The series – INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE – Moviejawn

by Kate Beach, staff writer

Since 1976, Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles has captivated goths, horror nerds and regulars alike with its snappy prose, intricate vampiric family trees, and sprawling lore covering everything from Jesus Christ to the lost city of Atlantis. No attempt was ever made to adapt the whole thing, and even if there were, it would probably never be completed. Rice has written 18 novels over nearly fifty years, and while the series has many followers, none of the books are as well-known or beloved as the first entry: Interview with the vampire.

It was made into a film in 1994 by Neil Jordan, who cast Louis and Lestat, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, two of the most popular film stars of all time. The cast included the very young Kirsten Dunst as the tragic child vampire Claudia and Antonio Banderas as the mysterious and cunning vampire Armand. Louis and Lestat are two of Rice’s most significant creations. Lestat is perhaps the greatest idea she ever brought to the page, and he was clearly Rice’s favorite. In the film, Tom Cruise went against type and did better than almost everyone expected, including Rice herself, who had initially been vocal against the casting. Brad Pitt feels flat, like he’s not quite ready to fully commit to a character like Louis. In the series, Jacob Anderson finally makes Louis feel fully human, even as he begins his eternity as a vampire. He beautifully embodies all of Louis’ anger and sadness at the loss of his mortality and his family. Sam Reid’s “Lestat” is a full-body experience filled with sex, violence, anger and worship.

Adapting a work by Anne Rice must feel impossible. Each novel is dense and complicated, and when the film premiered, readers waited decades for a faithful adaptation. Most of the time they got it. Rice wrote the screenplay for Interview with the vampire; it makes changes but, for the most part, is closely based on her novel. Control over the characters and worlds she created was crucial to Rice, and she famously hated fan fiction. She was the executive producer of the television adaptation along with her son, writer Christopher Rice, who was originally tasked with writing the pilot. After several changes of showrunners (Bryan Fuller would briefly take over the helm of the series) and networks, AMC finally secured the rights to all eighteen books of Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Rice died before the series went into production, so we will never know what she would have thought of Jones’ interpretation of her work.

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampireas its official title is, takes on the difficult task of interpreting Rice for both long-time followers and new viewers, making changes that update the story for the 21st century but still retain its spirit and atmosphere. This is done incredibly effectively. Showrunner Rolin Jones has made several changes to both the novel and the film that feel fresh and intelligent. The biggest change involves Louis de Pointe du Lac, the titular vampire, who is interviewed.