Free Great Movies Review

Vampire's Kiss (1988) demands to be seen for one reason only: Nicolas Cage. In certain early performances of Nic Cage, it seems that he was allowed to make whatever acting choices he wanted to, and Vampire's Kiss is one of those crazy performances (his hilariously strange performance in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) is another one that demands viewing). In Vampire's Kiss, Cage plays Peter Loew, an unlikable New York City literary agent who goes on drunken one-night stands. It would not be surprising if Christian Bale studied Cage's narcissistic yuppie performance for his role as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho (2000). In some strange 1980s New York universe, Peter Loew and Patrick Bateman would've made great friends.

At a certain point, Loew goes to bed with the seductive vampiress Rachel (Jennifer Beals), and he gets hooked on having his blood sucked. After these exchanges, Cage's daytime behavior at work grows increasingly erratic as he repeatedly yells at his secretary, Alva (Maria Conchita Alonso). The rest of the film is basically a slow descent into blood-sucking madness for Peter Loew. While that doesn't sound like much of a plot, Cage's performance is so manic and unpredictable that you can't take your eyes off him. Joseph Minion wrote the script as the follow-up to his fine screenplay for Martin Scorsese's After Hours (1985). But the Vampire's Kiss script doesn't provide much in terms of story, and without Nicolas Cage breathing his surreal life into the movie, it would've been dead on arrival. For Nicolas Cage fans, this is a must-see!