Peter Loew in Vampire’s Kiss (1988)
Robert Bierman’s black comedy is built around an extraordinary, legendary performance by Nicolas Cage, as a literary agent increasingly convinced that he is transforming into a vampire. The film is structured through a series of encounters with his therapist, during which he becomes gradually more and more disturbed. These meetings are interspersed with the character’s interactions with people in the city – meeting women at clubs and building toward explosive violence.
There is much that is unpleasant about Cage’s performance here – not least the subplot in which he systematically terrorizes his secretary. The film received mixed reviews, with many critics dismissing the central role as self-indulgent, tasteless, and even silly. However, as with Deadfall, the performance is one which begs to be picked apart – the character motivations studied and the execution pored over.
Cage’s performance in Vampire’s Kiss is one of such power and intensity that it actually threatens the comedic intentions of the script. It is possible to see how the film might have been funny in places as written on the page – in addition to the character’s bizarre semi-stoner accent – but with Cage in the role, this becomes a detailed, almost forensic analysis of a descent into insanity. As such, scenes that might have been played for laughs by a different performer – such as his conversations with a wall, his chasing of a pigeon, and his running through the streets with a wooden stake yelling “I’m a vampire!” actually become unsettling and heartbreaking at the same time.
