"Most of all, I longed for death. I know that now. I invited it"-- Louis

Having loved the Anne Rice book “Interview With The Vampire” on which this movie is based, I came into this sucker with expectations the size of Jennifer Love Hewitt’s tits. Thankfully, I came out of it with a smile on my face and a lust for a Bloody Mary (and I don’t mean the drink).

This cinematic adaptation of the character-driven book captures its spirit victoriously. On a character level, Brad Pitt (Louis) does an admirable job as the conscience-ridden vampire, I was with him the whole way. But the big surprise is Tom Cruise (Lestat)! His casting was somewhat controversial at the time (Anne Rice bitched about it initially as well) but he manages to tap into the spirit of Lestat to deliver a captivating show. I actually forgot that it was Tom Cruise! I guess he did something right. As for Kirsten Dunst (Claudia), she’s a revelation as the eager child bloodsucker, stealing scenes from her two more experienced co-stars constantly.

Setting-wise, this film is morbidly gorgeous. The sets, the costumes, the photography, all detailed and very impressive. There’s a beautiful smell of dread that floats about this picture. This is, by far, one of the more stunning horror films that I’ve seen in a while. When it comes to substance, this film has a lot to say as well. There’s a beautiful love story in there (Louis and Claudia) and I found it fascinating to see the world through a vampire's eyes. What made it even more interesting was the fact that Louis just couldn’t let go of his human side. How’s that for a conflict of interest? Remember "The Lost Boys" tag line? “Sleep all day, party all night, it's fun to be a vampire”? Well, for Louis...that statement doesn’t apply. I have never seen such an unhappy vampire and his disposition brought with it deep themes of loss, betrayal and guilt. 

The sexual aspects of the film aren’t as colorful as in the book. In the Anne Rice books, the Vampires are asexual. Here, I didn’t sense the ambiguity. The male vampires felt more like homosexual men. Sure, they dig the occasional female or little kid (sick, but the film portrays the kiddie stuff with restraint) but the real lust in the film is between the men (Lestat and Louis, Armand and Louis). Fortunately, having the vamps be mostly homosexual didn’t take away from the story. Love is love, lust is lust and whatever sex it's for, the subtext still came across. While we’re on the sex thang, I’d like to give props to the film for making the bloodsucking seem pleasurable and erotic. Vampirism has always been a metaphor for sexual intercourse and total surrender but rare are the films that manage to convey those layers properly. If there’s one vampire film that comes the closest, it’s this one. 

I do have some pet peeves with the film though. Mostly in respect to its second half. Compared to the evenly paced and substance-filled first half, it feels a tad rushed. The chain of events happens too fast! This flick should’ve been a 3-hour movie in order to fully convey the whole of the storyline. Another minus is that Lestat’s presence is mostly absent from the film’s second half. He is a crucial character and I didn’t dig how the movie dropped him. He should’ve been in Paris! When we finally do see Lestat again near the end, it felt awkward because we don’t know what lead him there. Why is he still messed up after all that time? I thought that vampires healed fairly fast. What the fuck has he been doing for all these years? How can he not know what a helicopter is but be able to drive a car like nobody’s business?

Also the final exchange between Louis and Lestat is way too short. I’m sure Louis would have all kinds of questions after all those years? I sure did! It should’ve gone further. One last thing, it’s established early on that the vampires can fly. Why didn’t the film take more time with that aspect? It’s barely touched upon and eventually gives way to one minor plot hole: why didn’t Claudia give that fence in the tunnel a shot! She gave up too fast! I had to get that off my chest.

Anne Rice wrote the part of Lestat with Rutger Hauer in mind ("The Hitcher").

River Phoenix was originally cast as the interviewer but died before shooting began.

Anne Rice also wrote the screenplay for the film.