The Gutter’s own Carol Borden was fortunate to be attending this year’s Overlook Film Festival remotely and will be sharing initial thoughts on the films they see. First up is Ariane Louis-Seize’s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person / Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant (Canada, 2023). CW: Suicide and suicidal ideation. Also, an artificial bat gives its life in a scene, but you can see it coming:

Ariane Louis-Seize’s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person / Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant (Canada, 2023) takes us into the demimonde—not only of vampires, but of Montreal teens. Sasha (Sara Montpetit) is a vampire who can’t hunt after a traumatic childhood event involving—as so many traumatic incidents do—a clown. Sasha has the right equipment. A vampire dentist has examined her and assured her family she does indeed have fangs. But a vampire neurologist’s testing indicates that when Sasha sees humans dying even in film her compassion is stimulated instead of her hunger. Sasha struggles and even considers ending her unlife by consuming takeout poutine, when she encounters Paul (Félix-Antoine Bérnard), a bullied teen boy. Paul is suicidal, and in their meeting, Sasha and Paul seem to find the solution to both their problems.

Some movies are all about the big surprises and twists. And some movies are about the little twists and details. The ultimate fate of the characters might not be entirely surprising, but Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person is charming, delightful and funny in its execution and little surprises. I liked how the film reached the solution to Sasha and Paul’s problems. I believed Sasha and Paul cared about each other— feeling kinship while being weirdos in their own world. Like A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014), another film about another girl vampire and the boy who attracts her attention, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person might demonstrate that more Nouvelle Vague films could use more female vampires. Or maybe that more coming of age stories could.

Read more thoughts at Monstrous Industry.