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A vampire film can be defined by such by the presence of, you guessed it, a vampire. What form said creature takes is another question. Dracula is a 180 turn from Edward Cullen, who is the total opposite of Nosferatu, who is nothing like Santanico Pandemonium, and so on. Centuries of vampiric lore give creators endless options to pick and choose when telling their own tale. Many of the things we see as requirements of vampirism — an aversion to sunlight, fangs — aren’t present in its most iconic stories. That gives “Vampire’s Kiss” a lot of leeway to define itself as a vampire film. Sometimes, vampirism is a metaphor. With Peter Loew, it often feels like an excuse.
It’s not uncommon to see vampirism as a stand-in for misogyny. So much of “Dracula” makes more sense when read as a dissection of Victorian-era puritanism and how it punishes women for defying the rigid status quo. With “Vampire’s Kiss,” Peter’s contempt for women is akin to derangement, something that has saturated the era and seems primed to explode at any moment. He treats every woman he comes across, from his therapist to his beleaguered secretary to the women he ditches after endless one-night stands, as prey. He cuts his neck while shaving but sees it as a bloodsucking attack from a mysterious seductress who pins him down and leaves him helpless. As he begins to modify his behavior to become more vampiric, including buying a set of plastic fangs that look hilariously cheap, it coincides with his increasing torment towards his secretary, Alva. Peter is so convinced of his vampirism when, in reality, he’s just a misogynist whose fear of women has left him isolated beyond hope. That’s a pretty nervy story for a 1980s dark comedy with the title “Vampire’s Kiss.” Clearly, Nic Cage knew that, and committed accordingly. This is the story of an apex predator who is terrified of losing his power, and it nails that frenetic panic with zeal. Look past the memes and descend into its thrall.
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