Since the publication of Bram Stokers Dracula in 1897, vampires have been a nearly constant object of pop-cultural fascination, with each creator putting their own stamp on thecondition? Affliction? Lifestyle? Vampires can be monstrous, as in The Strain. They can be sexy, as in True Blood, Twilight, The Vampire Diaries. They can be funny, as in What We Do in the Shadows. They can even be cute, as in Monster High, a toy line/upcoming live-action kids movie on Nickelodeon and Paramount+. AMCs Interview With the Vampire series, which premieres October 2, reminds us of what many romantic versions of vampire life decorously keep off-screen: vampires can be psychopaths.
Adapted by Rolin Jones (HBOs Perry Mason) from Anne Rices book series, the show revolves around titular vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson). In 1973, we are told, he met up with journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) to tell his story. Nearly 50 years later, Molloywhos entered the online-master-class phase of his writing careerreceives a surprise delivery of the original cassette tapes: Louis still lives (or lives), and wants to revisit their collaboration. Molloy travels to Louiss lavish Dubai apartment to interview him again, and learns that since the last time they spoke, Louiss opinion of his sire, Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid), have evolved.
Whereas the book (and the 1994 movie based on it) place Lestat and Louiss first meeting in 1791, the show introduces us to still-human Louis in 1910. The setting remains New Orleans, though this Louis is no longer a widower whose wife and child did not survive labor (as in the movie, book Louis is mourning the death of his brother); nor is he a plantation owner with dozens of enslaved laborers; nor is he white. The Louis of the show is a Black Creole red-light proprietor who operates several sporting houses in Storyville, the citys red-light district. One night, a recently arrived Lestat sees Louis capably (and violently) defending his business interests in the street and, as he later tells Louis, is moved to buy a town house in the French Quarter to remain near him. Louis gets competitive when Lestat outbids him for the sex worker Louis visits to repress his latencies, but soon understands that Lestat is most interested in seducing Louis. A threesome turns into a twosome. Lestat feeds on Louis, and soon, following a crisis in Louiss family, Lestat makes the offer Louis cant resist: I can swap this life of shameswap it out for a dark gift and a power you cant begin to imagine.
In the run-up to the 1994 movies release, Rice was vocal in her opposition to the casting of Tom Cruise as her Brat Prince Lestat (though she came around once she saw him in the role). But while a contemporaneous Cruise profile in Vanity Fair described the character as bitchy and bisexualyou know, a 2022 viewer may see the former more than the latter in Cruises performance. There is plenty of queer subtext in the film, but thats as far as it goes; the only transgressive kiss, not counting all the ones involving necks and fangs, comes when tween vampire Claudia (Kirsten Dunst, 11 at the time of filming and not okay with it) bestows one on her father, Louis (Brad Pitt). But the new show is not coy about the nature of Louis and Lestats relationship: After Lestat has turned his lover, he invites Louis to share his coffin, smirking, Its okay. You can be on top.
Vampirism has metaphorically represented now-waning ideas of queernessa forbidden desire to which one ecstatically surrenders, ending up outside societys bounds as a consequence. Making Lestat and Louiss sex life an unambiguous part of this story disentangles Louiss horror at his thirsts collateral damage from the shame other versions of the character have evinced about sexual interests only (broadly) hinted at. Between hunts, Louis and Lestat settle into domesticity and have the same disputes all couples do. How do you balance the demands of ones family of origin with the needs of ones chosen family? How do you manage when one partner adopts a new diet (as when Louis decides hes no longer going to take human life, and will survive by draining animals), and the other feels judged (jk, Lestat doesnt care what Louis thinks of his murders)? Whens the right time to have a child, and how should you raise her? How often is too often to attend the opera?
Months before the movie came out, describing her (then) objection to Cruises casting, Rice told Movielines Martha Frankel that Lestat should be an overpowering personvery blond, very tall, very athletic, very full. Rice did not live to see Sam Reids performance, which aligns precisely with her brief; we eventually see nearly all of Reid and he is so very athletic, very full that one shirtless shot made me gasp aloud. (He also apparently grew out his strawberry blond hair for the role, and in an era when bad TV wigs are an urgent topic of concern, we simply must applaud the commitment.) Lestat is an aesthete, a womanizer, a charming dinner guest, a card sharpwhatever he needs to be to fulfill his ultimate goal as a serial murderer. Not since Mads Mikkelsens Hannibal Lecter has a fictional character killed with such purpose and artistry.
Jacob Anderson has the harder job: As Louis, the note he most often has to play is tortured anguish. This is especially true after he rescues Claudia (Bailey Bass) from a firetoo late for her to have escaped injury, so Lestat saves her life by siring her, and enmeshing Louis more fully into their chosen family in the process. (It may not shock you to learn that a girl whose mind keeps maturing while her body stays 14 turns out to be kind of a handful.) Present-day Louis is less active but shows more emotional depth, having moved, over a century, through his resentment against Lestat and to his desire for truth and reconciliation. This Louis has the unhurried manner of someone who has felt every one of his years, which is why, as his primary scene partner, Bogosians Molloy can grate. Were told that Molloy has his own regrets and urgency: an addict now long in recovery, hes being treated for Parkinsons disease; even getting on a plane during the COVID-19 pandemic is a risk in his condition. The choice has been made, I guess, to make Molloy seem extra-modern opposite a character who came of age in a different century, another world, but his arch, sarcastic dialogue feels like it belongs to a different show. Despite the series title, though, the interview scenes of Interview With the Vampire comprise comparatively little of its content; Sam Reids Lestat, feasting on every one of his scenes, is what makes the show unmissable.
View post:
TVs Interview With the Vampire Absolutely Has Teeth - Vanity Fair
- Civil War is beating vampires, spies, and big gorillas in its second week at the box office - The A.V. Club - April 22nd, 2024
- Meet Alisha Weir, The 14-Year-Old Breakout Star Of Universals Vampire Flick Abigail - Deadline - April 22nd, 2024
- Transylvania Is Famous For Vampires, But Also Has Lots Of Grizzlies And Wolves - Cowboy State Daily - April 22nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Cast Explains Why Your Friends Should Watch - Bleeding Cool News - April 22nd, 2024
- Marvel 'Blade' Reboot With Mahershala Ali Going Back To Basics Of "Killing Vampires - Bounding Into Comics - April 22nd, 2024
- Interview With The Vampire Got A Sequel 22 Years Ago, But Not Like You Think - Screen Rant - April 22nd, 2024
- First Trailer for Reginald the Vampire Season 2 Teases a Vampires vs. Angels Showdown - Syfy - April 22nd, 2024
- Kathryn Newton Talks Sinking Her Teeth Into Vampire Thriller 'Abigail' - Forbes - April 21st, 2024
- 'Vampire' bacteria thirst for human blood and cause deadly infections as they feed - Livescience.com - April 21st, 2024
- Some Microbes Are Tiny 'Vampires' With a Deadly Attraction to Human Blood - ScienceAlert - April 21st, 2024
- Common gut bacteria behave like vampires to target human blood - Earth.com - April 21st, 2024
- Now Playing in Memphis: Vampires, Sasquatches, and Monkey Man - Memphis Flyer - April 21st, 2024
- Dancing Vampires, Furry Families and More in Movies - Columbus Underground - April 21st, 2024
- New 'Interview with the Vampire' teaser reveals the laws of being a vampire - Mashable - April 21st, 2024
- The Vampire Rules In Abigail (And How They Change The Horror Game) Explained - SlashFilm - April 21st, 2024
- Blade's MCU Problems Ignore How Easy It Should Be To Make His Perfect Movie - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Being Human Werewolves, Vampires, and Ghosts! Four Seasons Streaming Right Now on SCREAMBOX! - Bloody Disgusting - April 21st, 2024
- Upcoming horror movies: Where and when to watch werewolves, vampires, and assorted monsters, oh my! - Popverse - April 21st, 2024
- One of the Very First Horror Westerns Started Out as a Joke - Collider - April 21st, 2024
- "Blade killing vampires..": Marvel is Giving Fans What They Exactly Want With Mahershala Ali's MCU Movie, Industry ... - FandomWire - April 21st, 2024
- Reports Reveal the Original Concept of the Blade Movie Before it was Simplified to Blade Just Killing Vampires - imdb - April 21st, 2024
- Who Lives? Who Dies? And Was That [Spoiler]? The Ending of Abigail, Explained - Syfy - April 21st, 2024
- THESE vampires drawn to human blood could be inside your body Know how they can kill you - The Financial Express - April 21st, 2024
- Concern over Vampire Bacteria and more - WGN TV Chicago - April 21st, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries' Stefan Without One Key Factor - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Takes a Bloody Delightful Bite Out of the Vampire Genre - Gizmodo - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire: Reid, Anderson Walk Us Through Season 1 - Bleeding Cool News - April 21st, 2024
- Woman's blood-drained corpse is found in Italian church where she had been searching for ghosts: Victim, 22, - Daily Mail - April 12th, 2024
- My latest Game Pass obsession is a vampire-punching action game that could be Red Dead Redemption 2's wacky ... - Gamesradar - April 12th, 2024
- Lindy Ryan on Setting a Vampire Novel in a Small Texas Town - CrimeReads - April 12th, 2024
- 14 Actors Who Appeared In Both Supernatural & The Vampire Diaries - Screen Rant - April 12th, 2024
- Coachella 2024: How to Stream Every Performance on YouTube - Vulture - April 12th, 2024
- Back to the 80s: 'Lost boys' The State Hornet - StateHornet.com - April 12th, 2024
- Slay the Spire 2, Vampire Survivors meets Contra, and other Triple-i games - Ars Technica - April 12th, 2024
- How Vampire Weekend Mastered The Five-Albums Test - UPROXX - April 12th, 2024
- Abigail Directors Tease A Fresh Spin On Vampires That's "Very Much Us" - Screen Rant - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Livestreamed Their Solar Eclipse Album Release Show: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
- Fan favorite vampire films among those coming to a theater near you - WAPT Jackson - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Reckon With the Divine (Again) on Only God Was Above Us - Spin - April 12th, 2024
- Review | Vampire Weekend have grown into their boat shoes - The Washington Post - April 12th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2: Release date, cast, and more - Android Authority - April 12th, 2024
- Upcoming horror movie Nosferatu debuted a trailer behind closed doors, and apparently Bill Skarsgrd's vampire is ... - Gamesradar - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us': All 10 Tracks Ranked - Billboard - April 12th, 2024
- Abigail Has Screened, And Critics Are Calling The Bloody Vampire Horror One Of The Best Movies Of 2024 - CinemaBlend - April 12th, 2024
- When Kirsten Dunst revealed the special gift Interview With a Vampire co-star Tom Cruise sends her every year - Hindustan Times - April 12th, 2024
- He is cooking with this cast: Ryan Coogler's Vampire Movie With Michael B. Jordan Casts Another Marvel Star Hailee ... - FandomWire - April 12th, 2024
- Ryan Cooglers Untitled Vampire Thriller Adds 2 More to Cast - ComingSoon.net - April 12th, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries Improved After This Character Left the Show - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 2nd, 2024
- Paul Wesley Shares Only Way He'd Appear in Another Vampire Diaries Show - E! Online - E! NEWS - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Releases New Season 2 Trailer Ahead of May Premiere Watch - Yahoo Finance UK - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2 drops second trailer at AMC - Sportskeeda - April 2nd, 2024
- A Major 'Twilight' Star Is Down To Return For The TV Show, So Bring On The Sparkly Vampires - Yahoo! Voices - April 2nd, 2024
- 'Vampire' neutron star blasts are related to jets traveling at near-light speeds - Space.com - April 2nd, 2024
- Louis Is Haunted by the Past in New 'Interview with the Vampire' Season 2 Trailer - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- A Vampire's Face Has Reemerged From a Centuries-Old Shroud - AOL - April 2nd, 2024
- Video: AMC Networks Releases a Second New Trailer and Key Art for Season Two of "Anne Rice's Interview with the ... - The Futon Critic - April 2nd, 2024
- Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Presents a Rather Different Kind of Teen Angst - Reactor - April 2nd, 2024
- Shiki And 7 Other Vampire-Themed Anime Series For A Blood Curdling Binge-Watch - AugustMan Thailand - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Trailer: Memories of Claudia - Bleeding Cool News - April 2nd, 2024
- Harvey Guilln Says Goodbye to the Mansion in 'What We Do in the Shadows' Season 6 Set Image - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Trailer Set for Sunday Night - Bleeding Cool News - April 2nd, 2024
- Vampire Weekend share new single 'Mary Boone' and announce UK and European tour - NME - April 2nd, 2024
- The Vampire Diaries Cast: Where are they now? From Ian Somerhalder to Nina Dobrev - 9Entertainment - April 2nd, 2024
- Zendaya Starring in Remake of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'? - Snopes.com - April 2nd, 2024
- The Best Vampire Movie Never Says The Word 'Vampire', Stream This Dark R-Rated Horror Hidden Gem - Giant Freakin Robot - April 2nd, 2024
- V Rising gets the crossover every self-respecting vampire wants: Castlevania's Simon Belmont is coming to try and kill ... - PC Gamer - April 2nd, 2024
- Canadian imperialism and the Gaza genocide: The contrived, right-wing furor over a cartoon depicting Netanyahu as a ... - WSWS - April 2nd, 2024
- Is This a Real Photo of Vampire Queen 'Madam Violet,' Voted UK's Scariest Woman Alive in the 1880s? - Snopes.com - March 16th, 2024
- The erotic 70s horror where lechy men turn into bloody-hungry vampires - Dazed - March 16th, 2024
- The vampires ball is coming to an end - Meduza - March 16th, 2024
- Oregon son, 56, who is accused of killing his mom by shoving a huge makeshift stake through her throat claims - Daily Mail - March 16th, 2024
- Muni Bond Games and the IRS' Lurking Arbitrage Vampires - Governing - March 16th, 2024
- Ball of vampires', nuke warning: Key takeaways from Putins interview - The Times of India - March 16th, 2024
- Putin compares western elites to 'VAMPIRES' who 'fill their bellies with human flesh' - GB News - March 16th, 2024
- Every Time Alaric Died In The Vampire Diaries & Legacies - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- V Rising declares a 1.0 release date, climbing from the grave of a years-long early access to become your next time ... - Yahoo Movies UK - March 16th, 2024
- 15 Actors That Could Play Edward Cullen in the Twilight TV Series - MovieWeb - March 16th, 2024
- BLOOD HUNT #1 Preview Releases A Horde Of Vampires On The Marvel Universe's Greatest Heroes - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 16th, 2024
- Man accused of killing mother in Siletz believed she was a vampire - Yahoo News - March 16th, 2024
- Stephen King approved 'Salem's Lot' movie to stream on Max this year - Yahoo Movies Canada - March 16th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero