Although I have often told people that a movie title tells you everything you need to know about the feature, it has rarely felt so specific. Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is unlikely to be stumbled upon by people thinking that they're about to see anything other than that specific scenario, which is both good and bad. It's good to have films that aren't judged by people simply critiquing it for what it isn't, but it's bad to have titles like this consigned to a destiny of minor cult fandom.
Sara Montpetit plays Sasha, a young girl who ends up not being best-suited to the vampirism running through her family tree. She has more compassion than she should, which makes things very tricky when she's supposed to be finding victims to feed from. Things look up, however, when she meets Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a young man feeling suicidal, which could allow Sasha to plan a meal without being too bothered by any sense of guilt. Paul has some things to do before he faces the very end of his life though, and Sasha encourages him to make an effort to grab some satisfaction while he can.
Although we've seen many interesting, and often comedic, takes on vampirism over the past few decades, this feature debut from director Ariane Louis-Seize (working with writer Christine Doyon, also making her feature debut) is something that manages to be sweet and funny in a way that doesn't detract from the core idea of a young woman struggling to find a way to fit in with the traditions and expectations of her family. There are laughs to be had here, but it's a coming-of-age drama with some amusing moments throughout, as opposed to anything close to an outright comedy.
Nicely shot by Shawn Pavlin, this is time spent with characters living in darkness, both internally and externally, and the whole thing maintains a consistent atmosphere of a certain kind of limbo in which young people wake every day to engage in some horrible Sisyphean struggle; just getting through the hours ahead of them until they can retreat to the safety of their personal space once again.
Both Montpetit and Bénard are very good in their roles, two sensitive souls who ultimately bring out the best in one another. Both portray familiar character types without ever feeling as if they're showing us the kind of performances that we've seen many times before. Arnaud Vachon plays an irritating bully, something he does well enough to make you want to see him cross paths with the wrong "victim" eventually, and Noémie O'Farrell is very good as Sasha's cousin, Denise, someone already very inured to the idea of killing humans off for the sake of a consistent food supply.
Maybe lacking a real stand-out moment, and arguably a bit inconsequential by the time the end credits roll, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is a sweet and lovingly-handled work that deserves some more eyes on it. I'm not sure that will happen though, but that will just make it seem all the more valuable to those who enjoy it and hold it dear. And I'm happy to place myself in that camp.
8/10
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That does sound like an interesting twist on the genre, which is hard to do these days.
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