Halloween Horrorfest: Interview with the Vampire

"Oh, shut up Louis!"

There has always been something I've always enjoyed about Neil Jordan's adaptation of Anne Rice's novel Interview with the Vampire. Epic in scope with lush production design and a fantastic cast, along with a dose of black humor for good measure, it's a film I've always consistently enjoyed.

One night in San Francisco, in a hotel room a journalist named Malloy (played by Christian Slater) meets a mysterious man named Louis (played by Brad Pitt). He begins to tell Malloy about his life as a vampire and how he became one after meeting a vampire named Lestat (played by Tom Cruise) while living in 18th Century Louisiana. We then follow Louis over the next 200 some years as a vampire and his time with Lestat and later their adopted "daughter" Claudia (played by Kirsten Dunst), who Lestat has also turned into a vampire. The film follows them as they live their lives as vampires throughout the next 200 years leading up to present day.

Neil Jordan directed the film from a script by the novel's writer, Anne Rice, and he also did an uncredited re-write himself. The film strikes a nice balance between humor and horror to remain consistently entertaining as it charts the relationship between Louis and Lestat from their first meeting, to their early days together to basically becoming an old, bickering married couple and beyond. The production design of the film is top notch with fantastic costumes and period details to match as the story moves from colonial Louisiana to 19th century Paris and back again. There is a sort of gothic beauty to the film that permeates every frame. They did a fantastic job capturing the different time periods the film takes place in.

The acting in the film is across the board quite good. Tom Cruise was clearly having a blast playing Lestat and his enthusiasm is infectious as he is easily my favorite character in the movie. Brad Pitt is saddled with the wet blanket that is Louis and his character is certainly the less flashier of the two roles. He agrees to let Lestat make him a vampire, but resists killing other people and drinking their blood, a necessary act that a vampire needs to do to survive. Lestat is continually frustrated by Louis and Louis's whining leading to the refrain quoted above. The fact that Pitt managed to make Louis likable at all is a testament to his acting ability. Kirsten Dunst manages to turn in a fantastic performance as Claudia, who is turned into a vampire as a little girl and over time matures emotionally but not physically, a woman forever trapped in the body of a little girl. The character's arrested development is one of the more fascinating components of her character and Dunst manages to capture that brilliantly as well as portraying Claudia's more cunning and lethal talents equally well.

Overall, Interview with the Vampire has long been a favorite of mine since I saw it shortly after it came out on VHS in the mid-90's. It's rare to see a movie like this that is so handsomely produced, with such depth and scope. It's a fantastic watch for both it's story and it's visuals and one I continue to enjoy no matter how many times I've seen it.