You Need to Make a Date with ‘Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person’ [TIFF 2023 Review]
Vampire films are romantic by nature. But over the past few years, their sensual reputation has been soured by a mix of platonic and just plain boring entries in the subgenre. I’m talking about everything from the horror comedies like Renfield to the recent snoozefest The Last Voyage of the Demeter.
Lucky for us, there is a new film here to save us from this soul-sucking drought. Making its North American premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, Ariane Louis-Seize‘s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is as arresting as its name suggests. Fueled by a charmingly deadpan performance by Sara Montpetit (Falcon Lake), the French language feature is a witty mix of existentialism and exploitation, going for the jugular while also capturing your heart.
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person follows Sasha (Monpetit), a young woman who was born and raised to drink blood but can’t bring herself to kill a person to do so. Said to “empathize with rocks,” she survives on whatever leftover plasma her parents can spare, sucking down bags like they’re Capri Sun while dreaming about eating a poutine and ending her eternal life.
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A lone wolf who can’t get her family to stop pressuring her to lose her vampire virginity, Sasha could easily be seen as a direct descendant of goth girl icons like Lydia Deetz and Wednesday Addams. Only Sasha feels all the feelings all the time. She’s physically unable to watch horror movies without having a full-on meltdown. And her favorite song? “Emotions” by Brenda Lee (“Emotions, what are you doin’? Oh, don’t you know, don’t you know you’ll be my ruin?”).
Just when Sasha thinks she’s destined to spend her life languishing in loneliness, she meets teenage outcast Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard) in a suicide support group. Will the boy who recently got in trouble for killing a bat during gym class be the one to finally bring out her fangs? Or will these two death-obsessed “young” people (Sasha is technically 68 years old) make a pact they can’t take back?
While it certainly has hints of Let the Right One In and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is better compared to unconventional romances like Harold & Maude and Submarine. The screenplay, which Louis-Seize co-wrote with Christine Doyon, is full of Québécois charm, its quirky humor balanced with moments of genuine tension. It helps that Monpetit and Bénard make for a very sweet pair, putting Bella and Edward to shame with their genuine concern for each other’s well-being.
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Also worth noting is the stylish, but lived-in, production design by Ludovic Dufresne, which helps the film feel naturally nostalgic in the same way Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola films can. It doesn’t look like a first feature, which makes me excited to explore the wild and wonderful worlds Louis-Seize is able to dream up next.
Long story short: don’t let the name fool you. Humanist Vampire Seeking Suicidal Person is not just another uninspired gothic romance. If you, like me, have ever struggled with suicidal ideation, you’ll find solace in its humorous, but honest portrayal of that experience. And if you just want to be sucked in by vampire-human drama, you’ll get your fix. Either way, don’t be afraid to make a date with Sasha.
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Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
Summary
Fueled by a charmingly deadpan performance by Sara Montpetit, this French language feature is a witty mix of existentialism and exploitation, going for jugular while also capturing your heart.
