Occultism in Horror Movie - Research Paper Example

Horror Movie Horror movies and occultism play a significant role in elucidating mysteries in the society. The film Interview with the Vampire by Neil Jordan depicts the story of Louis’ journey from mortal life to immortality. Louis narrates how he was indoctrinated into vampire life by Lestat after facing a life full of regrets and desperation. Suffice to say, Louis does not fully approve the vampire way of life and often shows a humane behavior. In a crucial moment, Louis makes the young Claudia to be a vampire out of pity and genuine concern for her suffering. Later on in the film, Claudia convinces Louis to join her efforts to kill Lestat, whom they both hate. After the attempts to kill Lestat fail, Louis and Claudia set off halfway across the world in search of their own kind. In France, they find other vampires in the underworld and they join this group led by vampire Armand who has feelings of intimacy to Louis. Their stay turns tragic when the vampires in Paris kill Claudia and Louis is saved from death by Armand. Louis, Lestat and Claudia have different characters which were influenced by time, self personality and other external factors. Louis The past life of Louis as a mortal played a significant role in determining his character. Prior to becoming a vampire, Louis’s wife had died during childbirth. Louis was terribly affected by the death of his wife and he became desperate to an extent of wishing to die. In one instance, Louis narrates that his wife and infant had been buried less than a half year before he became a vampire. Louis says that “I would have been happy to join them. I couldn’t bear the pain of their loss. I longed to be released from it” (Interview with the Vampire). It is imperative that Louis genuinely loved his wife and newborn child. Suffice to say, Louis was also caring enough given the fact that he was felt a strong connection to his family. From Louis’ narration, it is evident that he had loving self personality. Suffice to say, his loving nature as a mortal is replicated in the relationship that he forms with Claudia as a vampire. In his mortal form, Louis was a kind person. He interacts with his slave Yvette in a respectful way without disregarding her as it would be expected of a slave to a master. After becoming a vampire, Louis exercises great restraint to prevent himself from the temptation of killing Yvette. When Yvette offers Louis food and expresses her concern about his wellbeing, Louis fights the instinctive vampire urge to kill her and drink her blood. He dismisses her from the dinner table saying “I’ll finish it, Yvette. Now leave us.” (Interview with the Vampire).. However, he managed to suppress that urge and spared her life due to his self personality. In retrospect, it can be argued that Louis was a kind person who valued the lives of other people irrespective of their position in the society. The influence of vampire Lestat and vampire Claudia on Louis’s character cannot be understated. After becoming a vampire, Louis resisted the counsel of Lestat as it was against his will. Lestat encourages Louis kill human beings instead of feeding on animals such as rats and chicken. Lestat castigates him for his choice of food by stating that the chickens would eventually run out and he would be forced to seek other sources of food. Despite the pressure from Lestat, Louis manages to hold on to his convictions albeit for some time. However, it is notable that Louis was greatly influenced by the Lestat’s ideas. When he kills the slave girl Yvette, Louis indicates that he felt real peace when he killed. Louis indicates that Lestat’s words made sense to him since he was able to feel at ease when he killed a human being. This implies that the behavior and advice of Lestat influenced Louis’ character to a certain extent. At one point, Louis says that “Her blood coursed through my veins sweeter than life itself” (Interview with the Vampire). It was not in Louis nature to kill human beings, let alone derive extreme pleasure from such an action. However, Lestat’s character rubbed off on Louis and influenced him to appreciate killing human beings as a source of peace in his life as a vampire. The passage of time influenced Louis’ character and behavior as a vampire. During the early periods of Louis’ vampire life, his behavior was greatly humane. Louis did not like to kill human beings for blood and instead opted to kill animals such as chicken and rats. In multiple instances, Louis showed genuine compassion and concern for the victims of Lestat’s thirst for blood. Even other vampires noted Louis humanity, with Armande pointing out that his humane character is what made him beautiful. When Lestat asks Louis to join him in killing French people visiting New Orleans saying “We can try some French cuisine”, Louis replies saying “Forgive me if I have some lingering respect for mortal life”(Interview with the Vampire). However, this changes later on in the story as Louis confesses that although he was flesh and blood, his humanity ceased to exist two hundred years ago (Interview with the Vampire). Louis also defends himself in regards to eating rats by telling Claudia that “It was a long long time ago and I don’t recommend them” (Interview with the Vampire). When Louis killed Madeleine to convert her to a vampire, he notes that what died that night was not Madeleine but his last bit of being human. Further, Louis became accustomed to blood as a necessity after becoming a vampire when he realized that he could not suppress the desire for blood. Time also influenced Louis’ desire to learn more about his own, the vampires. One of the core reasons why he left New Orleans was to look for his own kind around the world. This implies that he had gained some sense of belonging to the community of vampires. Louis says that after searching in vain for his own kind, it was the vampires who finally found him. Suffice to say, he tells Armand that he was capable of learning on his own on how to live without regrets. It is imperative that Louis had come to learn that he had committed some terrible deeds that he could not reverse and he had to live with that reality. Louis experienced a lot regrets during his life as a vampire. He remembered vividly the last sunrise that he saw as a mortal and longed for the time that he would be able to see it again. During their voyages in the sea, Louis indicates that he wanted to see the waters in their blue color but they were black night time waters. He goes ahead to say that he suffered straining to recall the color that he took for granted during his youth. In the last parts of the film, Louis indicates that he lacks a purpose and conviction to go on with his life. He states that he merely goes on night after night, feeding on those who cross his path. It is notable that with the passage of time, Louis was still unable to shed off the memories of his wife. Suffice to say, even as a vampire he still had nostalgic feelings in regards to his wife and mortal life. Lestat Lestat is a antagonist on the film, Interview with the Vampire. Having been a vampire for several hundreds of years, Lestat has come to terms with the reality that killing human beings is inevitable for survival. Due to this, Lestat has perfected the art of being a cold blood killer with no remorse. In fact, Lestat seems to have become so accustomed to killing that he took as kind of sport. In various instances he makes casual remarks in regards to killing that imply he as little regard for human life. When the Yvette expresses concern for Louis’ wellbeing and hunger for food, Lestat remarks casually that Louis was so hungry he could eat the whole colony (Interview with the Vampire). Lestat’s cold blooded nature is also depicted when he says “evil is a point of view” and that the vampires’ indiscriminate killings were unlike the actions of God himself (Interview with the Vampire). Over time, Lestat has perfected his killing skills by not thinking about the victim and taking the action of killing as a basic necessity of vampire life. It is also evident that the influence of other characters such as Louis and Claudia had an impact on the character of Lestat. It is imperative to note that Lestat had a cold and selfish personality. In most instances, his actions did not take into consideration the interests of human beings and other vampires. However, vampire Louis and Claudia have a tremendous impact on the character of Lestat. Lestat has a soft spot for Louis, so much so that he gives him the benefit of doubt even in situations where they have conflicting ideas. Lestat states that he was giving Louis the choice that he never had. Suffice to say, Lestat had developed an intimate liking for Louis which made him adopt a more reconciliatory approach to issues. For instance, Lestat accepted Louis’ preference of rats and animals instead of killing human beings. Yet, he accepted Louis’ choice even though he was of the contrary opinion. Further, it is imperative that Lestat was intimately attracted to Louis that made him to feel the urge to protect and care for him. He allows Louis to feed on whatever he wanted to, noting that life without him would be even more unbearable for Louis. Lestat also adopts a father-daughter like relationship with Claudia. Incidentally, Lestat’s motivation for converting Claudia into a vampire was to make Louis stay. He tells Claudia that “You see, Louis was going to leave us, he was going to go away, but now he is not” (Interview with the Vampire). Lestat was a schemer who calculated his moves in a strategic way to achieve his interests. He was intimately attracted to Louis and he longed to be with him although they were drifting apart ideologically. Thus, Lestat used Claudia to make Louis stay and the trio made up “one happy family” (Interview with the Vampire). During the early stages of Claudia’s vampire life, Lestat takes it upon himself to nurture her as a father would to his child. He teaches her the nitty-gritty aspects of vampire life such as the amount of blood to drunk from a human being and when to stop. At one point, Lestat castigates Claudia for her unbecoming behavior and reminded her of the conduct expected of her. These instances point out that Lestat’s character was greatly influenced by Louis and Claudia. Lestat changed his behavior in a considerable manner to suit the dynamics of his new found “family”. Perhaps, having Claudia and Louis on his side was the closest that he had ever come to having a family and people that he was genuinely concerned about. The passage of time impacted significantly on Lestat’s character. According to the film, it is notable that Lestat had perfected his hunting techniques to a point of being artistic. As` Louis indicates, Lestat killed two or three people per a night, starting with fresh young girl. Lestat preferred a gilded beautiful youth as the second kill and rounded up his night with the blood of aristocrat which thrilled him best of all (Interview with the Vampire). Lestat also notes that “evildoers are easier, they taste better” (Interview with the Vampire). This clearly indicate that Lestat had mastered the art of killing human beings to an extent that became almost second nature to him. He killed his prey in a dramatic manner, portraying the invincibility of a true vampire.Thus, it is imperative that Lestat’s character was influenced by his self personality as well as the influence of others in the course of his life. Lestat is the predominant antagonist in the film and his character portrays the behavior of a vampire without remorse. Even though Lestat is a cold blooded killer by nature, the influence of Louis and Claudia plays a significant role in softening him. Claudia Claudia was transformed into a vampire when she was only five years old. Claudia’s mother had died during the plague and Louis found her sobbing next to her dead mother. Due to pity, Louis decided to kill her in order to spare her the atrocities of life that lay ahead. However, Lestat finds Louis in the action and cajoles him regarding his choice to drink the blood of a child. Lestat realizes that Louis has genuine concern for Claudia and he opts to transform Claudia into a daughter that can bind the two of them together. Suffice to say, Claudia does not have any say at all in regards to her transformation from mortal to vampire since she was a kid. In the early stages of her life as a vampire, Claudia portrays an innocent character. She innocently drinks the blood of human being to quench her thirst and even demands for more. It is her crude instinct to kill that makes coupled with innocence that makes Lestat to be drawn to her. She willingly adheres to the counsel of Lestat as he teaches her the fine details of being a vampire. It is imperative to note that Claudia enthusiastically adapts to the life of being a vampire without questioning anything. Louis notes that although Claudia was a child, she had become a lethal killer. Even at her early years, Claudia was capable of ruthlessly pursuing blood with the persistence of a child. With the passage of time, Claudia questions Louis in regards to who made her to be a vampire. Louis narrates how it happened and Claudia declares that she hates them both. It is notable that Claudia became vengeful as the years passed. She blamed Louis and Lestat for condemning her to a child’s body. At one point, she throws a tantrum by declining the numerous toys that she had been given as presents for her birthdays. Claudia is full of regrets as she wishes she would have been able to grow up into a woman like other normal people. The truth sinks in that she would never grow up to become woman and she blames her woes on Lestat. In the film, Claudia also showcases a manipulative character. She draws Louis to her said by noting that in as much as she hated him, he was still her love. She alludes to the fact she is forever indebted to Louis since he was the one who gave her the immortal kiss. She then convinces Louis to join in her nefarious plot to murder Lestat. Fully aware that they could not match Lestat’s strength and skills in a direct fight, Claudia comes up with an ingenuous plan to poison Lestat. The plan succeeds although Lestat makes it back after being dumped in a swamp. Claudia’s manipulation comes into play again in Paris when he convinces Louis to make a companion for her. Although Louis is at first reluctant to transform Madeleine into a vampire, Claudia skillfully manipulates him until he accepts (Interview with the Vampire). It is also evident that the passage of time makes Claudia to be an intelligent schemer with the willpower to pursue whatever she wanted to attain. After falling out with Lestat, she devises a plan to kill him by poisoning. She schemes to have Louis on her side since she could not manage to kill and dispose Lestat alone. When she realizes that Armand was making advances to woo Louis, she acts swiftly to find herself a companion. Suffice to say, she is not discouraged when Louis refuses to transform Madeleine into a vampire at first. Instead, she persists in persuading Louis until he gives in to her demands. Claudia’s persistence and intelligence were necessary to enable her survive as a vampire. Works Cited Interview with the Vampire. Dir. Neil Jordan. Pine wood Studios, 1994. Film. Read More