'' is an
American Dark Comedy film released in
1989 . It was written by
Joseph Minion , who also penned
Martin Scorsese 's darkly humorous
After Hours , and stars actors
Nicolas Cage ,
Maria Conchita Alonso ,
Jennifer Beals and
Elizabeth Ashley .
Seduction. Romance. Murder. The things one does for love.
The title might make the viewer expect a
Vampire story, but ''Vampire's Kiss'' is not that kind of movie. It is the story of Peter Loew (Nicolas Cage), a driven
Yuppie Literary Agent , who is slowly but inexorably going
Insane .
Loew plays the consummate businessman by day, and
Club Hops by night, with little in his life of any importance but
One Night Stand s and the pursuit of money and prestige.
As the film opens, Loew tells his therapist (Ashley), whom he sees frequently, about his latest sexual conquest. During these sessions at the
Psychiatrist's office, the watcher is first introduced to Loew's declining
Mental Health through a series of increasingly bizarre rants that eventually begin to scare even his psychiatrist.
At home, Loew's fits of rage gradually reduce his
Apartment to shambles. Throughout the movie the apartment's decline
Mirrors the
Protagonist 's own increasingly chaotic mental state. In one scene, perhaps the film's most infamous, Loew catches and eats a
Cockroach in his apartment.
Early in ''Vampire's Kiss'', Loew meets Rachel
Jennifer Beals at a
Night Club , and takes her home. It is never made clear whether Rachel is a real person or solely a figment of Loew's deranged mind, but she pins him down, reveals vampiric fangs, and "feeds" on him. Soon thererafter, Loew begins to believe that he is changing into a vampire. He stares into a bathroom mirror and fails to see his reflection, even though the viewer can clearly see it in a side mirror; he wears dark sunglasses during the day; and, when his "fangs" fail to develop, he purchases a pair of cheap plastic vampire teeth and uses them to attack a woman at a nightclub.
All the while, he has hallucinations about his sexy vampire girlfriend, Rachel, who visits him nightly to feed on his blood.
A subplot concerns a
Secretary working at Loew's office, Alva Restrepo (Maria Conchita Alonso). In the hope that Alva will kill him, thus ending his mental turmoil, Loew torments her by forcing her to search through an enormous file for a 1963 contract. When she fails to find the contract, he at first browbeats and humiliates her, then visits her home when she calls in sick to avoid him, and finally attacks and (possibly) rapes her. The movie spends some time showing a small slice of the lives of the
Working Poor Immigrant through Alva's character.
At the film's conclusion, Loew is so far gone he is one of
New York City 's walking crazies; wandering the streets in a blood-spattered business suit, talking to himself, and using his now disastrous apartment as a vampire's cave where he hides from the sun by crawling under an upturned sofa. He may have murdered someone the night before, and he may have raped his secretary: although he mentions both "achievements" to his therapist, who isn't really present, Loew has by this time become so deranged that it's difficult for the viewer to separate fantasy from reality. Alva, however, also believes she's been raped, and the film ends with Loew's fitting yet curiously pitiful death at the hands of her brother.
- The original script called for Cage's character to eat raw eggs. Not believing this to be shocking enough, Cage suggested cockroaches. He later felt sorry for them.
- Cage actually ate two cockroaches for the film, as the scene reportedly required two takes.
- Cage's strange, quasi-English accent seems to come and go through the film, and this was deliberate. According to the IMDB , Cage decided the character would affect an accent to seem more intelligent and refined. This was during a time when Cage was making a name for himself with performances that often featured strange voices, such as his raspy voice in '' Peggy Sue Got Married '' and his Elvis impression in '' Wild At Heart ''.
- There's a picture of Czech existentialist writer Franz Kafka at Loew's office. The movie certantly has Kafkaesque undertones.
- Loew's fireplace, with a small clock placed on top, is reminiscent of the one in René Magritte 's painting ''La Durée Poignardé'' or ''Time Transfixed''.
- The band Say Hi To Your Mom referenced the movie in their song "Poor Pete is A Bit Self-Conscious" on the album ''Ferocious Mopes''.
- Nicolas Cage .... Peter Loew
- Maria Conchita Alonso .... Alva Restrepo
- Jennifer Beals .... Rachel
- Elizabeth Ashley .... Dr. Glaser
- Kasi Lemmons .... Jackie
- Bob Lujan .... Emilio
- Jessica Lundy .... Sharon
- Johnny Walker .... Donald
- Boris Leskin .... Fantasy Cabbie
- Michael Knowles .... Andrew
- John Michael Higgins .... Ed
- Jodie Markell .... Joke Girl
- Marc Coppola .... Joke Guy
- David Hyde Pierce .... Theater Guy (as David Pierce)
- Amy Stiller .... Theater Girl
- Helen Lloyd Breed .... Secretary in Ladies Room
- Sol Echeverría .... Alva's Mother
- Jill Gatsby .... Victim Girl
- Rex Robbins .... Sidney Langdon
- Robert Dorfman .... Editor #3
- William De Acutis .... Editor #2
- David Holbrook .... Editor #1
- Yanni Sfinias .... Cursing Cabbie (as Yanni Sfinnias)
- Rogerio Triandade .... Dr. Glazer's Lover
- Robyn Knoll .... Friday Secretary
- Jorgen Schiott .... Coffin Bystander
- Christopher Sluka .... Hanger Out
- Stephen Chen .... Fang Vendor
- Jennifer Butt .... Marriage Girl #2
- Jennifer Spinner .... Marriage Girl #1
- Paul Sansone .... Waiter
- Cheryl Henry .... Judy
- Herschel Rosen .... Man in Diner
- Phil Ballou .... Black Crooner
- Reggie Rock Bythewood .... Church Bystander (scenes deleted)
- Mark Oates .... Apache Dancer
- John Epperson .... Apache Dancer
- Jerry Rector .... Larry
- Pamela Dean Kelly .... Bar Girl
- Jonathon Gentry .... Boy
- Renee Scroggins .... Band Member
- Helen Scroggins .... Band Member
- Valerie Jean Scroggins .... Band Member
- David Miles .... Band Member
- Jacques Sandulescu .... Ukrainian (as Jacques Sandlescu)
- Scott Pastore .... Bouncer (uncredited)
- Debbie Rochon .... Bar Girl #2 (uncredited)
