Vampire's Kiss / YMMV

Alternative Character Interpretation:
- The big question remains whether Peter Lowe is becoming a vampire at all or just having a psychotic break or both. Did he catch rabies from the bat that bit him? Was he suffering from severe mental illness before hand that his therapist didn't successfully diagnose? While the movie seems to lean toward Peter just going insane, it could really be the case he's become a vampire and is handling it badly. His rabid degeneration may also be due to guilt, reflecting that he is not cut out to become a monster.
  - Peter mentions looking through the files before Alva and that they were badly sorted. Could he have purposely disordered the files to keep Alva busy for his own sick amusement?
  - The way he stared at Alva's legs in her first scene implies that he'd been lusting after her for a while and wanted to create an opportunity to rape her. With Peter being a womaniser and Alva being his secretary, he probably saw her as a greater challenge than the girls he usually met through nightclubs.
  - There is a strong possibility he imagined Alva's brother killing him with a wooden stake, as a way to compensate for the horrible things he did to her.
- Is Peter's creator, Rachel, actually a vampire or a random woman that he met at a club one night? If she is a vampire, did she turn Peter because he was such a piece of crap that it was a Karmic Transformation or did she think he would make a good vampire only to be horrified that he handled it so poorly? Note that Peter has an encounter with her in his hallucinations before meeting her supposedly "real" persona in the same club. That might be excusable but they're wearing the same clothes.
Cult Classic: Didn't make money or score well in reviews, but it has a good number of fans, especially due to people discovering it because of Nicolas Cage. Cage has also frequently named as his favorite project as an actor.
Do Not Do This Cool Thing: Peter's got a cushy job, a plush apartment and gets to spend his nights going to trendy clubs filled with attractive women who'll sleep with him. He's also being driven mad by the pressure to maintain this lifestyle, but that's played for laughs so it's easy to overlook.
Esoteric Happy Ending: While it seems like Alva may have gained some justice in the end, she was still raped by someone with a very active sex life, meaning she could be pregnant or carrying an STD. Also, Peter was her employer and the only person who could have referred her, so with him gone, Alva is essentially redundant at work and will have to deal with unemployment for quite some time. If Peter's murder is ever traced back to Alva's brother, he will inevitably go to prison and Alva may be forced to follow him under charges of conspiracy. Unless if one interprets the ending that it was Peter's dying dream after killing himself, as a final way to atone for his actions and for Alva to get some sense of justice for what he did to her.
Funny Moments:
- A lot of Peter's random mood swings are like this. He's even funnier when he's being serious:
  Peter: I was a little drunk... plus I was horny.
- Peter's imaginary relationship with "Sharon", which turned out to be even shorter than his one-night stand relationships.
Ham and Cheese: Most of the movie's most memorable moments come from Nicolas Cage Chewing the Scenery, a compilation of which can be seen here.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- Given the overall theme of this movie, it seems oddly appropriate when considering the appearance of a Civil War–era photograph, unveiled in 2011, that looks eerily like Nicolas Cage.
- The movie's premise of Nicolas Cage thinking he's turning into a vampire is then when he was cast as not just a vampire, but the vampire in Renfield (2023).
Jerkass Woobie: Peter is a narcissistic horrible person who sexually harasses his assistant, brags to his therapist about his one night stands, and is a typical Reagan-era Yuppie. He becomes much worse when he becomes a vampire and sexually assaults a woman, murders another, and tries to justify it to his therapist. However, it's hard not to feel sorry for him with his desire to commit suicide, rapid mental degeneration, and clear psychotic break from reality. Vampire or no.
Memetic Mutation:
- The You Don't Say Rage Face. Note that he actually doesn't say that line.
- I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE! I'M A VAMPIRE!
- Peter screaming the alphabet.
- That's All You Have TO DO!
- TOO LATE TOO LATE TOO LATE TOO LATE!
- I NEVER MISFILED ANYTHING!! NOT ONCE, NOT ONE TIME!
Moral Event Horizon: Peter certainly crosses it when he rapes Alva.
Narm Charm: Peter's screaming rants and psychotic behavior might seem pretty narmy... until you've met someone in that state. Then it's creepy and/or heartbreaking.
Nightmare Fuel: While at times Peter's mental breakdown can come across as amusing, there are several times where it come across as extremely frightening. Specifically, at one point he goes to a nightclub in the midst of his psychosis, and bites a woman's neck, drinking her blood and killing her.
Squick: Nicolas Cage eating a cockroach. What's worse is that it's a real cockroach he ate, not some kind of edible replacement.
Watch It for the Meme: Every single line from Peter has gained memetic traction. The way he angrily recites the alphabet is probably the most famous one. Also, watching it to see where the "You don't say??" face comes from (and then gets disappointed that Peter didn't actually say the line).
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The movie tries to portray Peter as a Jerkass Woobie by showing that his cruelty stems from his loneliness and lack of genuine love in his life, on top being insane. However, he's such an asshole to Alva and nearly everyone around him that it's too hard to sympathize with him, especially when he rapes her. It's highly unlikely anyone would shed a tear when Alva's brother stakes him in the heart at the end of the movie.
The Woobie: Alva. Big time. She's belittled by her superior at every opportunity and can't afford to move out of her mother's house, with said mother pointing out that she can't afford to take a sick day. Peter gives Alva a Hope Spot, then immediately reneges and forces her to work overtime, which crescendos with Peter raping Alva.

YMMV / Vampire's Kiss

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