Interview With The Vampire

Once again we are back to where we first began: the vampire film. Now one of my first reviews was Queen Of The Damned which was luck of the draw but now here is where that saga began with Interview With The Vampire. This was the first novel in Rice's Vampire Chronicles written in 1973 but published in 1976 and I read the book long after I saw the film which I believe was on FOX as a world television premiere...remember those? Anyway back on track...Anne Rice is probably the reason why I love vampires and without her vampires such as Lestat and Louis I would probably have no attraction to vampire films. There are differences between the book and the film but literary and celluloid combining always leave things out but we will get to that. First, as always...

What's The Plot?

In modern-era San Francisco, a young reporter (Christian Slater) sits down with a man who claims to be a vampire and wishes to share his story. Intrigued, the young man listens and begins to record the story of Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt) who wanted to die due to the loss of a family member. In New Orleans he meets with the answers to his prayers, the angelic yet devilish vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Lestat wishes for a companion and turns Louis into a vampire but his teachings of how vampires live does not sit well with Louis...he is still too human and does not wish to feed from humans with such a lack of compassion as Lestat does.

When the two vampires are soon chased away from Louis' former slaves at his plantation, they locate to the city where Lestat takes human victims while Louis feeds from rats. One night wondering through a plague-ridden district of the city, Louis feeds from a young girl crying beside her deceased mother but runs in horror at what he did. When he returns to Lestat, he finds that he did not kill the girl but Louis watches in horror as Lestat turns the young girl into a vampire that he names Claudia and calls her both his and Louis' "daughter". Knowing that Lestat did this to keep him from running away, Louis soon relents and begins to dote on Claudia and for years, the trio become an almost well adjusted family.

Soon Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) learns that she will never gain a woman's body due to her immortality and her adult mind begins to hate Lestat for what he has done to her and to Louis by keeping both under his thumb. Being the sadistic killer thanks to her inner maturity, Claudia kills Lestat to Louis' horror but they both dispose of his body in the swamp. Lestat manages to survive this ordeal and comes after both Claudia and Louis but they escape and flee to 1870's Paris. Now in Paris thinking they are the last of their kind, Louis soon discovers a coven of vampires and their charismatic leader, the vampire Armand (Antonio Banderas). These vampires pretend to be human and kill their victims by performing in a theater as pretend vampires in very realistic "stage shows" and it is clear that Armand desires Louis' as a companion as Lestat once did. After one such performance another vampire, Santiago, makes it known to Claudia and Louis that one rule amongst vampires is clear: never kill your own kind.

With this knowledge discovered...are Claudia and Louis in danger for their murder of Lestat? Will Armand be able to tear Louis away from Claudia and have him as his own companion?

What Else Is There To Know?

Even if you have seen the film and know what happens, there is a chance someone has not seen this film or even read the book and a few details differ in the plot after what I have just discussed. I never feel good handing out spoilers because it is like giving  you a hamburger when you deserve Beef Wellington: I hate to upset your palette too much.

Now when the movie came out, Anne Rice wasn't happy with Tom Cruise being cast as Lestat but she rescinded after viewing the movie herself. Now, Tom Cruise has his quirks but he turns out a good performance if you can bypass the fact that he hams up the role on occasion but after reading the book...that's just Lestat's personality. Brad Pitt as Louis was said to be an awful experience by the actor himself but this is the role that made me love Brad Pitt! Seeing as I fell in love with Angel from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the vampire with a soul, Louis is my favorite character in the film and in the novel because of his tortured appeal and apparently since both Lestat and Armand want him he is easy to become infatuated with.

 Kirsten Dunst as Claudia is another one of my favorite things about the film because she performs the role so well...and at such a young age. Even though Claudia is younger in the novel, Dunst's maturity allows her to do more in the film without feeling kind of squicked out that a little girl is doing these terrible things but you have to remember that in mind, Claudia is an adult and her actions are deliberate. I also have envied Kirsten Dunst for many years because she got to kiss Brad Pitt on those brooding lips of his but after he hooked up with Angelina Jolie I can finally forgive her...

Antonio Banderas as Armand is sexy as hell but differs from the Armand of the book look wise but his acting is superb. We don't get to see Christian Slater as reporter Daniel Molloy very much but his subtle acting differs from his usual "bad boy" roles and it is amazing. Christian was offered the role after the original choice, his friend River Phoenix, died and he donated his pay to two of Phoenix's favorite charities...this makes me kind of love Christian Slater right now.

Now given a choice between film and novel, the movie wins but the book is something I recommend you read if reading is a hobby of yours. Anne Rice brings much life to her characters and her writing style is just as enticing as watching them come to life on the big screen or even your own TV screen. If you decide to check Interview With The Vampire out of the library, get the whole slew of The Vampire Chronicles while you are at it and be amazed at Anne Rice. If the movie is more your type, take the time to give it a view.

Next Blog: You guessed it...another vampire flick!! We go back to the 80s and view another vampire classic that you are sure to sink your teeth in to...The Lost Boys

The Fury

Sometimes you discover movies in many different ways and you are surprised when you learn that some movies you watch are based on books. In 1976, author John Farris published a book titled The Fury about two young children with telekinetic/psychic powers wanted by a creepy government agency that two years later was made into a film.

The film is helmed by director Brian DePalma, has music composed by the legendary John Williams and stars Hollywood acclaimed actor Kirk Douglas. Sounds good so far doesn't it? I saw the film on the Fox Movie Channel when I lived with my mother around Halloween and curiously checked it out when I saw it starred Amy Irving, who played Sue Snell in the film version of Carrie (one of my favorite films).

What's The Plot?
Government agent Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas) and his son Robin are enjoying their time in The Middle East of the late 1970s before Peter plans to retire and take his son back to The States. Robin is not like other teens his age...he has psychic powers and is afraid he won't fit in. Suddenly, terrorists attack the beach and Robin witnesses the death of his father but all is not what it seems. Peter is alive and finds out that his fellow "agent" and friend Ben Childress (John Cassavetes) set up the entire scenario to isolate Robin from him so he can use the young man's powers to train psychics as potential weapons.

A year later in Chicago, Gillian Bellaver (Amy Irving) possesses the same powers as Robin with one draw back that close contact while she is using her powers causes people to bleed ... heavily. She heads to the Paragon Institute as a volunteer in their study of telepathy and befriends Hester, an employee who just so happens to be Peter Sandza's girlfriend/lover and his eyes and ears inside the Institute. Peter is trying to find Robin, who attended the Institute and supposedly died in an incident there, knowing he is alive when Hester tells him that Gillian is seeing visions of Robin and feeling a strong connection with her almost "psychic twin".

Peter may be in for a surprise when he finally finds Robin because all of Childress' experiments on Robin have changed him into an unstable psychopath and his power is growing as "The Fury" is building up inside of him. He can also feel Gillian and the suspense is finally going to come to and end...but who will survive when all is said and done.

Seeing as The Fury and Carrie share so many similarities it's a no-brainer that I adore this movie and why wouldn't I? John William's score is great as always in any film he does and Brian DePalma is a wonderful director with his suspenseful yet sometimes dreamy atmosphere and of course everyone knows that at the end of the film a man is literally torn to pieces by an explosion of psychic power which is one of my favorites in all of cinematic history! Kirk Douglas is a great actor and his portrayal of Peter Sandza is sympathetic and comical and Amy Irving is a rare gem in the acting world that her most famous role as Sue Snell is eclipsed here and makes me appreciate her even more to check out other films she has done. John Cassavetes is as always a great actor and I love him as the antagonist that I hate him as much as I did in Rosemary's Baby with his almost infectiously smarmy charm.

There is never a dull moment in this movie and The Fury as a film is much better compared to its literary counterpart. I picked up a copy of the novel at a flea market for cheap and didn't even make it through the first chapter before the novel headed to my local Goodwill which is bad for someone who has such a love of the written word that rivals her love of film, television and music. If you ever get around to finding The Fury in a book bin, you can give it a shot but you would be better to peruse your video store instead.

Next Blog: For a change of pace, I'm leaving you in the dark about the next film I talk about. Guess you will just have to wait patiently...until next we meet.