The blending of the mundane and the supernatural can make for some of the most compelling storytelling. Those who discount genre film as inherently less than are missing the opportunity for a metaphor that something like science fiction or horror films can lead to. While sometimes the form is used to discuss extremely heavy topics, it is also possible to use genre solely to deal with far more common occurrences. Director Ariane Louis-Seize’s new film, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, blends the coming-of-age story with horror and the vampire sub-genre to great effect.
Sasha (Sara Montpetit) is a young vampire with an unfortunate empathetic bend, which makes it impossible for her to feed. After years of tolerating her aversion to taking human lives, her parents decide to cut off her blood supply. Now that Sasha’s life is in jeopardy, she is determined to find a way to survive. Enter Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a lonely teenager who doesn’t see the point in living and will happily sacrifice himself to save her. Sasha decides to fulfill Paul’s last wishes before her feeding, but they have to do so before the break of dawn.
Montepetit and Bénard are absolutely perfectly cast for their respective roles. Montepetit has a quiet joy and appreciation for life, while also channeling a bit of teenage apathy. Her body language sells so much of the character’s inner struggle. She loves life and even has a taste for blood, but cannot bring herself to kill. Her own empathetic nature is reciprocated by the audience, as we can relate to her struggle. There are few meals I enjoy more than a juicy steak, but I’ve never had to kill the cow.
Bénard’s role in the film is a little more sobering and sad. We see more conflict with his stance on living. His mother seems to love him and is clearly worried about his suicidal tendencies. Outside of his affection for his mother, he clearly feels isolated from everyone else around him. The relationship that develops over the events in the film between the two characters is quite charming. The quiet moments are some of the best, and the performances by the two truly make the film.
Louis-Seize does a terrific job establishing the rules of her vampire narrative. Any time a story uses a familiar creature with so much lore attached, it’s important for the specific iteration being portrayed to establish what stands and what doesn’t. Some of the rules for this world are simply observed by the audience, starting with the opening sequence.
We meet Sasha at a birthday where she appears to be quite young, but we soon see her aged. In some vampire movies, like Interview with a Vampire, the creatures stay the age in which they are turned. It is easily apparent that is not the case here, and this is later explained through some fun back-and-forth between the two leads.
Louis-Seize establishes how vampires work in this world with these conversations and opening sequences. There appears to be a network of vampires who operate like any other business while maintaining their anonymity. While these details are not the center of the story, the attention to the detail of the world the characters inhabit make it all feel far more important.
Sasha’s problem is one that could be easily transposed into a more traditional narrative. She could be the vegan teenager of cattle farmers. Or, the child of bakers who suffers from a gluten allergy. Choosing to make her a vampire who can’t bring herself to harm humans just offers fun twists to the familiar. It’s a sandbox that Louis-Seize clearly had ideas with which to play, and it works very well.
For fans of the genre, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person feels like a blend of Only Lovers Left Alive and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, with a little dash of Let the Right One In. There is a scene where the two main characters bond over a song that really reminded me of that epic moment from A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. The tone feels more aligned with the Jarmusch film, and that worked wonders for me. While those touchstones are evident, Louis-Seize’s film feels original and fresh.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person will be in theaters starting June 21.
Rating: Must See
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