The screenplay by Beau and Hadrien Bouvier is based on Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy's 1839 novella The Family of the Vourdalak.

In 18th-century Eastern Europe, French Marquis Jacques Saturnin du Antoine loses his horse and companions through being robbed.

Gorcha's elder son, Jegor, soon arrives home, having spent the past month seeking revenge against the Turks who pillaged the village.

Jacques Antoine attempts to subdue Gorcha, who hurls him against a tree before drinking Vlad's blood.

Jacques Antoine awakens the next morning and finds the family digging a grave for Vlad's dead body.

Piotr, whose supposed effeminacy was criticised by Jegor and Gorcha, appears wearing lipstick and flowers, wanting to kill his father, who shoots him dead.

Jegor leaves Jacques Antoine bound in the cellar for the night, and he is woken by Vlad calling for his mother, Anja.

In the morning, Sdenka approaches Jacques Antoine, declaring that she will throw herself from the cliff, as Piotr was the only thing keeping her alive.

Jacques Antoine stakes Gorcha and stumbles into the dining room, where Jegor and his vampirized brother, wife and son are seated around a table.

[7] The site consensus reads: "A visually sumptuous gothic tale with intriguing subtext flowing through its veins, The Vourdalak is a memorably stylish debut for director Adrien Beau."

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.