By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Ariane Louis-Seize
Starring: Félix-Antoine Bénard | Noémie O'Farrell | Sara Montpetit | Sophie Cadieux | Steve Laplante
Original language title: Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant
Year: 2023
Running time: 90
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt24216998/reference/
Brett says: “HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON has one of the year’s top tier titles, and first-feature director Ariane Louis-Seize offers some memorable cinematic moments to accompany it. The title covers the premise in full, as Sasha, a young teenage girl not yet maturing into her vampiric urges, simply does not want to kill unassuming mortals. In fact, she doesn’t want to kill at all.
“Sara Montpetit’s portrayal of Sasha has a Wednesday Addams-esque crookedness to it, except a few small cracks that display the character’s clear ability to feel. One particular example of this is a memorable 2-3 minute long take with predator and potential consenting victim in tandem for what may be the film’s greatest cinematic achievement, an emotional glissando that perfectly encapsulates the different personal longings within each.
“With that said, the film’s strengths lie in scattered ‘halo moments’ like the aforementioned example, which compensate for a few conventional plot development decisions that deviate from the fatalist tone established early in the film. Additionally, whimsy-for-whimsy’s-sake characterizations also start filling the runtime along the way rather than relying solely on the melancholy humor that is established early on. The more subtle or muted moments are far more effective. Arguably, the most disappointing drawback is the decision not to let the film title speak for itself; instead, it is shoehorned into the plot where it is not necessary.
“Overall, HUMANIST VAMPIRE is a welcome breath of fresh air with its spin on coming-of-age stories, incorporating vampire lore effectively without fully succumbing to the melodrama and gimmicky teen tropes sometime associated with the genre. Plus, it’s a great conversation piece when one can lead with, ‘So, I saw this movie called . . .’ 3 cats out of 5“