Genre: Biography/Horror
Director: Jennifer Kent
Writer: Clive Steinbeck
Cast: Jessica Chastain, Mads Mikkelsen, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Sheen, Sean Bean, Angela Sarafyan, Caleb Landry Jones, Rhys Ifans
Plot: Elizabeth Bathory (Jessica Chastain) is a countess in 16th century Hungary. She lives in a large castle with her husband Ferenc Nadasdy (Michael Sheen). She performs experiments on criminals in the dungeons beneath her castle before they are executed. One day a reputed witch, Lucia (Mia Wasikowska), is sent to her. When Elizabeth begins feeling ill, Lucia tells her that she has been poinsoned and offers to help. Lucia promises Elizabeth eternal beauty and a son if she frees her. Elizabeth gets her husband to have Lucia officially pardoned, and Lucia moves into the castle as Elizabeth's companion. Lucia informs Elizabeth that in order to maintain her eternal beauty she must bathe in the blood of young women.
Elizbeth bathes in a large tub full of blood when Ferenc enters the chambers. He is concerned by the red color in the tub and asks Monk Peter (Rhys Ifans) to look into it. Later Peter inform him that the water was simply colored by herbs. Ferenc becomes rapidly ill and dies. At Ferenc's funeral, Elizabeth, who is looking better than ever, is propositioned by Ferenc's old friend Gyorgy Thurzo (Mads Mikkelsen). He wants to marry her to gain status in the higher circles of Hungarian nobility.
Thurzo, wanting revenge for his spurning from Elizabeth, conspires with his lover Erzsebet Czobor (Angela Sarafyan) to poison her. Soon, Elizabeth begins have frightening hallucinations. During one hallucination, Elizabeth stabs her seamstress in the neck with a pair of scissors. King Mathias (Sean Bean) is made aware of the large numbers of young women who have gone missing and tasks war hero, Thurzo to investigate. Thurzo decides to plant fake evidence that Elizabeth is responsible for the deaths so that her vast properties will be up for grabs.
Lucia determines that someone has been mixing hallucinogenic mushrooms in Elizabeth's drinks, causing the hallucinations. Elizabeth believes Lucia must be responsible and kicks her out of the castle. Thurzo and Czobar capture Lucia and torture her to testify against Elizabeth. Lucia, despite being heartbroken at being thrown out by Elizabeth, refuses to turn her in. Thurzo cuts out Lucia's tongue and throws her into a cell in his castle. Lucia slowly bleeds to death.
Thurzo hires Elizabeth's nephew-in-law Gabriel (Caleb Landry Jones) to help him have Elizabeth prosecuted for witchcraft. They torture members of Elizabeth's staff to obtain incriminating information, before executing them. Thurzo starts to believe that perhaps Elizabeth really is responsible for the missing girls. He takes his findings to Mathias, who gives him a large group of soldiers to storm the Bathory castle as capture Elizabeth. They successfully capture and imprison her.
As Elizabeth is being burned alive for her crimes, Thurzo comments to himself that he always secretly loved her.
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