Month of Horror - Day Seven: Interview with the Vampire

"There's still life in the old lady, yet!"

Sometimes you hear a phrase so many times that the meaning of the words becomes masked by a separate meaning. Take "Interview with the Vampire." I'd heard the movie title so many times that it became one word "Interviewwiththevampire" that only translated to "that Tom Cruise movie" or that "Anne Rice book." It wasn't until the movie opened in a San Francisco hotel room with Christian Slater preparing to interview a vampire that the proper context solidified.

There's one reason this was my first viewing. Vampires have a tendency to be boring. Zombies are my supernatural creature of choice. I'm aware that the only classifications between differing types of zombies are: fast and slow. But at least zombies don't ballroom dance or worry whether their outfits match. And if they did attend a fancy ball, it'd be to eat brains, not to socialize. And they wouldn't wait, just hanging around until their favorite song to finish, zombies get. down. to. business.

Interview with the Vampire isn't a boring film by any means. It's well constructed and the narrative is genuinely interesting. It's fair to say that Interview is the Gone with the Wind of bloodsucker flicks. The sets are impeccable and the acting, while at times over-the-top, is sufficient. And when Antonio Banderas shows up with his Cher-hair, the movie switches from epic to legendary. Kirsten Dunst gives her career-peaking performance and Brad Pitt continues to prove why he got paid all those checks covered in zeros.

The first half of this movie plays like a vampiric episode of "My Two Dads," which I am more than okay with. Adopting a young child can be hard for any couple--but when your adorable daughter starts hiding corpses in her room, wackiness is sure to ensue. If someone had told me that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were totally gay for each other, my list of Must-See Movies would have had a new addition long ago. For some reason, gay vampires seem much more interesting than straight ones. Turns out, gay vampires are a more common occurance than I thought. Anyone interested can read this B.A. Thesis entitled "The Vampire in Modern American Media 1975-2000" I found online. Don't worry, it's not mine.