"The world changes. We do not. There lies the irony that finally kills us."
Vampires have been a staple of the horror genre for so long that I sometimes wonder if anyone actually finds them all that frightening these days, and seeing as they've been sexualized since the earliest days of cinema, it's hardly surprising to this author that vampire fiction seems to be on the verge of shifting almost completely into the sub genre of paranormal romance. Good looking, angst ridden characters like Twilight's Edward Cullen and True Blood's Bill Compton seem to be currently overshadowing the conventional image of the vampire as an unholy bloodsucking fiend . . . but before Edward and Bill there was Louis and Lestat.
Here's the rundown: Reporter Daniel Malloy (Christian Slater) has set up an interview with Louis (Brad Pitt), a melancholy vampire who wishes to tell his life story. The tale begins in 1791, in Louisiana (what is it with Louisiana and vampires?), where a 24 year old Louis is suffering from suicidal depression due to the loss of his wife and child. Soon he meets the vampire Lestat (an astoundingly convincing Tom Cruise), who manages to convince him to become a vampire rather than die. It's not long before Louis finds himself disgusted with his new "life" and Lestat's cruelty, and he resolves to abandon his creator. In a bid to keep his new companion Lestat creates another vampire, this one a young girl named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst.) This gambit pays off, and for awhile Louis, Lestat and Claudia live in a semblance of domestic bliss, until Claudia realizes that she can never grow up . . . I won't spoil the rest, but needless to say it doesn't end well for just about everyone involved.
To be frank, I've never found this film to be as frightening as it is depressing. That said, it does have its moments, and the atmosphere is delightfully gothic. So why is this on the list? Well, despite the genuinely interesting story of a vampire trying to retain his humanity, it's the only vampire story I've ever seen that tries to explore what it would be like to live a static life in a constantly changing world, and follows the character from being "born to darkness" to the present day. That the costumes, sets and cinematography are all top notch doesn't hurt either.
I also find it incredibly interesting to view the film as a dysfunctional homosexual love story, something that had gone entirely over my head when I was sixteen, but seems so obvious now that I don't know how they ever got Tom Cruise to play Lestat.
Check in tomorrow for #19!
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