The 2020-2021 Film Journal Entry #29: "Interview with the Vampire"

I like vampire stories here and there, like Richard Matheson's book, I am Legend. Of the werewolves, ghouls, and other garden variety spooks, I still have a soft spot for these bloodsuckers. But most of these stories have never deeply drawn me in past the light offerings of mild entertainment from fanged, killer beasts. I always thought there could be more to them. However, Anne Rice's story of vampires is one I have longed to see. There are no apocalyptic or Satanic threats. No hyping up of some garden variety nosferatu. No predictable plot nonsense of vampires butchering victims until some wannabe hero saves the day. Interview tells of a vampire's life and nothing more.

Fortunately, said vampires are completely adult. Undead, immortal carnivores with no inhibitions towards violence, sex, or immorality. I never found getting "eaten" by a vampire to be as gruesome as the way characters describe, but, in this film, the vampires' feeding is not sadistic but graphically bloody, their menace and mercilessness like a big cat's. They can hover somewhat, which I always like. Their senses and abilities are greater than any human's, shown in one frightening metaphorical image of a statue with living, human eyes to illustrate Louis' description of vampiric eyes making inanimate objects appear to be moving. They need living blood to function properly, as corpse blood weakens them, which is novel to me. Blood is not necessary for survival, but unfulfilled thirst is extremely agonizing. While crosses and stakes mean nothing to them, I like that these vampires sleep in coffins to be completely secure against sunlight, since most modern stories make fun of this fun conceit. The sun is still the great enemy, turning vampires into ash and, boy, the film's portrayal of this death is burned into my mind. Yet Rice's story does not give much attention to trivial vampire rules like most stories. Really, these creatures are merely uncompromising, amoral killers. Ageless beings who are never comfortable in their own skin. They are as human as I have ever seen them.

The film's interview structure could make for a film a little too dull, slow, or self-important. For my tastes, Interview is none of these, always holding my attention and moving the story forward towards the logical, inevitable destination. Welcomingly, the piece is presented in a mature style that films today are not always encouraged to pursue. Director Neil Jordan and his crew have created one of the finer-looking horror films I have seen in a while, too.

The atmosphere of New Orleans and Paris in the eighteen and then nineteenth centuries, the two primary settings, are utterly gothic, bemoaning melancholy images, forsaken angles, and inhuman tones in every lighting set-up and scene staging. The costumes designs are fit for a grandiose Victorian literature adaptation. Sets are designed for the widescreen sheen, filled with miniscule details. I also swear there is a miniature set of a port! These archaic settings are perfect for a horror picture yet also realistic, giving the historically accurate impression that everything is covered in grime and human waste. The film's locales of swamps, sewers, mansions, whore houses, plague-ridden neighborhoods, and any of the labyrinth that is Paris are notably well-crafted. I was pleasantly reminded that the nineties were the last decade when R-rated films meant solely for grown-ups who appreciate less frantic pacing and standard plotting could easily have lavish budgets put to good use.

The vampire make-up and effects appear to be done practically and in-camera. Such film wizardry was created by the team of that gone-but-never-forgotten film sorcerer, Stan Winston. This crew resolves a small annoyance of mine with this horror sub-genre: these vampires bare real fangs! Not cartoon sized or vaguely noticeably teeth, but razor sharp, piercing fangs that are not garishly obvious! The, for lack of a better name, "Zombie Lestat" prosthetic make-up is especially creepy, as is the cinematography and staging build-up to this reveal. There is also no shying away from blood and nudity, since vampires are most certainly violent and erotic creatures, though the film never lessens itself with grotesque imagery. Individual costumes are telling. Lestat's aristocratic wrist cuffs, Louis' humble but moody shirts, Armand's archaic cloak, and Claudia's spoiled dresses provide a tangible sense of reality and personality.