Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire hits our TV screens twenty-eight years after the movie adaptation starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. Based on the first novel in Anne Rice’s popular Vampire Chronicles series, the TV adaptation is a deftly reimagined and updated adaptation that breathes new life into the vampire genre.
Created for television by Rolin Jones (Weeds, Friday Night Lights), the series stars Game of Thrones’ Jacob Anderson as vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac. In this version, Louis reconnects with journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) almost fifty years after their first meeting. Daniel, now mostly retired and suffering from Parkinson’s disease, can’t help but agree to Louis’ invitation for an interview do-over in Dubai at the vampire’s upscale condo.
We shift back and forth between the past and present as Louis recounts his life story to Daniel. In a change from the source material, Louis’ vampire origin story takes place in New Orleans in the early 20th century. As a Black man coming to terms with his homosexuality in a setting that discriminates against both, the story allows for much more depth and nuance as Louis befriends and falls in love with (or in thrall to) the white French aristocratic vampire, Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid).
The adaptation addresses racism, bigotry, classism, and domestic abuse overtly, and in doing so creates a more meaningful story and a fresh take on the vampire genre as a whole. Anderson and Reid have hypnotic chemistry and give rich performances as they navigate their characters’ complex relationship. In the present, Daniel is quick to point out some of the issues in the dynamic, such as the white maker and Black “fledgling,” which feels like a slur in their circumstances, and we watch as Louis tries to reconcile with it all, sometimes directly, other times internally.
Episode four introduces the wonderful Bailey Bass as Claudia, a Black teenaged girl facing imminent death until Louis saves her and begs Lestat to turn her into a vampire. Lestat complies, and Claudia becomes a surrogate daughter/sister for the two, and for Louis in particular. But Claudia poses challenges for the family as a teenaged vampire, the emotional rollercoaster of puberty amplified tenfold by bloodlust and heightened senses. Bass excels throughout the series as she imbues Claudia with a spirited conviction that hooks viewers.
The series’ creative choice to age up the character of Claudia from a child to a teenager is an interesting one. On the one hand, it undermines the inherent cruelty of a child vampire’s existence—destined to live forever in a child’s body, limited to a child’s abilities, while the mind matures into adulthood; on the other hand, positioning Claudia as a teenager provides her more autonomy and depth to her own narrative. It puts her character on equal ground with Louis and Lestat instead of forcing her to depend on them or pushing her to the side.
Unfortunately, the welcome decision to provide a female character with equal depth and measure to her male counterparts is almost destroyed in episode five when (spoiler alert) the series makes the (heavily implied) choice to subject Claudia to sexual assault as a way to “toughen her up.” It’s an extremely lazy and frustrating trope, and a highly unnecessary move.
Aside from that significant lapse in creative judgment, the series is otherwise cleverly rendered and leaves us desperate for more at the end of every episode. It consistently provides intrigue and is effective at making viewers feel conflicted about its flawed, complicated characters. The vampire family dynamic is always shifting, and each episode increases the tension as Claudia and Lestat battle over Louis’ affection, while Louis fights to keep the peace. The present day sequences could be boring by contrast but are instead also effective at moving the drama and offering new insight into the story and characters.
Although the writing and acting are undoubtedly impressive, the set design, costumes and make-up are also worthy of note as they provide a vibrant, detailed world for the actors to inhabit and the story to unfold.
Interview with the Vampire is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and has already been renewed for season two by AMC.
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