There's a phrase for movies that have a built-in audience, films that are going to be wildly popular and send ticket sales soaring through the box office roof regardless of cinematic merits. Such movies are referred to as "critic-proof."

In other words, it doesn't matter one whit what reviews say about such movies, they are going to be hits anyway. And such is the case with "Interview With the Vampire," thanks to the enormous popularity of Anne Rice's best-selling novel and its subsequent sequels.

And the film is, in general, rather faithful to the book . . . although, to no one's surprise, the character of Lestat has been toyed with.

Anne Rice wrote the screenplay and Neil Jordan, who shot to fame with "The Crying Game," directed. And let's just say that "subtle" is not in their vocabulary.

The premise is intriguing, of course. A modern-day vampire named Louis (Brad Pitt) is in San Francisco when he encounters a free-lance journalist named Malloy (Christian Slater), and instead of sucking his blood, decides to give him a story. And the first portion of the film fulfills its promise, as Louis relates his second life, after he became a vampire.

"I am flesh and blood - but not human," Louis explains. "I haven't been human for 200 years."

The film then flashes back to 1791 New Orleans, where Louis is the master of a large plantation and is mourning the death of his wife and child. He's suicidal when Lestat stumbles upon him, and he's given a choice - death or eternal life. Eternal life with a price, of course.

In a stupor, Louis chooses the night life and "lives" to regret it. As the film progresses, we learn that he is too sensitive and thoughtful to be a predator. He regrets taking human lives, yet is drawn to the nourishing blood that sustains him.

Lestat, meanwhile, is more of an animal. A dark, cynical figure with a biting sense of humor, and he and Louis clash as often as they work in tandem to stay one step ahead of the "stupid mortals" on whom they feed.

Eventually, Louis takes a bite out of 12-year-old Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), whose mother has died of the plague. But Lestat turns her into a vampire, as a companion for Louis, little realizing the frustration the child will feel being unable to grow into adulthood.

A conflict ensues, which eventually leads to Lestat's seeming downfall and sends Louis and Claudia on a search around the world for their vampire roots.