Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- melancholic
- eerie
- brooding
- gothic movie night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's chilling gothic atmosphere, cinematography, and feminist historical texture, while finding its story less compelling than its mood.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Clara and Eleanor violate a patriarchal vampire order that excludes women from becoming undead.
The women's contemporary refuge narrative is repeatedly connected to their origins two centuries earlier.
The run-down seaside resort and deserted Byzantium guesthouse anchor the film's bleak, atmospheric imagery.
Clara and Eleanor's survival depends on their fraught but enduring parent-child relationship.
Films like Byzantium, and why
Interview with the Vampire
Shared gothic vampire atmosphere, historical backstory, and morally complex undead protagonists.
The Moth Diaries
Shared melancholy young-vampire perspective, intimate supernatural drama, and female-centered gothic tension.
Only Lovers Left Alive
Shared contemporary vampire mythology, romantic danger, and heightened supernatural coming-of-age appeal.
Let the Right One In
Shared brooding vampire romance, secret identities, and tragic supernatural relationships.
Movie Details
- Director
- Neil Jordan
- Release Date
- 2013-04-11
- Runtime
- 118 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (995)
Cast
- Gemma Arterton
- Saoirse Ronan
- Sam Riley
- Jonny Lee Miller
- Caleb Landry Jones
- Daniel Mays
- Kate Ashfield
- Maria Doyle Kennedy
- Uri Gavriel
- Thure Lindhardt
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, AcornTV Amazon Channel, Acorn TV Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Byzantium about?
- Two centuries-old women hide in a decaying seaside guesthouse while their forbidden vampire existence threatens to expose them.
- What is Byzantium like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Byzantium as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Byzantium violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Byzantium as graphic.
- What did critics think of Byzantium?
- Critics broadly praised the film's chilling gothic atmosphere, cinematography, and feminist historical texture, while finding its story less compelling than its mood.
- Which films are like Byzantium?
- Films with a similar feel include Interview with the Vampire, The Moth Diaries, Only Lovers Left Alive, and Let the Right One In.
- How long is Byzantium?
- Byzantium runs 118 minutes.
- Where can I watch Byzantium?
- In United States, Byzantium streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, AcornTV Amazon Channel, Acorn TV Apple TV channel.
