Though I haven’t seen the Twilight series of films, I know enough about them to consider Kiss of the Damned a welcome addition to the current Vampire revival -- gone is any sense of stolid purity or virginity, and in its place is a sexy, modern Gothic vampire tale, written and directed by Xan Cassavetes.
KOTD is a film I consider a great representation of the underlying symbolism of vampirism. The act of sucking blood, one’s life-force, from another person in the hope of immortality has been used throughout history as a direct symbol of sexuality and sex. And in that spirit, Xan has created an absorbing Euro-style throwback thriller, story of familial drama and lustful romance, set between a stunning gothic mansion in the countryside of Connecticut and the darkened streets of New York City. The older, more mature sister Djuna (Joséphine de La Baume) has just started a relationship with a young human, Paolo (played by Milo Ventimiglia) when her wild freewheeling sister Mimi (played by Roxane Mesquida) arrives unannounced.
KOTD is a film I consider a great representation of the underlying symbolism of vampirism. The act of sucking blood, one’s life-force, from another person in the hope of immortality has been used throughout history as a direct symbol of sexuality and sex. And in that spirit, Xan has created an absorbing Euro-style throwback thriller, story of familial drama and lustful romance, set between a stunning gothic mansion in the countryside of Connecticut and the darkened streets of New York City. The older, more mature sister Djuna (Joséphine de La Baume) has just started a relationship with a young human, Paolo (played by Milo Ventimiglia) when her wild freewheeling sister Mimi (played by Roxane Mesquida) arrives unannounced.
Filmmaker Xan Cassavetes
The two sisters have different ideas of how a modern vampire should live, and so they go at it throughout the film, Djuna trying to live a proper (and under the radar) life while Mimi runs amok, commuting back and forth to NYC, feeding herself with many victims along the way while simultaneously ruining the life her sister has created for herself. We even delve into the private society of the vampires of NYC, with a wonderful appearance by actress Anna Magoulis playing Xenia, a high society vampire who seems to be the mother hen of the two sisters, doling out advice and orchestrating private events for the secret society.
The film is lensed with a very specific tone and feel – it’s gorgeous and dreamy, but has a sort of sad melancholy to it, the imposing mansion in the field seeming to reinforce Djuna’s self-imposed seclusion. Alternately, Mimi’s character is reflected in her trips to NYC’s gritty, claustrophobic, underground clubs. Their contrasting ideas about life are made clear from the start.
While there is certainly a lot of blood, there isn’t as much gore and violence as a modern-day American horror audience would expect, which I think is a good thing. Instead, the film expands beyond the vampire stereotypes to show a more personal perspective, focusing not only on the primary goal of their survival but of navigating that survival through family and lovers and such.
You shouldn’t be dissuaded by the seemingly straightforward story though -- Xan’s unique style of storytelling and how she chose to visually represent it are quite engaging (as is the heaping spoonful of eye candy, both male and female, in this film which will surely keep your attention if nothing else does.)
The film is lensed with a very specific tone and feel – it’s gorgeous and dreamy, but has a sort of sad melancholy to it, the imposing mansion in the field seeming to reinforce Djuna’s self-imposed seclusion. Alternately, Mimi’s character is reflected in her trips to NYC’s gritty, claustrophobic, underground clubs. Their contrasting ideas about life are made clear from the start.
While there is certainly a lot of blood, there isn’t as much gore and violence as a modern-day American horror audience would expect, which I think is a good thing. Instead, the film expands beyond the vampire stereotypes to show a more personal perspective, focusing not only on the primary goal of their survival but of navigating that survival through family and lovers and such.
You shouldn’t be dissuaded by the seemingly straightforward story though -- Xan’s unique style of storytelling and how she chose to visually represent it are quite engaging (as is the heaping spoonful of eye candy, both male and female, in this film which will surely keep your attention if nothing else does.)
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