"Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person", and how to solve the 'good-vampire-dilemma'
General Reviews
This is such a gen-z flick. The characters, their interactions, what their motivations are and everything else is melodramatic and kind of just being there.
The premise was an amazing promise. A vampire who does not want to do what she needs to survive and, as this generation has serious family issues, her family is trying to force her to make the atrocious act of killing. This includes several readings and possible interpretations, as a pro-vegetarian message, drug and addictions allegories or the destructive behavior some families have and perpetuate. Yet, it is clear that the filmmakers just had a pretty cool idea of how could a vampire avoid guilt: by killing and drinking suicides' blood.
Our protagonist, Sasha (Sara Montpetit), goes to a suicide support group, where she meets Paul (Arnaud Vachon), a highschooler that looks more sociopathic than suicidal, except when the film puts him on the brink of jumping of a roof. Nonetheless, Sasha still could not get herself to kill the pathetic, but human, Paul, so she figures out that she at least ought him to fulfill a final wish. He takes this opportunity to get revenge from every stereotypical trope in American high school movies that ever bullied him.
Sounds like a solid, and quite funny, fun and games section of the story. Like a second act in which Sasha uses her powers to help Paul get this revenge, who finds in not being afraid all the time that life is quite enjoyable. Sadly, this only lasts a montage sequence just before crossing to the third act. Making that everything that happened before this is just the set-up of the story. In other words, the picture uses half his length-time just to place the pieces on the board, leaving very little time to play an actual match for which you are already desperate. The idea of finding a suicidal and convincing him should have taken 20 minutes, tops, it is irrelevant to see her play the piano, being told multiple times she needs to hunt, while watching her cousin do it trice. You are just wishing that Sasha and Paul could meet each other so the movie could start moving forward.
Bringing a very serious pacing issue, that irradiates to the tone of the film. The first half is just scenes without purpose, that even when some of them work really well as the prologue introducing the family and the isolation Sasha feels at watch disgusted how her family eats her birthday clown, feels just as random incidents and situations that are not leading to anything. For the title you are looking for indications of what these scenes are about in that premise and construction, but there is nothing. On the contrary, the second half is convoluted, with all the substance, but no space to breathe nor conflict, everything is solved in the moment and, because of this, is just like an unemotional rollercoaster with the same little slopes 30 times in a row.
The tone. There is this idea in comedy stories that you need to have two opposing forces or type of characters, the one that breaks social conventions and the one that respects them, because is this contrast what makes it funny; two socially-acceptable-behaving people is not funny, and two unsocially aware characters creates a farsic dynamic where they are not breaking the rules they are playing in. In the film you can see the vampire family clearly break social conventions, but the rest of the characters really not that much. So, even when the counted scenes with the family are hilarious, most of the time, when Paul and Sasha are alone, they do not really act out of the norms. Yes, there are a couple of funny ideas, but the relationship keeping the momentum and story afloat is nothing humorous nor lighthearted. Causing that the movie shifts from a kind of goofy tone to a more thriller heavy drama, that in the epilogue turns completely to the parody; now with all characters acting outside the social conventions. And there is really not that much that justifies why a movie with such dense sequences without including anything funny, not even a joke, suddenly becomes this almost serie b low-budget bizarre concept done in the 90s. I love the tone it ends, is hilarious and full of personality, but feels out of nowhere and as if it is being a different movie, which had already a very weird tonal shift when you start laughing at every other scene and suddenly it has been twenty minutes without a simple smirk.
There are different subplots or ideas that are never truly explored. Like, they said that food is like poison to them, but this never plays a part, and is not even clear that this is the case and not just a stupid attempt from the family to force Sasha to hunt for blood. Then, they bully Paul, and from one scene to the next his nickname with which they made fun of him changes gratuitous. There is also a subplot of the cousin accidentally transforming someone, but just plays videogames, talk weird and is an issue never resolved that bothers me.
With all, the premise is really cool, and the movie, even with its limited resources, creates great images. Particularly the visual aspect, full of long shots with stylized lightning and set decorations is really pleasing and visually entertaining to see, even when is not striking at all. In this aspect the movie is entertaining, not boring, but also has a very limited and unoriginal cinematographic language.
It is a good time, interesting high-concept with a fresh approximation and, in general, pretty enjoyable. It is not as amazing nor fun nor deep as it could have been, or as it believes it is, but there is the genuine intention and desire to tell this story behind it.
You can read my review on the next movie on the best cinematic universe today, Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare here: https://onceuponatimethemovies.blogspot.com/
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