AMC’s Interview with the Vampire, based on the book of the same name, follows Louis on his journey through immortality. Louis, a prominent Creole businessman in New Orleans, meets French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. They develop a romantic relationship, and Lestat makes Louis a vampire. They live together as a couple, and Lestat teaches him the ways of the vampire. Lestat is not necessarily forthcoming, leaving Louis with several questions about vampires. When their relationship gets stale, a teenager on the edge of death is made a vampire by Lestat and becomes their pseudo-daughter. However, the animosity grows between Claudia and Lestat, leading to the ultimate face-off.
Louis’ tale is being told to Daniel Molloy, a dying journalist who interviewed Louis back in the 1970s. So, the plot bounces between the present and the past. I often find non-linear storylines compelling, but there was too much present-day for me.
I am an Anne Rice fan, so yes, I have read several books in the vampire series. Lestat is one of my favourite characters in all of literature. I have also seen the Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned so I was very apprehensive after seeing the cast and reading about some of the changes made to the storyline, like the ageing of Claudia and changing the time period.
I will preface the rest of the review with this statement: Louis de Pointe du Lac is a boring vampire.
Much of the story got lost in the hyper-focus on the romantic relationship between Lestat and Louis. There were endless scenes with Louis having multiple ‘come to Jesus’ moments about being gay. It was boring and tedious, much like Louis’ original character. I was glad that the writers decided not to perform bisexual erasure on Lestat’s character. That would have made me stop watching had that happened because adapting the following books would be weird.
I get that the original novel would be problematic, with Louis originally being a white plantation owner, but I am not sure the change to being a Creole pimp was much better.
So, regarding casting and characters: I liked Jacob Anderson as Louis. He wasn’t as whiny as the character in the book. He was an engaging character, and he had a pleasant voice. As far as Claudia, she was even more obnoxious than in the book. I suppose I understand why they aged her up because it was a little creepy in the book. But then they added random storylines about Claudia that weren’t interesting; sorry, not sorry. I do have to complain about the ageing Daniel too. Daniel is…uh, kind of a part of the bigger story beyond this book. I would have accepted an older Daniel only if Christian Slater played the character.
Now for Lestat, I was iffy on Sam Reid’s casting. Let’s be real; he’s too old to play the character and looks too old. I went between being wholly sold, and then not. In the first episode, I hated him; then, the second episode changed my mind. I went back and forth every episode. Now that the first part of the series is done, I think I am ok with the casting again; I still wish he looked younger. To me, the casting is shortsighted, as several books in the series cover Lestat’s past and present. I can see Reid playing rockstar Lestat, but how will this dude play the young, red cape-wearing, Wolfkiller?
Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this new venture into AMC’s The Immortal Universe. I liked parts of it, like the overall feel, but there were some suspect changes. The plot was too slow, and if you’ve read the novel, you know by about halfway through that the entire book will not be covered in seven episodes. I did like the various hint droppings throughout, concerning ‘Those Who Must be Kept’ and the vampire Armand. And, while I did complain about Sam Reid as Lestat, he was pretty true to the character, definitely better than Tom Cruise.
You’d like it if you could separate the books from the series or never read them. Otherwise, it’s debatable. I suppose it depends if you’re into massive changes in the story that could affect the adaptions of the forthcoming books. Do I think they’ll get to adapt The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned? No, I do not.
A UK release date for Interview with the Vampire has not yet been announced.
I’m a Data Analyst, from the land of Matthew McConaughey. I’m an avid movie-goer and love seeing films in theaters. My most recent favorite films are Good Time, Only Lovers Left Alive, TENET, and England is Mine. When I’m not at the movies, I’m either reading or watching obscene amount of true crime and historical documentaries.
