‘The Blood Countess’ Acquired by Strand for 2027 Theatrical Release

Strand Releasing has acquired The Blood Countess and plans to release the horror mystery thriller in theaters in spring 2027, according to reporting cited by Dread Central from Variety. Directed by German filmmaker Ulrike Ottinger, the film stars Isabelle Huppert as Elizabeth Báthory, the 16th-century Hungarian countess whose legend has been linked to the claim that she bathed in the blood of virgins to preserve her youth. In the movie, Báthory is presented as a vampire who awakens after a long period of beauty sleep and returns from the underworld. The story follows Báthory and her devoted maid, played by Birgit Minichmayr, as they travel through Vienna on a baroque quest to recover a red elixir of life. The film’s synopsis also describes a book that could threaten the vampire realm if Báthory’s enemies find and read it. Their pursuit involves a vegetarian nephew, portrayed by Thomas Schubert; his psychotherapist, played by Lars Eidinger; two vampirologists; a police inspector; and other characters. The project is described as a twisted and humorous vampire tale. In addition to Huppert, Minichmayr, Schubert and Eidinger, the European cast includes André Jung. The acquisition gives Strand Releasing distribution responsibility for the film’s upcoming theatrical release, though a specific date was not provided in the available reporting. The Blood Countess is the latest screen interpretation of the Elizabeth Báthory story. Dread Central’s report notes that Julie Delpy previously portrayed a version of Báthory in the 2009 film The Countess, while Anna Friel played the historical figure in the 2008 drama Bathory. Maria Kalinina also portrayed the blood countess’s spirit in the 2006 horror film Stay Alive.