innovative, Catania is fascinated not only by modern art, architecture, cubism and the great masters of classical painting, but also a profound admirer of that digital culture which led him towards an eclectic artistic production with wide acclaim from both Italian and foreign critics.
His creative abilities and aesthetic taste enthusiastically embrace technology and everything that looks to the future under the sign of innovation. The “Catania Technique” deserves particular attention, a mixed technique which involves the use of materials such as silicone, acrylic and mineral pigments, and which gives both the canvas and the sculptures a material effect of absolute visual impact.
Also involved in various philanthropic initiatives, Catania carries out, among others, the “Embrace Project”, an itinerant and socio-cultural artistic project with a highly inclusive connotation, inspired by one of his own 2016 paintings entitled the Embrace (B Version) and born from the desire to bring places and people closer together, especially following a pandemic that has brought interpersonal relationships to their knees, hitting the weakest first and foremost; a project which, in a global vision of art, makes it a democratic tool to reach everyone and everywhere, creating involvement and discussion between people starting from the weakest and least protected groups, for a message of brotherhood against all types of racism and prejudice . Precisely for this project, in January 2023 Catania was nominated in the USA as the “unique global Ambassador of National Hugging Day”. This led him in 2024 to develop the first “Manifesto of Democratic Art” in history.
The artist’s passions and inclinations also include scientific disciplines. Graduated in Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic of Milan, Cesare Catania expresses this technical preparation both in his productions destined for the Metaverse and in his art strongly linked to geometry and mathematics. This context includes the creation of real digital works of art minted as NFTs but always inspired by the more traditional meanings of his art.
Passionate about photography and cinematography, Cesare Catania decides with the short film entitled “The Imagination of a Child” to give an insight into his feelings and to try to describe to the world what an artist really feels when he produces art and what it is fundamental in his opinion to be able to be the creator of change with his art.
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