Review of Interview with the Vampire (1994) by Blake P — 11 Dec 2016

Daniel Malloy (Slater) is excited to land an interview with so-called vampire Louis(Pitt), but once it all gets started, Malloy beings to believe that this man may actually be one. Louis tells him the memorable year of 1791 where he meets the seductive Lestat (Cruise) who gives him everlasting life through one bite.

The two become "partners" and soon they find little girl Claudia (Dunst) who Lestat bites to give to Louis for a present. Feeling guilty for what Lestat did, Louis takes Claudia under his wing.

Through the years Claudia becomes more and more upset, realizing she'll be a little girl forever, which leads her to "kill" Lestat. Louis and Claudia run off, where they meet different vampires (Banderas, Rea), which eventually leads to more drama.

"Interview with the Vampire" is the perfectly done vampire movie-- it's horrific, suspenseful, erotic, gory, and atmospheric, which all movies that go into the genre should be. Very good in these ways, the film does suffer from a few mis-casted actors-- especially Cruise and Banderas, whom I just couldn't take seriously, though they both did their best-- and a few flawed parts in the story, but overall, "Interview with the Vampire" is satisfying.

Director Neil Jordan uses all of these aspects to the full extent and in the end leaves you with so many memorable-- even if they're disturbing-- scenes. Dunst and Pitt are so excellent, especially Dunst who makes all other child actors seem like idiots, that it makes up for laughable scenes with Cruise.

And though it has his flaws, the story is wonderfully told, never too fast, and never boringly slow, and that's what you need with a topic that could either hit or miss. This is a film that seems rare, because it starts off so badly, but ends up being one of those films that you'll never forget.

"Interview with the Vampire" is an excellent gothic masterpiece. Recommended.