Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
| Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person | |
|---|---|
 Official release poster | |
| French | Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant |
| Directed by | Ariane Louis-Seize |
| Written by | Christine Doyon Ariane Louis-Seize |
| Produced by | Jeanne-Marie Poulain Line Sander Egede |
| Starring | Sara Montpetit Félix-Antoine Bénard Steve Laplante |
| Cinematography | Shawn Pavlin |
| Edited by | Stéphane Lafleur |
Production company | Art et Essai |
| Distributed by | H264 |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 91 minutes[1] |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | French |
| Box office | $97,772[2] |
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (French: Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant) also released under the title Humanist Vampire Too Sensitive to Kill, is a 2023 Canadian French-language vampire comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Ariane Louis-Seize.[3] It stars Sara Montpetit as Sasha, a teenage vampire who befriends Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a boy with suicidal tendencies.
Plot
[edit]When Sasha, a vampire, was a child, her family attacked and ate a clown who had been hired to perform at her birthday. Instead of causing her fangs to sprout as her family had hoped, the incident traumatizes Sasha, and a doctor later diagnoses her with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Years later, Sasha, now 68 (although she resembles a teenager), still does not have fangs and plays keyboard outside a local convenience store for money. Her parents are on the verge of cutting her blood supply because she still refuses to hunt for her own food.
One night, Sasha notices Paul trying to jump from atop a building, but he eventually does not. Later, he is startled to see Sasha while trying to commit suicide again and runs into a metal container box. Sasha sees him bleeding from his forehead, and her fangs suddenly sprout. She runs home immediately. At home, Sasha's parents have decided that she live with Denise, her older cousin, to learn how to hunt people.
Denise lures a man named JP in order to teach Sasha, but Sasha is reluctant and, as Denise feeds on JP, attracts attention before running off. Later in the night, she finds and heads into a support group meeting for depressed and suicidal people, where she reunites with Paul. Outside, the two agree to help each other: she will assist in his suicide in exchange for her feeding on him. But now Sasha's fangs have disappeared.
She asks Paul if he has a dying wish to which Paul responds he'd like to get payback on his coworker Henry who constantly bullies him. So, the two go to the bowling alley where Henry works only to find he called in sick to go to a party. Paul is now hesitant on getting payback in front of everyone. Sasha suggests he could practice to boost his confidence. So, Paul decides to get payback on a popular girl at his school, his gym teacher, and his principal. Before going to the party, Paul also leaves a suicide note for his mother at his house. At the party, Henry taunts Paul, only for Paul, inspired by Sasha, to bite Henry’s hand open. Sasha collapses from hunger and Paul takes her to a park, and cuts his own hand to feed her his blood.
Henry and his friends find the two, and they start beating Paul up. Sasha's fangs emerge to protect Paul. She hurls one of Henry’s friends in the air, kills Henry by draining him of his blood, and demands Paul to go back home. After Denise arrives to bury Henry, she demands that Paul must also be killed. Sasha knocks Denise out with a shovel and returns to Paul. Both plan to run away together, but in their hotel room, Paul doubts their success. He requests Sasha to turn him into a vampire, which she initially refuses. After Paul persuades her, she bites him, but he struggles to breathe and is on the verge of death. In a panic, Sasha calls her family, who are able to turn him into a vampire.
Sometime later, Sasha and the vampiric Paul arrive at his mother's workplace: a hospice. She directs them to an elderly terminal patient's room; Sasha serenades them with her keyboard as Paul, with the patient's consent, drains their blood into a bag.
Cast
[edit]- Sara Montpetit as Sasha
- Félix-Antoine Bénard as Paul
- Steve Laplante as Father
- Sophie Cadieux as Mother
- Noémie O'Farrell as cousin Denise
- Marie Brassard as aunt Victorine
- Arnaud Vachon as Henry
- Madeleine Péloquin as Sandrine
- Gabriel-Antoine Roy as JP
- Isabella Villalba as Mélisse Bessette
- Patrick Hivon as Coach Goyette
- Marc Beaupré as Rico
- Micheline Bernard as Principal Gauvin
- Sylvie Lemay as Renaude
- Ariane Castellanos as Claudie
- Lilas-Rose Cantin as young Sasha
- Valence Laroche as young Denise
Production
[edit]Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person was shot in fall 2022 in Montreal.[4]
Release
[edit]Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2023.[5] The film had its Canadian premiere in the Centrepiece program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,[6] and received a gala screening at the 2023 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival.[7] It also screened in the Noves Visions section at the 56th Sitges Film Festival.[8] Drafthouse Films acquired distribution rights for the United States, with the film being released in Los Angeles and New York on June 21, 2024, before expanding to more cities the following week.[9]
Critical response
[edit]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 52 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "A teen coming-of-age story with an undead twist, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person proves consistently charming even as it hits a number of expected genre beats."[10]
Nikki Baughan of Screen Daily wrote that "Louis-Seize leans heavily into European arthouse influences for her French-language production. Sasha — who is, in fact 68 (although still a teenager in human years) — is presented as something of an ingenue, her long dark hair, blunt fringe and doe eyes giving her both a vulnerability and an intriguing edge. She listens to vinyl, she plays the keyboard, she is by nature (and necessity) a loner. Her connection with Paul is immediate and surprising, and the chemistry between the two is authentic."[11]
The film was included in TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2023.[12]
Awards
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Vampire Humaniste Cherche Suicidaire Consentant (DVD, SVOD, On Demand, DCP)". Australian Classification Board. February 7, 2024. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
- ^ "Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- ^ Lavallée, Eric (2022-10-25). "Bloodsuckers: Sara Montpetit Toplines Ariane Louis-Seize's "Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant"". IONCINEMA.com. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Charles-Henri Ramond, "Ariane Louis-Seize en tournage". Films du Québec, November 17, 2022.
- ^ "Vampire dramedy, tribute to late Jean-Marc Vallée set for Venice film sidebar". Toronto Star, July 27, 2023.
- ^ Hazelton, John. "TIFF sets Centrepiece line-up of international cinema". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ Goh, Clement (2023-08-23). "Cinéfest Sudbury marks 35 years with focus on comedy and vampires". CBC.ca. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "The Festival's 56th Edition Kicks Off by Announcing its Complete Lineup". Sitges Film Festival. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "Humanist Vampire — Drafthouse Films". Drafthouse Films. Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ "Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
- ^ Baughan, Nikki (2023-09-03). "'Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person': Venice Review". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Pat Mullen, "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten Includes BlackBerry, Solo, Humanist Vampire". That Shelf, December 6, 2023.
- ^ Balaga, Marta (2023-09-08). "'Radical and Courageous' Dark Comedy 'Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person,' 'Through the Night' Pick Up Venice Days Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Toombs, Aryn (2023-09-26). "Winners of 2023 CIFF competitions unveiled". LiveWire Calgary. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Summer Qamp, Drawing a Life audience favourites at CIFF". LiveWire Calgary. 2023-10-03. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Cinéfest reveals 2023 award winners". Sudbury.com. 2023-09-28. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "[FNC 2023] Chloé Leriche et Ariane Louis-Seize récompensées". Films du Québec (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (2023-10-23). "'Women Talking' leads winners at 22nd annual DGC Awards". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Horror comedy from Ariane Louis-Seize wins Windsor International Film Festival prize". Toronto Star. 2023-10-29. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Vlessing, Etan (January 22, 2024). "Oppenheimer Leads Vancouver Film Critics Circle Nominations With Six Nods". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Erik (2023-12-17). "AwardsWatch - Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) Awards: 'The Zone of Interest' Wins Best Picture, Director". AwardsWatch. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Les finalistes du 13e PCCQ". Films du Québec (in French). Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "BlackBerry Leads CSA Nominations – Northernstars". www.northernstars.ca. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ Thiessen, Connie (2024-05-31). "Canadian Screen Awards winners: Cinematic Arts". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved 2024-06-25.