ABSTRACT
A symptom both allows the expression of an unconscious desire and only reveals this desire in hidden form. This chapter suggests that interpretation of the film wherein this domestic plot is the central psychological drama of the film, and the vampire plot functions as a space of fantasy and as the unconscious symptom for Sam’s triangle. The symptomatic or dialectical aspect of the reading began for me with the principle of excising Michael’s plot and looking for the moments that Michael, or the fantastical elements of his plot, were mentioned, or had an effect on Sam’s plot. A symptom is also an expression of the need for punishment, in which castration anxiety is avoided by the impulses that are tied to anxiety-producing interactions being turned against the self. The chapter explains stress that after doing the symptom reading a few times it is surprising how apparent the narrative links between the symptom and ego character in images really is.
