Something I Really Got My Teeth Into!

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2001)

*Warning: Possible Spoilers*
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles made a great book. No one knew what to expect from the film. Well, this well-made, clever, intriguing story is far better than anyone had the right to expect.
The film kicks off in modern day San Francisco where the 200-year-old vampire Louis (Brad Pitt) begins to relate the story of his life to a young interviewer (Christian Slater). It is a tale that begins with the death of plantation owner Louis' wife and child back in New Orleans in the late 18th Century, an event that, for Louis, effectively marks the end of his human existence. The arrival, thereafter, of a vampire called Lestat (Tom Cruise) offers him an escape from his terminable grief with the outside chance of immortality. Yet, as Louis comes to learn, this grief ultimately pales into insignificance compared with the pain that comes as a consequence of having to slaughter humans in order to feed. Initially he resists, drawing sustenance from rats and other animals, before he succumbs to his condition and sinks his teeth into Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), a young orphan. Refusing to let her die, Lestat instead fashions her into Louis' companion, and thus Claudia becomes his surrogate daughter/lover, a child-woman who remains shackled within the body of a young girl while her brain and appetites grow.
Eventually Louis and Claudia plot to kill their maker, and having escaped Lestat, they travel to Europe in search of fellow blood-suckers and meet Armand (Antonio Banderas) and many more at the Theatre Des Vampires in Paris.
Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles is a film I could really get my teeth (or should I say fangs?) into. The performances are excellent, particularly from the young Kirsten Dunst and the outstanding Brad Pitt in one of his best roles. Although Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas are underused slightly, they are still impressive in their juicy roles. The editing is very good and the story is well-adapted from the excellent book.
Simply fang-tastic!
I rate Interview With The Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles 8 out of 10.