Vampire's Kiss (1988)

A literary agent (Nicolas Cage) is undergoing a mental breakdown that manifests itself under the delusion that he's been bitten by a vampire (Jennifer Beals, FLASHDANCE). But is it a delusion? This invigorating mixture of horror and comedy isn't everybody's cup of tea but I find it both stimulating and mind blowing. It's just so deranged and Cage's performance is brilliant! There's often a thin line separating a bad Cage performance from a good one and he really walks a fine line here, often threatening to go just too far but inevitably pushing it to the very edge without crossing over. There's something inherently creepy and off balance in Cage (he seems to be channeling Dwight Frye here) and in his best work, like LEAVING LAS VEGAS and this, he uses that creepiness to great effect. He's both genuinely scary and very funny. The loopy storyline has some inspired moments (reputedly Cage actually ate a live cockroach in one scene, it looked real to me) and witty dialog. Still, it has a small cult following though others are, understandably, turned off by it. Directed by Robert Bierman with a darkly atmospheric score by Colin Towns. With Elizabeth Ashley, Maria Conchita Alonso (the principal victim of Cage's sadism), Kasi Lemmons and Bob Lujan.