History Film / Byzantium

* SexSlave: Clara was forced into prostitution by Ruthven in a brothel. Also, it's heavily implied he's done this before to other young women. After that he raped her himself (along with, no doubt, many other men).

* VampireInvitation

* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness: Clara and Eleanor are fairly amiable, and don't seem to enjoy killing, nor are they totally ruled by their hunger. Clara only kills "bad" men like pimps, while Eleanor takes old and sick people who have expressed a wish to die. [[spoiler: However, Clara describes herself as "ruthless" and shows it - garrotting Werner, killing the pimp to take his business, killing Kevin to keep the secret, attempting to kill Frank, and she'd have killed Morag too if she'd got to her first.]] Clara's ruthlessness, though, may not come from being a vampire, only abetted by it, such as when she shot the Captain back when she was human.

* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Clara [[MumLooksLikeASister looks like more Eleanor's sister than her mother]], due to both being vampires who stopped ageing when they were transformed (they actually pose as sisters for part of the film). However, she was already young when she gave birth to Eleanor as a human (around twenty or so). Their actresses are eight years apart.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: No one even seems to take any notice of [[spoiler:Noel's bloody corpse on top of the elevator]] near the end. To be fair, Savella and Darvell probably don’t care all that much about [[spoiler: a dead human]] and Morag was probably more concerned with Eleanor’s well-being.

* BigBadEnsemble: Captain Ruthven, who is the one who kick starts the events that lead to both Carla and Eleanor into becoming vampires and Savella, the leader of the Brethren who spent two centuries hunting mother and daughter down.

* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: Eleanor and Clara]].

* EldritchLocation: The island.

* EvilIsPetty: The Brethen have spent two centuries hunting down a mother and her daughter. The reason? Clara was not allowed to sire a vampire because she's a woman. Their motivation is proven to be little more than petty sexism when it's made clear Clara and Eleanor are more than capable of maintaining TheMasquerade. In fact hunting them is arguably leaving more evidence around than simply letting them be.

* ForTheEvulz: The Captain's motivations for his abduction, imprisonment and repeated rapes of Clara. Throughout film it's made clear he simply enjoys turning innocent girls into {{sex slave}}s for his own sick [[ItAmusedMe amusement]]. Clara was just unlucky enough to be his "favorite girl" among those he sold to the brothel.
* FrozenFashionSense: Clara & Eleanor dress in clothes that appear to be from the late 70s, early 80s. This may have been the last time they had money to purchase clothes.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: What's with nice guy Darvell later thinking [[spoiler: Ruthven might be a good, noble recruit for the Brethren? Ruthven raped Clara and forced her into prostitution - and she's hardly the first girl he's done that to - and then abandoned Darvell, robbed his corpse, and stole his estate. WTF?]]
* [[IHateYouVampireDad I Hate You Vampire Mom]]: Eleanor quite understandably resents Clara for turning her into a vampire. It's revealed part of her mother's motivation was to to ease her own loneliness rather than simply "saving her." The film takes place after they've had to live on the run and under the radar, for over two centuries, and Eleanor has grown weary of it all.

** Clara gains this in her adult life before she turned vampire. She's also shown coughing up blood.

* MaybeEverAfter: For [[spoiler: Clara and Darvell]].

* NobleDemon: Darvell. Despite the rather elitist company he surrounds himself with he has always shown Clara kindness and is by far the most likable member of the Brethren. His loyalty to the group is born out of the fact [[IOweYouMyLife they saved his life]]. He also respects both Clara and her daughter for how they've chosen their victims. [[spoiler: He eventually sides with Clara in the finale.]]

* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Clara [[MumLooksLikeASister looks more Eleanor's sister than her mother]], due to both being vampires who stopped aging (they actually pose as sisters for part of the film). However, she was already young when she gave birth to Eleanor as a human (around twenty or so). Their actresses are eight years apart.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
** No one even seems to take any notice of [[spoiler:Noel's bloody corpse on top of the elevator]] near the end.
** To be fair, Savella and Darvell probably don’t care all that much about [[spoiler: a dead human]] and Morag was probably more concerned with Eleanor’s well-being.

* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness:
** Clara and Eleanor are fairly amiable, and don't seem to enjoy killing, nor are they totally ruled by their hunger. Clara only kills "bad" men like pimps, while Eleanor takes old and sick people who have expressed a wish to die. [[spoiler: However, Clara describes herself as "ruthless" and shows it - garrotting Werner, killing the pimp to take his business, killing Kevin to keep the secret, attempting to kill Frank, and she'd have killed Morag too if she'd got to her first.]]
** Clara's ruthlessness, though, may not come from being a vampire, only abetted by it, such as when she shot the Captain back when she was human.

* ForTheEvulz: The Captain's motivations for his kidnap, imprisonment and repeated rapes of Clara. Throughout film it's made clear he simply enjoys turning innocent girls into {{sex slave}}s for his own sick [[ItAmusedMe amusement]]. Clara was just unlucky enough to be his "favorite girl" among those he sold to the brothel.

** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Unless, of course, you're going with the theory he]] [[spoiler: actually intended to recruit Clara all along, perhaps because he felt bad that he hadn't been able to save her from Ruthven before]].

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Clara gains this in her adult life before she turned vampire. She's also shown coughing up blood.

* MustBeInvited: Not made totally obvious in the film. Clara & Eleanor wait for invitations when entering any residence, but there is no discussion as to whether they can enter or not if they don't get one. [[spoiler: When Clara tries to kill Frank, she demands to be invited in or that he should come outside. She's stopped from going any further by the phone call hijacked by Savella.]]
* NobleDemon: Darvell. Despite the rather elistist company he surrounds himself with he has always shown Clara kindness and is by far the most likeable member of Brethren. His loyalty to the brotherhood is born out of the fact [[IOweYouMyLife they saved his life]]. He also respects both Clara and her daughter for how they've chosen their victims. [[spoiler: He eventually sides with Clara in the finale.]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Poor Noel. He takes in an apparently desperate mother and child and [[spoiler:ends up dead for his trouble.]]

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Clara & Eleanor avoid the V-word mostly, not even really referring to themselves with a specific term. In her stories, Eleanor uses the term "soucriant". They can walk in the sunlight, appear in photographs and mirrors, don't have visible fangs, and no mention is made of crucifixes and garlic. It is hinted when Eleanor goes to Frank's birthday dinner and when [[spoiler: Clara tries to kill Frank]] that they need to be invited in. When they feed, their nails, usually on the thumb, grows rapidly whereupon they slit an artery and drink from it. To be made into a "soucriant", you need to travel to a remote island, enter a creepy shrine and apparently make a deal with the "Nameless Saint". It is stated that only those who are willing or ready to die can be turned into a vampire. Specifically the name "soucriant" is used in Caribbean folklore for a local variety of vampire, though it bears little resemblance to those in the film.

* ShoutOut: Captain Ruthven's name is obviously a shout-out to Polidori's ''Literature/TheVampyre''. [[spoiler:And a subversion of MeaningfulName, as he never becomes a vampire.]]

* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness: Clara and Eleanor are fairly amiable, and don't seem to enjoy killing, nor are they totally ruled by their hunger. Clara only kills "bad" men like pimps, while Eleanor takes old and sick people who have expressed a wish to die. [[spoiler: However, Clara describes herself as "ruthless" and shows it - garrotting Werner, killing the pimp to take his business, killing Kevin to keep the secret, attempting to kill Frank, and she'd have killed Morag too if she'd got to her first.]]

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: No one even seems to take any notice of [[spoiler:Noel's bloody corpse on top of the elevator]] near the end.

** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Unless, of course, you're going with the theory he]] [[spoiler: actually intended to recruit Clara all along, perhaps because he felt bad that he hdn't been able to save her from Ruthven before]].

* DaywalkingVampire: All the vampires shown have no aversion to sunlight. Most of their activities take place at night, but this appears to be from a desire to stay undetected, not to mention Clara's "occupation".

* MaybeEverAfter: Possibly for [[spoiler: Clara and Darvell]].

* DaughterOfAWhore: Eleanor again.

** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Unless, of course, you're going with the theory he]] [[spoiler: actually intended to recruit Clara all along]].

Clara (Creator/GemmaArterton) and her daughter Eleanor (SaoirseRonan) have spent decades on the move, never settling too long in one place. When Clara kills another vampire hunting them, they're forced to leave town quickly and decide to lay low in a run-down coastal resort.

* SupernaturallyYoungParent: Clara looks more Eleanor's sister than her mother, due to both being vampires who stopped aging. However, she was already young when she gave birth to Eleanor as a human (around twenty or so). Their actresses are eight years apart.

** [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Unless, of course, you're going with the theory he [[spoiler: actually intended to recruit Clara all along]]]].

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Clara & Eleanor avoid the V-word mostly, not even really referring to themselves with a specific term. In her stories, Eleanor uses the term "soucriant". They can walk in the sunlight, appear in photographs and mirrors, don't have visible fangs, and no mention is made of crucifixes and garlic. It is hinted when Eleanor goes to Frank's birthday dinner and when [[spoiler: Clara tries to kill Frank]] that they need to be invited in. When they feed, their nails, usually on the thumb, grows rapidly whereupon they slit an artery and drink from it. To be made into a "soucriant", you need to travel to a remote island, enter a creepy shrine and apparently make a deal with the "Nameless Saint". It is stated that only those who are willing or ready to die can be turned into a vampire. Specifically the name "soucriant" is used in Caribbean folklore for a specific variety of vampire, though it bears little resemblance to those in the film.

* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Clara & Eleanor avoid the V-word mostly, not even really referring to themselves with a specific term. In her stories, Eleanor uses the term "soucriant". They can walk in the sunlight, appear in photographs and mirrors, don't have visible fangs, and no mention is made of crucifixes and garlic. It is hinted when Eleanor goes to Frank's birthday dinner and when [[spoiler: Clara tries to kill Frank]] that they need to be invited in. When they feed, their nails, usually on the thumb, grows rapidly whereupon they slit an artery and drink from it. To be made into a "soucriant", you need to travel to a remote island, enter a creepy shrine and apparently make a deal with the "Nameless Saint". It is stated that only those who are willing or ready to die can be turned into a vampire.

* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness: Clara and Eleanor are fairly amiable, and don't seem to enjoy killing, nor are they totally ruled by their hunger. Clara only kills "bad" men like pimps, while Eleanor takes old and sick people who have expressed a wish to die. [[spoiler: However, Clara describes herself as "ruthless" and shows it - garrotting Werner, killing the pimp to take his business, killing Kevin to keep the secret, attempting to kill Frank and she'd have killed Morag too if she'd got to her first.]]

* StrongerWithAge: Seemingly {{averted}}. Clara [[spoiler: is able to kill Werner with relative ease and wrestles Savella to the ground despite both being older than her (Savella having lived through the Crusades)]]. It is unknown if the vampires actually have super strength or if it's just proportional to their height and weight like humans. Though Clara being able to easily overpower men to feed on them [[spoiler: and punch through a windscreen like it was nothing]] suggests they are at least much stronger than humans.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The Brethren's entire attitude towards women not being allowed to join their ranks, regardless of their merit. Clara's denied entry just over two centuries ago, which was hardly a time for enlightened views on women in general. But then you realise the Brethen are strongly implied to be much, much older than that and time clearly hasn't shaken the trappings of countless centuries of sexism by the time Clara wants to join. The fact her low birth is also a strike against her falls squarely into this trope too.

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: The Brethren's entire attitude towards women not being allowed to join their ranks, regardless of their merit. Clara's denied entry just over two centuries ago, which in of itself was hardly a time for enlightened views on women in general. But then you realise the Brethen are strongly implied to be much, much older than that and time clearly hasn't shaken the trappings of countless centuries of sexism by the time Clara wants to join. The fact her low birth is also a strike against her falls squarely into this trope too.

* VampireInvitation: Not made totally obvious in the film. Clara & Eleanor wait for invitations when entering any residence, but there is no discussion as to whether they can enter or not if they don't get one. [[spoiler: When Clara tries to kill Frank, she demands to be invited in or that he should come outside. She's stopped from going any further by the phone call hijacked by Savella.]]

* DisappearedDad: Eleanor's mother is a {{sex slave}}, and thus naturally her father is unknown, though he might be Ruthven (and if so in fact she's better ''off'' with him being absent).

* DisappearedDad: Eleanor's mother is a {{sex slave}}, and thus naturally her father is unknown, though he might be Ruthven (who is better ''off'' being absent).

* BreakTheCutie: Captain Ruthven plucks a young Clara from her job picking cockles on the beach, carries her off to a brothel and makes her a whore, turning her into the flawed human being she is now. [[spoiler: He also rapes a 16 year old Eleanor to infect her with syphillis and subject her to the same slow, agonising death he faced due to her mother's actions.]]

* ForTheEvulz: The Captain's motivations for his kidnap, imprisonment and repeated rapes of Clara. Throughout film it's made clear he simply enjoys turning innocent girls into [[SexSlave sex slaves]] for his own sick [[ItAmusedMe amusement]]. Clara was just unlucky enough to be his "favourite girl" he'd sold to the brothel.

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: What's with nice guy Darvell later thinking [[spoiler: Ruthven might be a good, noble recruit for the Brethren? Ruthven raped and forced Clara into prostitution - and she's hardly the first girl he's done that to - and then abandoned Darvell, robbed his corpse, and stole his estate. WTF?]]

* MsFanservice: Unsurprisingly Clara. Gemma Arterton plays an attractive vampire who spends the vast majority of the movie wearing sexy clothing. And Clara's introduction to viewers is giving someone a lapdance in her underwear.

* OffWithHisHead: Seems to be the standard means of killing vampires as those that are killed during the story are decapitated.

* SlidingScaleOfVampireFriendliness: Clara & Eleanor are fairly amiable, and don't seem to enjoy killing, nor are they totally ruled by their hunger. Clara only kills "bad" men like pimps, while Eleanor takes old and sick people who have expressed a wish to die. [[spoiler: However, Clara describes herself as "ruthless" and shows it - garrotting Werner, killing the pimp to take his business, killing Kevin to keep the secret, attempting to kill Frank and she'd have killed Morag too if she'd got to her first.]]
** Clara's ruthlessness, though, may not come from being a vampire, only abetted by it, such as when she shot the Captain back when she was human
* StrongerWithAge: Seemingly averted. Clara [[spoiler: is able to kill Werner with relative ease and wrestles Savella to the ground despite both being older than her (Savella having lived through the Crusades)]]. It is unknown if the vampires actually have super strength or if it's just proportional to their height and weight like humans. Though Clara being able to easily overpower men to feed on them [[spoiler: and punch through a windscreen like it was nothing]] suggests they are at least much stronger than humans.