The cast is bad, the story is even worse, and the scary vampire zombies do not look scary at all. They looked more like us after eating red popsicles, with the red drips smeared around our mouths. Yes, it’s that funny. The only hideous thing was their smudged makeup. That’s what I constantly thought of while watching Bloody Johann by Jakub Krumpoch. The story revolves around an old tale where Faust sold his soul by signing a contract with Mephistopheles with blood so he could be with a woman named Margaret. However, her family didn’t approve of their love, so Faust killed them all. Later, to take revenge, Margaret dumped their daughter Helen into the river. But little did they know, Helen survived. A father’s love is never-ending, so when Faust got to know about his daughter being murdered, he came back after all these years to seek revenge. By turning half of Prague’s population into vampires, he created a battalion of vampires so he could attack Margaret and seek his revenge. What will happen to both of them? And what will be their reaction when they find out Helen is alive? Let’s find out together in Bloody Johann‘s explainer.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did the explosion happen?
As the story begins, we are introduced to Jana, a professor, and her husband, Doctor Merkner. Both were excited about their 20th wedding anniversary, but they had no idea what was about to happen. Both headed out for work—Jana went on an excursion with her students, while Doctor Merkner was at the hospital taking care of patients. Among Jana’s students was Helen, the daughter of Faust and Margaret. Helen, unaware of her true identity, lived like a normal human, not knowing that her father was the famous Johann Faust from the 15th century. Faust was an astrologer and magician known for his pact with the devil, Mephistopheles—a tale that had become old folklore. Helen lived her life as a normal teenager, alone since infancy, not knowing her parents. She attended Jana’s history classes and had a keen interest in the subject. From the start, you could tell she was quite rebellious and a loner. And you know the interesting part? The excursion was at her father’s old place for their school project. But no one knew that Mephistopheles was lying in wait to attack them. As Helen entered the site, she heard whispers and voices calling her name, but she couldn’t tell who it could be. As she was not paying attention, Mephistopheles decided to show his power and rage. Using his spells and charms, he caused a bomb blast at the historic place. Everyone died except for Jana and Helen. Mephistopheles then gnawed at Jana, turning her into a vampire. Helen, terrified, ran away as fast as she could. But she realized something—she must be connected to Johann Faust somehow, and this incident happened because she didn’t respond to Mephistopheles’ call.
What did Jana do?
Well, after the explosion, Jana was taken to the hospital and was put under her husband’s care for a check-up. But her husband was shocked to see something—Jana did not have a pulse or a heartbeat. This was really strange. How could she be alive? He did not understand. Anyway, they both went home to celebrate their anniversary. Everything seemed to be going well. Jana was adorned in seductive attire to lure her husband, but he realized something was definitely off. When he went to the bathroom to take a shower, what did Jana do? She kept eating all the raw meat in the house to feed her hunger. When her husband found out, he was obviously scared. He was even more terrified when their neighbor and his child came to visit Jana, and Jana killed them both by snapping their necks. The couple had been struggling to have a child all these years, so Jana thought giving her husband the dead child would be the best anniversary gift. After all, it was a child, right? Yes, she had definitely turned into a monster! Her husband was trembling in fear while Jana left the house. He realized that whoever this woman was, it was definitely not his wife, Jana, not a human being at least. It must be a vampire!
How did Margeret and Helen meet?
The explosion made headlines, and when Margaret saw the news, she realized it was the work of Mephistopheles. She called him, and he confirmed the truth: Helen was alive, and he was summoning her to finish Johann Faust because there were rumors that he was back in the city after all these years. Margaret was actually happy to know her daughter was alive, but she knew she had to kill Faust because of their complicated past. In the evening, as she was coming home from the grocery store, she found Helen in front of the shop. Helen had learned about her family history from old books, and meeting her mother felt like a relief because, after all these years, she had found someone she could call her own. Margaret explained to Helen how her parents were about five hundred years old and that no one else could kill Johann Faust—he could only be killed by the blood of his own bloodline. So, maybe Helen could be the one to kill him.
What did Faust do?
Johann Faust was a very shady character. After being summoned all these years later, he spoke in old English and was a very lustful man. He frequented clubs and bars, seducing women and turning them into vampires. Using these women, he transformed half the city into vampires as well. It was like a whole battalion surrendering themselves to Johann Faust’s crazy plan to slay his wife, Margaret, so he could seek revenge. Even Jana surrendered herself to that evil game. After turning into a vampire, she stopped thinking like a normal human being. It was crazy how a kindhearted, sweet woman like her turned into this vicious monster like the others. Then the real battle began. Johann, with his power, called upon Margaret, who, with her magic spells and charms, started slaying Johann’s clan one after another. Now it was a one-on-one battle between the husband and wife. Little did they know, Helen was behind them. Helen took her mother’s side, even though Margaret had tried to kill her. Maybe Helen didn’t know that her mother had tried to kill her before, but she had survived. So, what happened? Margaret first attacked Johann, but he survived and killed Margaret by shoving a knife into her. In retaliation, Helen slit Johann’s throat from behind for killing her mother. So, both of her parents died, and only she was left alive.
At the end of Bloody Johann, we see Mephistopheles laughing his evil laugh, finally being successful in his plan. He had managed to kill both Johann and Margaret with Helen’s help, proving himself to be the ultimate manipulator. But you know, the only person who survived the attack that day was Jana, and that too because of Mephistopheles’ evil charms. Maybe he saw some potential in her, thinking he could use her help for his evil plans in the future. But what about Helen? She became alone all over again after her parents’ deaths in her own hands. However, she now knew her true identity. I hope that gives her a sense of self and helps her realize who she really is. I also hope she uses her powers wisely and doesn’t turn into a monster like her parents.
