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Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person
2023 film by Ariane Louis-Seize From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (French: Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant), also released as Humanist Vampire Too Sensitive to Kill, is a 2023 French-language Canadian 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.
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Plot
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In her childhood, Sasha, a vampire, is traumatized after her family attacks and eats a clown they had hired to perform at her birthday. As a result, Sasha's fangs do not sprout and she is uncomfortable with the idea of killing people for food. Years later, she still refuses to kill and still does not have fangs.
One night, Sasha notices a teenager, Paul, attempting to jump from atop a building, but he eventually does not. Later, Sasha's fangs suddenly emerge when she encounters him again. In a panic, she runs back home where her parents have decided that she will live with her older cousin, Denise, to learn how to hunt people.
Sasha is reluctant to learn and attracts attention as Denise feeds on JP, a man they had lured earlier, distracting her and turning him into a vampire. She reunites with Paul at a support group meeting for people experiencing suicidal thoughts. After the meeting, the two agree to help each other with Sasha assisting in his suicide and feeding on him. However, Sasha's fangs disappear, and she tries to stall by asking him if he has a dying wish. Paul says he would like to get payback on Henry, his co-worker who constantly bullies him.
When they find out that Henry has gone to a party, Paul becomes hesitant about getting payback in front of everyone. Sasha suggests he could practice to boost his confidence. Paul then decides to get payback on a popular girl at school, his gym teacher, and his principal.
At the party, Henry taunts Paul, and Paul bites his hand. As they run away, Sasha collapses from hunger. Paul then cuts his hand to feed her his blood. Henry and his friends find them and start beating Paul up. Sasha's fangs suddenly emerge, and she kills Henry and urges Paul to go home.
Denise demands Paul must also be killed while she helps Sasha bury Henry's body, but Sasha knocks Denise out. Sasha runs to Paul and they decide to run away, but at a hotel room, Paul doubts their success. He urges Sasha to turn him into a vampire. After being persuaded, she bites him, but he struggles to breathe. Sasha calls her family, who are able to turn him into a vampire by feeding him blood.
Some time later, Sasha and Paul arrive at a hospice his mother is working at, where they are directed to a terminally ill patient's room. Sasha plays the keyboard for the patient as Paul drains the patient's blood into a bag.
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Cast
- Sara Montpetit as Sasha
- Lilas-Rose Cantin as Sasha at 6 years old
- Félix-Antoine Bénard as Paul
- Steve Laplante as Aurélien, Sasha's father
- Sophie Cadieux as Georgette, Sasha's mother
- Noémie O'Farrell as Denise
- Valence Laroche as Denise at 12 years old
- Arnaud Vachon as Henry
- Marie Brassard as Victorine, Sasha's aunt
- Madeleine Péloquin as Sandrine, Paul's mother
- Gabriel-Antoine Roy as JP
- Isabella Villalba as Mélisse Bessette
- Patrick Hivon as Coach Goyette
- Marc Beaupré as Rico-Berlingot
- Micheline Bernard as Principal Gauvin
- Sylvie Lemay as Renaude
- Ariane Castellanos as Claudie
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Production
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person was shot in fall 2022 in Montreal.[4]
Release
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] The film was released in Canada on October 13, 2023, by H264.[9] Drafthouse Films acquired distribution rights for the United States, with the film being released in Los Angeles and New York City on June 21, 2024, before expanding to more cities the following week.[10]
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Reception
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Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 80 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads: "While not as innovative as its title, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person offers a dark-ish comedic take on a teen love story between misfits that renders a strangely sweet bite."[11] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 70 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[12]
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."[13]
The film was included in TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2023.[14]
Accolades
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References
External links
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