Nadja

October Films | Release Date: September 1, 1995

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

64	METASCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 16 Critic Reviews

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

100

Hal Hinson

Insanely brilliant. Read full review

Caryn James

It is refreshing to see so much style and life in the old undead tale, and to watch this strong cast with its perfect deadpan attitudes. Read full review

Time Out LondonStaff (Not Credited)

About blood, blood ties and breakdown (of familes, relationships and, perhaps, an entire society), it's an idiosyncratic film, admired by many for its strong atmosphere, and by this writer for its absurd(ist) casting of a barely recognisable Fonda as Donovan's mad uncle Van Helsing. Read full review

Desson Thomson

Nadja has some delicious qualities. Most delectable of all is Elina Lowensohn as Nadja, the brooding daughter of Count Dracula, an otherworldly being with ebony lipstick, lusciously dark eyebrows, a dark hood and a great accent to match. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Infinitely subdued, sexy, and melancholy, Nadja is one of the most stylish and quietly exhilarating genre movies to arrive in a long time. Recommended, and not just if you wear black all the time. Read full review

Kevin Thomas

An elegant, witty but also sometimes tedious spin on the legend of Dracula. Read full review

Terry Sherwood

Nadja succeeds most when embracing its lineage, those visual echoes of Universal and Hammer Studios, with the visual weight borrowed from European art horror, yet falters when maintaining cool distance from material that demands a stronger commitment Read full review

Michael Wilmington

The actors in Nadja seem to be having such a good time that it's a shame the movie doesn't give them more room, and get even wilder and more eccentric. Read full review

Jay Carr

Putting a provocative spin on the body-fluids subtext, Lowensohn projects stony melancholy and a convincing capacity for romantic impulse as well, making Nadja a surprising little black orchid of a vampire movie. [29 Sept 1995, p.50]

Roger Ebert

What Almereyda brings to the film is good control of tone (the movie is ironic, and yet sad about its irony) and an interesting visual style. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

After creating such promise through the intriguing setup of stunning twin vampires in trendy, nocturnal Gotham, it’s disappointing that Almereyda develops narrative butterfingers, letting the storyline become too diffuse and cutting among too many principal characters. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

A quirky, lyrical independent feature by writer-director Michael Almereyda. It's shot in luscious, shimmering black and white. Read full review

TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)

Filmed in glamourous black and white (with vampire POV sequences shot in arty Pixelvision), it's one of the most mannered horror flicks ever made. Read full review

Dave Kehr

The film is a celebration of youthful romanticism and youthful nihilism, two philosophies that are often indistinguishable from each other where Nadja is set: Manhattan's East Village, with its tiny, secretive bars and tumultuous street life.

Paula Nechak

Nadja is a one-way ticket to a visual paradise that unearths nothing more substantial than splendid Gothic atmosphere. In opting for artiness, it strands its cast in lifelessness, an anemic exercise in desperate need of a blood transfusion. [15 Sept 1995, p.F5]

Mick LaSalle

What could have been a brilliant short becomes deadly, stretched to feature length. The last hour of Nadja takes on the pace of a stranger's vacation video. In a sure sign of desperation, the careful tone of the opening is abandoned in scattershot attempts at cheap laughs. The film's world is undermined, and Nadja gets as precious, smirky and as boring as a Hal Hartley picture. Read full review