Vampire's Kiss (1989)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Joseph Minion
Directed by Robert Bierman
Starring Nicolas Cage, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jennifer Beals, Elizabeth Ashley

Features:

• Commentary with Nicolas Cage and Robert Bierman
  
• Theatrical trailer
  
• Widescreen and fullscreen format
  

Rating: R

Anamorphic: Yes. 1.85:1 widescreen

My Advice: Rent it, if you’re a maniac for psychos or vampire flicks. Failing either of those, skip it.

Vampire's Kiss tells the story of Peter Loew, an uptight, 80s yuppie, played by Nicholas Cage, who has, shall we say, a fondness for the ladies. When one of his many lovers bites Peter on the neck, and then represents herself as a vampire, Peter decides that he is now like her. His personality, already tending towards vapid and cruel, becomes entirely sadistic and selfish, leading him to kill, torture, and psychologically terrorize everyone around him. Leaving what is real and what is imaginary up to the viewer to decide in places, it is an original and unusual foray into the vampire genre. You’ll quickly realize what this movie is trying to do—something rather ambitious and promising—but the shame is that it doesn’t do it very well, and intentions just aren’t worth much when execution is lacking.

I have very little idea how this film could ever be categorized, as it often is, as a comedy. It’s not even really a black comedy, as it fails to be funny in any sense more than once or twice. If you go into this movie expecting to laugh, you will be disappointed, and then probably rather horrified, as you see the systematic emotional abuse perpetuated by Peter upon those around him, particularly the long-suffering and appealing secretary Alva. It’s also difficult to understand how a movie containing, as this one does, rape, murder, and insanity could ever be called a comedy, even when done as relatively subtlety as they are done here.

So does the movie succeed as a horror film where it fails as a comedy? Yes and no. It's never particularly frightening. You don’t expect anything to jump out and kill anyone, you won’t be gazing into your own shadows (mental or physical) any more closely while watching this movie, and it’s not every very gross, except perhaps when Cage eats a roach. What the movie does succeed in doing is representing the slow mental decline of someone. Given that Peter Loew is not really an “ordinary joe,” this may seem of limited interest, but it’s done so well by Cage that you can’t help being just a wee bit horrified by the psychotic depths to which he so quickly plunges.

Cage’s performance is excellent, especially given the difficulties inherent in this movie. He manages to portray schizophrenia beautifully--the perfect anti-hero. Alonso as poor Alva is similarly wonderful--depressed, sympathetic, and yet quietly tough. Many movie victims just make you want to smack them, but not so with Alonso. Beals as the vampire femme fatale...that’s another story. She’s just too concerned with licking her lips to be a real character, but perhaps that’s what the director had in mind.

In conclusion, Vampire's Kiss is confusing in places and never really resolves many of the questions it raises. On the other hand, it is very unusual, and although “creative” does not necessarily equal “good” in Hollywood, in these days of rehashed pablum and mediocre melodrama, anything different is rather welcome. If you are a fan of dark comedies and are willing to stretch the definition of “comedy,” then give it a try. Fans of psychiatric drama who like to read “allegory” into mediocre films they just like will also enjoy this film. If, on the other hand, you don’t desperately love vampire films in general or aren’t a Cage completist, then you’re just as well served by skipping or at most renting this one.