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 | $90,838[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]
Although descending from a line of vampires, Sasha has struggled with the morality of killing people for their blood, since she was a child. Now a teenager, her parents are on the verge of cutting off her blood supply, as they want her to go hunt for her own food. Because of this, they send her off to live with her cousin Denise.
Out on the streets, Denise tries to teach a lesson to Sasha by luring a man named JP, but Sasha ditches and runs away. Wandering at night, Sasha heads into a support group meeting for depressed and suicidal people. There, she meets Paul, a suicidal and very depressed boy. Earlier, Sasha saw him try to commit suicide by jumping off a storage container. Outside, Sasha tells Paul what she is going through, and he decides that he will give his life for Sasha.
At Denise’s house, Sasha tries to bite Paul, but struggles to, as her fangs won’t come out. Sasha then asks if Paul would like to do anything before he dies, Paul responds by saying that he would like to get payback on Henry, a schoolmate who constantly bullies him. However, Paul decides to change his mind after finding out that Henry is at a party; he decides to get payback on a popular girl at his school, his gym teacher, and his principal who got mad at him for killing a bat in school.
Paul and Sasha make one last stop at the former’s house, where Paul leaves a goodbye note for his mom, only for her to come early from work. He then tells her that he is going to the party. At the party, Henry taunts Paul, only for Paul, inspired by Sasha, to bite Henry’s arm. Sasha collapses and Paul cuts his own hand to feed her his blood. Henry and his friends then find Paul and Sasha, and they start beating Paul up. Sasha then becomes aggressive, hurling one of Henry’s friends in the air, and biting Henry to death. She tells Paul to run away.
After Denise arrives to bury Henry, she demands to know what is going on between Sasha and Paul, threatening to finish Paul off. Sasha knocks Denise out and runs back to Paul, the two of them book a hotel room. There, Paul decides that Sasha should turn him into a vampire, so that he can help her kill consenting humans, but Sasha advises Paul against it. Sasha ends up turning Paul into a vampire anyway, but calls her family for help. It’s revealed that Denise ended up turning JP also.
Later at the hospital where his mom works, Paul and Sasha head into an elderly terminal patient’s room, where Sasha plays the piano, while Paul, with consent, drains the patient’s 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.
