***SPOILER ALERT*** Obnoxious and so full of himself yuppie literary agent Peter Lowe, Nicolas Cage, gets all that's coming to him in this both hilarious and tragic back comedy about vampires and abusive and manic depressive personality's in New York City circa 1989.
Not being wrapped too tight to begin with Peter after standing up his girlfriend Jackie, Kasi Lemmons, lets his both hair and guard down when he goes out to dance the night away at a Manhattan disco club. It just happens that Peter meets this really hot and sexy chick Rachel, Jennifer Beals, who before he can evaluate the situation, in why Rachel is so hung up on him, the two end up in bed together in his East 19th Street, what's known as Yuppieville, Manhattan bachelor pad. During a night of hot and heavy action Rachel puts the hurt, or bite, on an unsuspecting Peter that would later drive the confused young man to the brink of insanity and beyond.
Peter soon starts to feel that he's been turned into a blood-sucking vampire by Rachael and starts to act accordingly. It's also during that time in Peter's work as a literary agent that he starts to take his fears and frustrations out at his loyal and hard working secretary Alva, Maria Conchita Alonso. Being the arrogant and uncouth lout that he is Peter drives the poor secretary almost to a nervous breakdown in finding this obscure short story title "Rattlesnake Hills". The missing and very "important" short story is in fact of no importance to anyone! Even the person, or client, whom a very concerned Peter claims so desperately wants it. Peter uses it all throughout the movie to harass and browbeat Alva to the point where she can't come to work anymore!
As Peter becomes more and more erratic he seeks help from his psychiatrist Dr. Glaser, Elizabeth Ashley, who in thinking that he's just oversexed and suffering from burn out completely overlooks the danger signs that he's giving off. Without help Peter disintegrates into his own personal hell mimicking a real life, or fictional, vampire. Peter goes so far as both eating live roaches and pigeons as well as murdering a women who foolishly at first lets him fondle her and then rejects his advances.
It's Peter's abuse of poor Alva that in fact leads to his end with her car mechanic brother Emilio, Bob Lujan, coming to her aid. By then Peter was so screwed up and suicidal that a shocked Emilio, in seeing the total dump that Peter lived in, didn't need to do that much to do him it. In fact it was Peter himself who more then aided Emilio in putting himself out of his own misery.
One of Nicolas Cage's best and at the same time most underrated performance. Despite the movies black comedy theme Peter was a man suffering from real and severe mental problems that drove him to both murder and suicide. It was really cruel and very unprofessional, as she liked to claim that she is, for Peter's psychiatrist Dr. Glaser to break up and laugh at his pressing problems that in fact tipped Peter over the edge. Dr. Glaser was the only hope, or life line, that Peter had left ad she failed him with flying colors.
Not being wrapped too tight to begin with Peter after standing up his girlfriend Jackie, Kasi Lemmons, lets his both hair and guard down when he goes out to dance the night away at a Manhattan disco club. It just happens that Peter meets this really hot and sexy chick Rachel, Jennifer Beals, who before he can evaluate the situation, in why Rachel is so hung up on him, the two end up in bed together in his East 19th Street, what's known as Yuppieville, Manhattan bachelor pad. During a night of hot and heavy action Rachel puts the hurt, or bite, on an unsuspecting Peter that would later drive the confused young man to the brink of insanity and beyond.
Peter soon starts to feel that he's been turned into a blood-sucking vampire by Rachael and starts to act accordingly. It's also during that time in Peter's work as a literary agent that he starts to take his fears and frustrations out at his loyal and hard working secretary Alva, Maria Conchita Alonso. Being the arrogant and uncouth lout that he is Peter drives the poor secretary almost to a nervous breakdown in finding this obscure short story title "Rattlesnake Hills". The missing and very "important" short story is in fact of no importance to anyone! Even the person, or client, whom a very concerned Peter claims so desperately wants it. Peter uses it all throughout the movie to harass and browbeat Alva to the point where she can't come to work anymore!
As Peter becomes more and more erratic he seeks help from his psychiatrist Dr. Glaser, Elizabeth Ashley, who in thinking that he's just oversexed and suffering from burn out completely overlooks the danger signs that he's giving off. Without help Peter disintegrates into his own personal hell mimicking a real life, or fictional, vampire. Peter goes so far as both eating live roaches and pigeons as well as murdering a women who foolishly at first lets him fondle her and then rejects his advances.
It's Peter's abuse of poor Alva that in fact leads to his end with her car mechanic brother Emilio, Bob Lujan, coming to her aid. By then Peter was so screwed up and suicidal that a shocked Emilio, in seeing the total dump that Peter lived in, didn't need to do that much to do him it. In fact it was Peter himself who more then aided Emilio in putting himself out of his own misery.
One of Nicolas Cage's best and at the same time most underrated performance. Despite the movies black comedy theme Peter was a man suffering from real and severe mental problems that drove him to both murder and suicide. It was really cruel and very unprofessional, as she liked to claim that she is, for Peter's psychiatrist Dr. Glaser to break up and laugh at his pressing problems that in fact tipped Peter over the edge. Dr. Glaser was the only hope, or life line, that Peter had left ad she failed him with flying colors.