Interview with the Vampire [Blu-ray]

The undead are among us and livelier than ever when Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and a talented group of young-bloods star in Interview with the Vampire, the spellbinding screen adaptation of Anne Rice's best seller that's "one the best films of the year" (Caryn James, The New York Times). Award-winning box-office favorite Cruise stylishly plays the supremely evil and charismatic vampire Lestat. Pitt is Louis, lured by Lestat into the immortality of the damned, then tormented by an unalterable fact of vampire life: to survive, he must kill. Stephen Rea, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater and newcomer Kirsten Dunst also star. One lifetime alone offers plenty of opportunities for the savage revelries of the night. Imagine what an eternity can bring. Hypnotically directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), Interview with the Vampire offers enough thrills, shocks and fiendish fun to last a lifetime...and beyond.

When it was announced that Tom Cruise would play the vampire Lestat in this adaptation of Anne Rice's bestselling novel, even Rice chimed in with a highly publicized objection. The author wisely and justifiably recanted her negative opinion when she saw Cruise's excellent performance, which perceptively addresses the pain and chronic melancholy that plagues anyone cursed with immortal bloodlust. Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst are equally good at maintaining the dark and brooding tone of Rice's novel. And in this rare mainstream project for a major studio, director Neil Jordan compensates for a lumbering plot by honoring the literate, Romantic qualities of Rice's screenplay. Considered a disappointment while being embraced by Rice's loyal followers, the movie is too slow to be a satisfying thriller, but it is definitely one of the most lavish, intelligent horror films ever made. --Jeff Shannon