Self-centred, homo-erotic vampire posturing

Rating: 5/10 (27 February 2011)

Vampire shenanigans abound in this fairly close adaptation of the popular Anne Rice novel detailing romantic vampires (neatly slotting in between Hammer's ghastly Gothic vampires and the current craze for teen vamps, a la TWILIGHT). Cue macho soul-searching. It's an arty, historical film full of burning candelabras, bloody necks and vampires who mope around and complain about the boring life of the undead. The main thing that takes the enjoyment away from the film are the characters, most of whom are completely horrible and unsympathetic.
Tom Cruise is the worst culprit. His Lestat is vain, self-satisfying and pompous. Brad Pitt is very bland and uncomfortable in his leading role, only sparking into life at the eventful climax. Christian Slater barely registers in a minor part; Antonio Banderas is great but underutilised as a genuinely suave, sophisticated creature of the night and Kirsten Dunst is supremely irritating as a spoiled brat who finds herself transformed into a spoiled brat vampire. Not much change, then.
The film boasts some early, decent CGI work and plenty of Gothic imagery, especially in the Parisian theatre of the Grand Guignol. However, Rice's self-serving vampires are so caught up in their own woes that they become repulsive to watch on screen, and you couldn't care less about their predicament. In some places, the film becomes hard to watch because of this; looking back, it's a so-so production.