Interview With The Vampire (1994)

Interview With The Vampire is a 1994 Gothic horror movie, based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Anne Rice. It tells the story of Louis de Point du Lac, as he gets bit by the vampire Lestat De Lioncourt and comes to terms with his new immortality and what that entails. It was released to positive reviews and received two Oscar nominations, alongside a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe nomination for Kirsten Dunst as Claudia.

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This is actually one of few VHS tapes my Nan kept, and she didn’t realise she had until I opened a cupboard a few weeks ago. It’s one of her favourite films and both her and my Mum went to see it about 3 times when it was at the cinema. So it was really cool to watch it together after over 20 years of not being played.

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The movie begins in an interview format, as reporter Daniel Malloy played by Christian Slater questions Louis about his past, in disbelief that he’s talking to a real vampire. I think this format with the narration that weaves through the rest of the movie works really well, enabling the viewer to easily absorb what is a very well written and complex story. At first we don’t get to see Louis’s face, as he’s silhouetted on a balcony against the evening city glow. This builds some intrigue and draws the audience in, before we’re taken back to his younger days.

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The scene is set in rural Louisiana, where Louis is the owner of a plantation. His wife dies during childbirth along with their baby, and the grief pushes him into a drunken haze as he passes out on the waterfront. It’s here that he’s found by Lestat, who feeds on him and offers him a new life together. Louis agrees and surrounded by gravestones, he makes his transition.

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It’s quickly apparent that Louis isn’t like most vampires - Lioncourt revels in the hunt and in killing humans, while Louis is hesitant to kill anyone. This feels like a precursor to characters like Angel who are imbued with a soul, and instead he chooses to drink from rats and even a rich lady’s Pomeranian, much to the disgust of Lestat.

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Louis soon begins to resent Lestat for making him a vampire, and gives in to his bloodlust, feeding on a young orphan girl who has just lost her mother to a plague. Wracked with guilt, he flees the scene, but Lioncourt manipulates Louis to stay with him by turning Claudia, as played by Kirsten Dunst, into a vampire too creating a family unit.

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On her sickbed, Claudia magically transforms, as her skin becomes smooth and her hair fills out with golden ringlets. This transition is really cool and marks a significant moment in the film, as Louis becomes a father again. Much like him, Claudia begins to resent being turned too, after her own insatiable desire to feed starts to put their hidden life at risk.

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Kirsten Dunst for me is the standout of the movie, and it really proves that kids are some of the best actors we’ll ever see. Her performance is exceptional, as she begins to feel despair over the fact she’ll never grow old and experience the pleasures older women have access to. Eventually, she poisons Lestat with dead blood, tricking him into feeding on two young boys she’d already killed with Laudanum. She slits his throat, and it’s assumed he’s now dead.

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Whilst holding a grudge against him, Louis is saddened by this but helps Claudia to dump his body in a swamp. They plan a voyage to Europe, on the search for other vampires, but before departing Lestat arrives home, still alive from feeding on swamp creatures. He attacks them both but they manage to set him on fire, fleeing America.

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They search a long time for others like them, before a chance encounter whilst settled in Paris. Louis meets Armand, played by Antonio Banderas, who claims to be one of the oldest vampires, and Santiago who leads their coven, masquerading as a theatre company. Santiago is able to read minds and discerns Lestat has been murdered by them, so decides to punish them for this.

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Claudia had already requested a female companion for herself, and Louis hesitantly complies. Shortly after the three are kidnapped, as Louis is placed in an eternal coffin and both Claudia and her new friend Madeleine are locked in a well, left to perish under the suns rays. Armand eventually frees Louis, but it’s too late for his adopted daughter.

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Seeking revenge for this, Louis sneaks up on the coven while they sleep and sets them on fire, killing everyone but Armand. He offers Louis a place by his side, but Louis rejects this knowing he was aware of the plot to kill Claudia. He leaves Paris and wanders the world alone, settling back in New Orleans in 1988.

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There he comes across a decayed Lestat one night, who’s been hiding away and living on rats to survive. Lestat declares his regret for turning Claudia, and asks one final time for Louis to join his side again. Louis declines and in present day wraps up his interview with Molloy, who is transfixed by his condition and asks to become a vampire too. This request is unsuccessful and Louis scares him away, knowing that his objective to share the woes of vampirism has been ignored.

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Interview With The Vampire closes with Daniel driving away, listening to a tape recording of his conversation with Louis and smiling knowing he’s bagged the story of a lifetime. He’s jumped on by Lioncourt, who feeds on the reporter and becomes youthful again, giving him the same choice of eternal youth by his side. He comically remarks about Louis ‘always whining’, as he rides off into the night laughing to himself.

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This was my first time watching the movie, so I think I’d need to see it again to really grasp the plot. I thought it was good though, especially the atmosphere that’s built through set and costume design. There were things I liked about the newest adaptation better, including the exploration of a romantic and sexual connection between Louis and Lestat, which makes perfect sense with all the subtext in the original film. It also examines race in a way the original never could, infusing the tale with it rather than using slavery as a backdrop.