Interview With the Vampire

The number of vampire movies created to date is incredible. From films based on the stories of Nosferatu and Dracula, to Camilla and Bathory, (and let’s not forget the Twilight series) vampires have enthralled audiences for years. There’s something fascinating about a creature of the night, immortal, surviving only on the life-blood of the living. Vampires are dark and sensual beings, some would even argue they’re akin to gods. But movies, and vampires, are just stories. Vampires don’t exist, to most of us.

In 1994 a movie was released, based on a 1976 novel by author Anne Rice. The movie is Interview With the Vampire, and chronicles the story of the vampire Lestat, and Louis, the man he transformed into a vampire in 1791. The film, directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, The End of the Affair), was given a $70 million budget, which for a vampire movie, was unprecedented at the time. “It’s not very often you can make a complicated, dark, dangerous movie and get a big budget for it. Vampire movies were traditionally made at the lower end of the scale, on a shoestring, on rudimentary sets. David Geffen is very powerful and he poured money into Interview. I wanted to make it on an epic scale of something like Gone with the Wind“.

The movie was a box-office success. Opening on November 11, 1994, it grossed $36.4 million during its opening weekend, and earned it the number 1 spot in the US box office. For one viewer the film had quite the impact.

Daniel Sterlin, 25, took his girlfriend Lisa Stellwagen, 23, to see Interview With the Vampire on November 17, 1994. The next morning, at about 3am, Lisa woke up to find Daniel staring at her. When she asked him what was wrong, he replied, “I’m going to kill you and drink your blood.” Later that day he did, in fact, stab her with a serrated dagger, nine times in the chest and back.

Lisa survived after having suffered severe blood loss, and spending two weeks in the hospital. Daniel was arrested. In an interview with The San Francisco Chronicle, he claimed his innocence, but added, “I was influenced by the movie. I enjoyed the movie. But I cannot sit here and blame the movie.”

Daniel’s mental health was evaluated, and was found to be highly suggestible and manic depressive. He was a troubled man since the age of 10, when his mother committed suicide, but, his history of mental illness did not save him.

Daniel’s attorney, Teresa Caffese, argued that due to his mental state, he did not have any intent to kill or maim his girlfriend. This lack of intent would remove the possibility of him being charged for first degree murder and aggravated mayhem. “The client clearly is mentally ill. The evidence showed that he was, in fact, delusional.”

The prosecutor, Susan Breall, portrayed him as being calculated and controlling. She argued that Daniel had become enraged after Lisa had gone out with another man, and thus stabbed her out of vengeance.

The jury didn’t take long to deliver a verdict. Daniel Sterling was found guilty of attempted first degree murder, aggravated mayhem, mayhem, battery, assault, and domestic violence. “He knew what he was doing, he was in possession of his faculties,” said Dina Dimopoulos, jury forewoman. “It was an obvious case of domestic violence.” Regarding the vampire defense, she added, “It had nothing to do with it. It might have given him more impetus to suck her blood, but it didn’t have anything to do with the crime.”

Did Interview With the Vampire truly inspire Daniel Sterling to try and kill his girlfriend? Was he mentally ill, and thus not in control of his actions? Or was this just another case of domestic violence?