Review: Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

Director: Neil Jordan

Screenplay: Anne Rice

Year: 1994

Vampire Louis narrates to a young skeptical reporter the story of his 200 years as a vampire. The vampire’s story is as fascinating as it is sad, filled with death, solitude, and blood because of a decision for which the consequences were not clear. His story revolves around his struggle to adapt to being a vampire, and his relationship with his maker, the vampire Lestat.

The plot of “Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles” is the account of the events in Louis’s life since he became a vampire, but its metaphor is much deeper. One of the most remarkable vampire characteristics is eternal life, but for some, instead of a gift, this can be a curse. This is the case with Louis, who is given this gift without being aware of what it represented. 

Beaten down by the loss of his wife and sunk in a depression that has taken every drop of desire for leaving, Louis accepts death, which comes in the hands of vampire Lestat, but it comes with a twist. Louis only loses his human life to accept eternal life as a vampire, where he is destined to keep suffering losses and assumes a lifestyle that goes against his principles. Not only does he have to extend his suffering for all eternity but also has to turn into a killer to ensure his survival. 

A trait that distinguishes the works of the writer Anne Rice (“Queen of the Damned”) is her passion for vampires and her command of the English language to narrate her stories and create dialogues. By only listening to the dialogues and the word choices, it can be recognized that Anne Rice is the author of the script for this adaptation of her first and most famous novel. That the author of the book herself writes the screenplay helps the story go from paper to screen without losing its essence. 

The work of Niel Jordan (“Greta”) as the director of this movie is simply impeccable. Not only does he manages to get impressive performances from his star-studded cast of Brad Pitt (“Ad Astra”), Tom Cruise (“Minority Report”), Kristen Dunst (“Spider-Man”), and Antonio Banderas (“The Skin I Live In”), but he also captures the gothic style that distinguishes vampire stories along with visuals representative of the Plantation era (1700s). The cinematography and the background music dance in harmony with Rice’s captivating story and gives it personality and authenticity to add to the style.

“Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles” is one of the most captivating vampire movies ever done, only rivaled in this aspect by “Bram Stoker’s Dracula”. Its seductive plot and impeccable style have made it a favorite of many and one of those movies that broke barriers and created new cinema tendencies, as being one of the first movies with a wide release and a well-known cast to have a palpable homoerotic tone between its protagonists. More than a vampire movie, “Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles” is a masterpiece on the artistic side and an interesting exploration of the meaning of life.