Isabelle Huppert stars in Ulrike Ottinger’s vampire satire Die Blutgräfin

French actress Isabelle Huppert stars in the upcoming film “Die Blutgräfin” (The Blood Countess), directed by Ulrike Ottinger. The film, described as a blackly humorous vampire satire and costume grotesque, features Huppert as Erzsébet Báthory, a figure known as the matriarch of vampires, navigating modern-day Vienna in search of a mysterious book.

The screenplay was co-written by Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek. The production blends elements of the Habsburg myth with contemporary settings, merging historical fantasy with modern locations such as Vienna’s U2 subway tunnels and Café Hawelka. Huppert, who has a long-standing affinity for Vienna, noted that the film is not a historical or psychological study, but rather a work of “luminous fantasy” that oscillates between being cruel and comedic.