"Alright feed on what you want rats, chickens, poodles.."

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2003)

I saw this movie a couple of years ago when I was pretty young and found it scary and too bloody. So now when I rented it again I was very surprised that I actually thought it was really good.
* SPOILERS* This movie is more a costume drama where the characters happen to be vampires, than a horror movie. There are maybe two scenes that people may find frightening( Lestat returns from the swamp with his new lovely face and when Louis takes his revenge on the Paris vampires) * END OF SPOILERS*
The reason why this movie has a strong drama element is due to the brilliant performances of Dunst, Pitt and especially Cruise. I do agree with many other reviewers here that Dunst should have gotten an oscar nod for her portrayal of Claudia. It took awhile for me to get use to seeing Pitt as a vampire but he did a solid performance as guilt-ridden and confused Louis. Last but not least Cruise's Lestat is the cream of the cake in this movie. Even though Lestat is a pretty "evil" character Cruise manages to actually make him multi-layered and by far the most entertaining of all the vampires in this movie. Lestat is a perfect contrast to the brooding Louis, I think the movie would have been better for it had Lestat's screen time been increased. The things Lestat says are just so funny: "Louis, Louis, Louis, still whining". Cruise has been able to tone down his usual mannerisms that are usually in all of his movies (Magnolia being also an exception)and becomes nearly unrecognisable in his make-up.
The art direction and production design is also great in Interview with a vampire.
A slight problem in this movie is the plot. There is now clear story. The movie merely follows and tells the life of a vampire. This might make some viewers bored and start wondering what's the point with this movie. In my opinion Interview with a vampire is just supposed to be an atmospheric tale of the life of a vampire.If you can appreciate it as that you'll enjoy it.
This movie is by far one of the best vampire movies out there, keeping the gore factor pretty low, but there are some pretty explicit blood sucking orgies in this one as well!

8/10