Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant

I was in NYC the other day and I wanted to see something I wouldn't be able to find at my small town cinema. I knew nothing about this before walking in, beyond thinking the title was cute. I love horror, but am neither here nor there about romcoms, but this film was so sweet, charming, touching and funny with just enough genre fare to satisfy my horror love.

All the actors are fantastic, with excellent direction and cinematography. I saw three movies when I was in the city this past weekend, Humanist Vampire was far and away the best of them. I can't wait to watch it again and show my wife. Highly recommended.

A French Canadian movie, with English subtitles, I watched it at home on Blu-ray from my public library. My wife started it with me but it is not her kind of movie and she hated foreign language movies with subtitles. There is a scene where Sasha is asked about her favorite song, she pulls a vinyl of Brenda Lee's and plays "Emotions."

Sara Montpetit is Sasha, she looks to be in her 20s but when asked, she says she is 68. She is the youngest member of a family of vampires. It is past time for her to deploy her fangs and get her nourishment from people, instead she uses a straw to suck blood from blood bags.

Félix-Antoine Bénard is Paul, an ordinary person bullied at school, and works at the bowling alley. Paul and Sasha meet when he is on the roof of the bowling alley, contemplating killing himself.

So this is really Sasha's story, as the title states she is looking for a "consenting, suicidal person" and it develops from there.

This is an entertaining movie, not to be taken too seriously. Most of the family interactions are funny.

A delicious blend of horror, comedy, romance & coming-of-age drama that's as endearing as it is life-affirming, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is sharp in its humour & sweet in its bite, offers an amusing yet heartfelt look at suicide & depression, and is wonderfully steered by quiet performances & gentle chemistry between its likeable leads.

Co-written & directed by Ariane Louis-Seize in her feature film debut, the story follows a young vampire who's too sensitive to kill until she finds an unlikely solution in a young man with suicidal tendencies. It is a wickedly funny premise that's directed with confidence and establishes the vampiric society among humans with finesse. And the central dilemma only leads to hilarious situations.

The plot hinges on the two soft characters, each broken in their own ways, who discover a new side of themselves through their awkward conversations & strange predicament. And both the actors deliver on that front. Their performance has a gentle touch, melancholic quality & warm tenderness that compels us to invest in them, and they are brilliantly supported by the rest of the cast.

Overall, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person deftly utilises the vampire motif to present a familiar human world in a new light and addresses its delicate themes with a light-hearted flair. The darkly-lit camerawork, steady pace, splendid music & kind-hearted moments only enrich & elevate the experience, while the elegant direction & earnest execution makes it a fantastic debut feature.

As far as vampire films go...this one is about as original as you can get!

The only film that is, even remotely, similar to it, being Shunji Iwai's 2011 film, Vampire.

Which doesn't even have actual vampires in it.

While Iwai's film is a dramatic horror...this French-Canadian gem is more of a horror comedy.

A sort of vampire coming of age film.

In which we follow a 68-year young, teenage vampiress, who find her fangs, when her family forces her to fend for herself in the real world.

As, prior to this, she was mostly sheltered...having been brought up on blood bags from her parents fridge.

Which has resulted in her overt humanism, and, thus, aversion toward killing others to survive.

So, when she meets a local boy, with suicidal intentions...it's kind of a match made in...well, Hell, I guess.

Because he's willing to give his life for her.

But this only acts to make her fall in love with him.

Leaving them with only one option moving forward.

Which just might make things work out for both of them, in the end.

This wonderful film is a darkly, light-hearted, and all-around entertaining, experience.

Another winner from Quebec!

7 out of 10.

This may not conquer new grounds with what it wants to say but it does what it set out to do immensely well. It's a dark comedy rom-com coming-of-age film with a lot of heart. The way it explores the themes of being different and being alone through multiple facets while being outwardly simplistic can be said to be derived from similar films but it still works great. There are a few things that could have maybe improved this but they weren't trying to be anything more really. What can I say, this is something tailor-made for someone like me. Loved both the actors in the main roles too. Looking forward to the director's future projects.