“I assume I need no introduction.”
Following the success of 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and after years of failed attempts, Anne Rice’s 1976 novel Interview With The Vampire was finally given the green light and placed squarely on the shoulders of hot new director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game). Jordan and Rice clashed over the production, especially over the casting of Tom Cruise as Lestat, but it finally hit the big screen in 1994 and proved to be a massive success. I remember watching it in the theater as a freshman in college that year. I loved the film and the book.
The film centers around an interview of Louis (Brad Pitt) by Daniel Malloy (Christian Slater). Louis tells Daniel how he reluctantly became a vampire and formed an uneasy relationship with Lestat. Lestat constantly pushes and manipulates Louis, trying to make him consume human blood. Louis resists, choosing instead to drink the blood of animals like rats. Louis also tells Daniel about Lestat’s turning of young Claudia into a vampire, something that is forbidden in vampire law and how Lestat’s behavior eventually leads Louis and Claudia to murder him. They run off to find other vampires like themselves, but the thought that Lestat survived…..and that he might be looking for them, looms in the back of Louis’ mind. You’ll have to watch the film to discover what happens next.
The film works on a number of levels. The production and direction are excellent. The entire film is erotically charged. The cast, especially young Kirsten Dunst as an aging vampire trapped in a young girl’s body, do an amazing job. Tom Cruise is diabolically fun as Lestat and Brad Pitt easily conveys the internal struggles of Louis. Antonio Banderas also has a wonderful supporting role as Armand, a vampire that Louis considers joining up with after he and Claudia flee New Orleans and Lestat. Speaking of New Orleans, it is featured prominently in the film and is a great character in its own right.
The film was meant to be the first of a series of book adaptations based upon Rice’s Vampire Chronicles book series but that never came to fruition despite its commercial and critical success. A sequel was eventually released in 2002 entitled Queen Of The Damned and starred Aaliyah as the titular character (also known as Akasha) and Stuart Townsend as Lestat. The adaptation was actually a combination of the second novel, The Vampire Lestat, in Rice’s series and the third novel, Queen Of The Damned. It opened in first place but failed to impress audiences. A television series was eventually produced by AMC and currently has two season.
I highly recommend this film. It’s one of my favorite vampire movies. I also really enjoy the book, although later novels in the series aren’t as good in my opinion. I know that I’ll probably get slaughtered for that opinion, as Lestat’s fans are almost as voracious about the books as he is about human blood, but that’s how I feel.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 