“Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person” Might Be What You’re Looking For (REVIEW)

What is the goth version of “twee?”  There has to be a Hot Topic employee out there who can define it.  Whatever the adjective, it applies to the latest release from Drafthouse Films, “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person.” The debut feature from French Canadian film from director Ariane Louis-Seize is much better than I’ve made it sound so far.  Louis-Seize (along with her co-writer Christine Doyon) may have just dropped the year’s sleeper comedy, which has already won awards at Venice and TIFF.

Sasha (Sara Montpetit) is the titular vampire with a problem.  She’s the black sheep of her family because she’s never killed anyone.  Though she looks like a teenager, she’s a mere 68 years old compared to her centuries-old parents, who have no patience for extraneous empathy.  You don’t live that long by sipping from the pre-filled blood bags they give her, but Sasha just can’t bring herself to take a human life.  One night, she befriends Paul (Félix-Antoine Bérnard), a bullied teen who attends a support group for people with suicide ideation.  When Sasha’s parents force her to learn how to hunt from her Bohemian cousin Denise (Noémie O’Farrell), Sasha sees Paul as her way out, and vice versa.  It’s a match made in ennui.

Paul and Sasha. You know, from the title.

If you squint, you can see the version of this film that’s terrible: a shrill cast giving broad performances, while the director shamelessly rips off the visual styles of “quirky” directors like Tim Burton, Taikia Waititi, and Wes Anderson.  Thankfully, Louis-Seize resists the temptation at every turn.  She creates a grounded, almost subdued comedy that fans of the aforementioned directors might appreciate without stealing from them wholesale. Even the opening scene, where young Sasha (Lilas-Rose Cantin) can’t bring herself to join her family as they eat her birthday clown, manages to make you feel bad for poor Sasha while chuckling at the absurdity of the situation (and yes, I laughed uproariously when I noticed later on that her bedroom has clown wallpaper). This is the crux of what Louis-Seize and her cast do so well: making you laugh alongside their pathos. 

Sasha never needed a straw for her “Capri Sun.”

Bérnard and Montpetit create a duo to root for, even if you don’t want them to achieve their goals.  Sasha appears like she wants to hide inside herself, whereas Paul hides every day in plain sight, and Bérnard has the tricky role of a teen who elicits sympathy without telegraphing the cinematic hallmarks of someone losing their will to live.  Also, if you’re wondering how vampires have children, don’t worry about it.  The script doesn’t care and neither should you.  At one point Sasha’s mother exclaims “I won’t be hunting for us for another 200 years” and that’s all we get, though we do manage to sympathize with her pushy family. 

The pushy family. Of vampires.

It’s difficult for a film about teenagers (undead or not) to be earnest without being cloying.  Your “mopey teenage” mileage may vary, but the film walks a fine line. Of course, it gets a little dry, and it’s distracting how much Sasha looks like Emily the Strange, but (deep breath) “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person” is a touching portrayal of two outsiders who find themselves linked by circumstance.  No, not “Let the Right One In” or  “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.”  It’s the funny version.

“Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person” opens in NYC and LA theaters on June 21st, followed by a nationwide rollout.

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