Review: 'Carmilla' Is A Sumptuous Gothic Lesbian Romance

The horror genre uses gore, tension, and atmosphere to explore primal emotions and taboos, expose prejudices, and critique society. What do we make of a society strangled by fear that subjugates women and girls and represses queer sexuality?

Inspired by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 vampire novella, "Carmilla" is a Gothic romance; it's evocative and rich in ambiance, visual metaphors, and decadent mood. Set in 1780s England, it tells the story of Lara (Hannah Rae), a lonely, isolated, and bored young woman; Carmilla (Devrim Lingnau), the enigmatic stranger who enchants Lara, after she's taken in from surviving a carriage crash; and Miss Fontaine (Jessica Raine), Lara's strict governess – and the power dynamic between the women. This is a slow, undulating film, which might not be everyone's tempo. But it rewards patient viewers with a sumptuous aura and astute social commentary.

The "lesbian vampire" trope began with the novella, one of the first vampire stories, preceding "Dracula" by 26 years. Rather than a faithful adaptation, it served as inspiration. In an interview with "Women and Hollywood," writer/director https://womenandhollywood.com/eiff-2019-women-directors-meet-emily-harris-carmilla/|Emily Harris said instead of vampires (although supernatural touches exist via gory, prophetic dreams), she wanted to highlight two young women "finding first love in the face of adversity."

It's tender and sweet to see Lara and Carmilla fall for each other and witness their burgeoning romance. Wearing her dress, Lara says to Carmilla, "That dress doesn't look like that on me." She says it in a way suggesting desire and seduction, not jealousy. They perpetually gaze at each other and tell each other they're beautiful. In a scene at dinner, the camera slowly zooms in on Carmilla, who's in the center of the frame, visually indicating that she is the center of Lara's world now. They touch and kiss with yearning passion.

In the film's beginning, Miss Fontaine discusses botany, quizzing Lara on why flowers smell. Lara answers beauty is the reason. Miss Fontaine replies, "No, to attract insects. ... Part of the flower has to die in order for what's left to become a new fruit." This metaphorically alludes to the destructive nature of desire; our attractions will devour us. Yet, this sounds like metamorphosis, foreshadowing Lara's attraction and romance with Carmilla, which transforms her.

Motifs of roses (symbolizing love, beauty, and femininity) and insects are scattered throughout the film. There are closeups of a ladybug on a rose, later two ladybugs (potentially symbolizing Lara and Carmilla), as well as ants and worms. Accompanying the images are viscerally repugnant sounds: Clicking, skittering, squishing. The cinematography outside is exquisite, with ethereal light streaming through trees. The interior scenes illuminated by flickering candlelight and firelight beckon with a seductive quality, yet are darker, more ominous. It reifies that Lara (and women and girls) can only be truly free outside, especially juxtaposed with primal scenes of nature, as if the house, with connotations of rigid domesticity, confines and constricts women and girls.

Miss Fontaine attempts to keep a tight rein on Lara, while Lara tries to assert her fanciful ideas and independence, even in infinitesimal ways. In addition to daily criticisms, Miss Fontaine admonishes Lara for reading an inappropriate book, and she ties Lara's left hand behind her back, superstitiously believing - as people did at the time - that being left-handed was associated with the Devil. Miss Fontaine thinks she protects Lara, keeping her pious and safe. But she stifles Lara.

Eventually, Miss Fontaine and the town doctor (Tobias Menzies) become convinced Carmilla is a vampire. Their supposed evidence consists of Carmilla surviving the crash, a dog growling at her, a few young women in town falling ill, and the way she places blood on her lips as she kisses Lara (perhaps a blood fetish?). Emily Harris said this is "a story about our tendency as humans to demonize the other, the stranger, and that which we don't understand." Hatred, bigotry, and homophobia are the true villains of the story.

"Carmilla" is a tragedy, a doomed lesbian romance commenting on restrictions of women and girls. Desire isn't dangerous; the danger lies in prejudice. The final scene conveys that despite a repressive, sexist, and homophobic society mandating conformity, we can't change who we are or what resides in our hearts.