Sasha (Sara Montpetit) is a vampire with an aversion to murder and cruelty, much to her family’s mutual disappointment. Subsisting on blood packs, she refuses to kill for food. When her parents cut her off from her food supply it seems Sasha has no solution – until she meets a suicidal human teenager (Félix-Antoine Bénard) who actually wants to die.

Hiding behind an insufferably pretentious title is a whimsical and enormously charming comedy. I was very much taken with it, and I think a lot of potential viewers might be taken with it too. This Quebecor production marks the feature debut of writer/director Ariane Louis-Seize, and draws together a handful of clear and complementary influences. Part Jean-Pierre Jeunet and part Tim Burton, the film can be crassly but appropriately described as “Amélie starring Lydia Deetz”. It’s wonderfully funny, and exceptionally sweet, and uses the visual and narrative language of horror cinema more for allegory and metaphor than for frightening its audience.

That too is nothing new. Television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer made such allegories its bread and butter for seven years, often met with great success, and examined the various challenges and struggles of teen life through the comparative safety of the supernatural. Humanist Vampire does the same, and does it well, providing a blood-soaked sheen to problems of bullying, teen sex, and body image. It is blunt, but intentionally so: this is a rich, colourful delight that runs at a quick pace. Its eye is always trained on entertainment value.

One could go on forever, rattling off lists of possible inspirations and forerunners to Louis-Seize’s film, but the bottom line is that horror-comedy is a very crowded genre – particularly when it comes to vampires – and the mark of success for this kind of film is less what original ideas it finds and more how all of the pre-existing ones are remixed and reinvigorated.

Montpetit is pitch-perfect as the moody, withdrawn Sasha. Likewise Bénard finds a wonderfully nervous core as the suicidal Paul. A strong supporting cast fills up Sasha’s vampire family, including Steve Laplante, Sophie Cadieux, and Marie Brassard. Noémie O’Farrell is particularly good as Sasha’s bored cousin, who has a far more cynical and pragmatic approach to murder than the less experienced Sasha can manage.

To call a film a pastiche sometimes feels like diminishing it, but honestly we need to start appreciating the talent required to take well-known tropes and traditions and refresh them in new forms. Humanist Vampire is competent, clever stuff. It is immensely enjoyable, and well-deserving of an audience. As a debut feature it is particularly good, and promises a strong future for Ariane Louis-Seize. Only avoid it if you have decided there is already too much fun in your life.

Humanity Vampire Seeks Consenting Suicidal Person is screening in Australian cinemas from tomorrow, 14 February 2024.