I really had no interest in seeing this movie. I was a ridiculously neurotic child - we’re talking wouldn’t go into Sleeping Beauty’s Castle because I was afraid of Maleficent - and I definitely stayed away from anything even vaguely resembling horror (even though, also like Tino Tonitini, I always loved Halloween, ghost stories, and the like). But, as has been reported at least a couple of times already, my family in South Carolina has an amazing ability to persuade me to watch things that I don’t expect to like at all, and I almost always fall in love with them. I believe it was Brandi who finally got me to watch this one, and I couldn’t love her more.

It really does say a lot for the film that I fell for it. Yes, I’ve always had a bit of an attraction to the macabre, witches and vampires in particular, but I hate excessive gore and unnecessary violence. Those are usually automatic turnoffs for me. And my opinion of the actors in any given film typically affects my opinion of the film. The only actor in this particular film that I have been impressed by _outside_ of Interview is Antonio Banderas. The role which impressed me? Puss-in-Boots. Shrek 2 came out two years after I first saw Interview.

So, we’re looking here at a horror flick with NO one that Robin cares much for. Throw in the two instances of full frontal nudity (both female), and things are not looking good. But the actors were all fabulous here, and both counts of nudity were justified. And there isn’t really all that much gore for a movie about vampires (certainly nothing in the league of John Carpenter’s Vampires, for example). The character development and interaction, the costumes, the settings, the cinematography, MORE than make up for any bad spots.

The vampire referred to in the title is Louis Point du Loc (Brad Pitt), the interview conducted by Malloy, a young man about the age he appears to be (Christian Slater). Louis tells Malloy the story of his life; or rather, the story of his undeath. We see his birth as a vampire, his relationship with Lestat (Tom Cruise), the vampire who turned him, his never-ending struggle between his conscience and his vampiric nature, his relationship with Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), a child who is turned into a vampire before she is allowed to discover her humanity, his relationship with Armand (Antonio Banderas), a worldly vampire who has knowledge Louis craves, and all of the pain in between.

Lestat is my favourite character, and scenes without him do not seem to hold my attention as well as those that he is in. His dark, dry humour is right up my alley, and his personality strikes whatever chord it is in me that responds to the Otto Wests of the world. But when it comes right down to it, it is his interaction with his “family” that elevates him into favourite character territory. All of them, though, have something to recommend them.

I must admit after reading the book that I prefer the movie by just a smidgeon. It really is the character development. Lestat wasn’t quite the Lestat we know from the film yet in the first of Rice’s novels. After a few years of further novels with further development, her script was able to show at least one character in a more satisfying light. And that’s always a good thing.

And, hey. You can’t mess with that last scene.

Interview with the Vampire was based on the novel by Anne Rice, who also wrote the screenplay. It was directed by Neil Jordan and produced by David Geffen, Redmond Morris, and Stephen Woolley. The score was composed by Elliot Goldenthall. It was released by in 1994.

“Your body’s dying. Pay no attention.”
Created June 20, 2004.