Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023) is a Canadian French-language horror comedy that marks the feature-length debut of director Ariane Louis-Seize. Having received an acclaimed premiere in Venice, the movie follows the quirky misadventures of adolescent vampire Sasha (Sara Montpetit) as she seeks to overcome the guilt of killing people for bloodlust. Enter morbid, bullied teenager Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), and an unlikely friendship blossoms between the two.
A bittersweet coming-of-age tale that truly humanizes vampires. With its Craiglist ad-style title and darkly comic themes, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is a fresh and delightful spin on not only vampire movies but also coming-of-age dramas. Barring her Transylvanian heritage, Sasha is very much an ordinary teenager who feels like breaking away from the usual norms of her society. Sara Montpetit carries the movies on her shoulders with an impressive range within the muted confines of a vulnerable character. Despite her fanged relatives pushing her to draw first blood with a first kill, Sasha doesn't wish to harm any innocent homo sapiens in the process. But neither is she a Wednesday Adams-inspired troublemaker. Her people-pleasing persona and her conflict of interests reflect Humanist Vampire's subtle exploration of a little bit of everything. Expect gruesome splashes of blood, but then also expect a heartwarming meet-cute situation. Expect the usual teenage yearning to discover the world, but also expect the domestic tension of not letting your parents down. There's a lot that the 90-minute runtime could explore even further, but what Louis-Seize's film offers so far is charmingly entertaining enough.
The Human Condition. This film would be incomplete without Paul, the "consenting suicidal person" who is played with chuckle-inducing cynicism by Félix-Antoine Bénard. The scrawny teen is tired of the everyday bullying he encounters and isn't afraid to look death in the eye. Perfect human fodder for Sasha then? Louis-Seize and Christine Doyon's screenplay offers no major twists and turns in what follows. Seasoned horror drama audiences wouldn't be surprised with what follows. But Humanist Vampire's freshness still endures because of how organically Sasha and Paul's alliance is fleshed out. Beyond the "turning" and diet differences, the movie cheekily embodies the growing pains both humans and vampires face. This is no human-meets-vampire romance. Neither is it a human-vs-vampire duel. It's a heartwarming and believable scenario of what would happen if humans and vampires could coexist. What Twilight struggled with in 5 movies, this Canadian dark comedy achieves in an hour and a half.
The "edgy" vampire comedy genre has a new gem. Barring recent misfires like Renfield, the vampire comedy subgenre may achieve more success than gory vampire horrors. Taika Waititi's mockumentary What We Do In The Shadows lives on in the FX series of the same name. Even an auteur like Pablo Lorrain ventured into vampire comedy territory with Netflix's El Conde, and this year's Abigail boasted another memorable juvenile vampire. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is a notable addition to this pantheon, shining on its own while reflecting occasional glimmers of predecessors like Jim Jarmusch's tragic vampire romance The Only Lovers Left Alive and Ana Lily Amirpour's Iranian vampire Western A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. Pair those two with Humanist Vampire, and you have a great nighttime triple bill!
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person isn't just a darkly funny vampire movie; it's also an unexpectedly moving exploration of teen angst and the loss of innocence.
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