There’s a subtle brilliance to the direction in which AMC has taken its interpretation of Anne Rice’s iconic INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE adaptation. Showrunner Rolin Jones has undertaken an unenviable task in updating the source material and making it relevant to today’s audiences. In some ways, I suspect fans of THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES may treat the novels even more preciously than members of the MCU and STAR WARS fandoms. The subject matter is slightly more niche, and while everyone is familiar with the lore of vampires, it’s those who have delved into Anne Rice’s world (now referred to by AMC as THE IMMORTAL UNIVERSE, encompassing forthcoming series’ based on Rice’s books) who are its most intimate protectors—and rightfully so. The amount of detail and patience Rice poured into her work is praiseworthy. Aside from its incredible performances, excellent writing, and beautiful production design, the series is doing a hell of a job setting up characters and events in future seasons and series. (The show procured a second season greenlight before the first season even premiered, not to mention the soon-to-premier MAYFAIR WITCHES series.)
It took me 45 minutes into the first episode to embrace what I was watching. The surprising timeline change bothered me the most, but it just…works. Here we are given a Louis du Point du Lac for the 2020s. As the titular interviewer Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), says, “Take a black man in America and make him a vampire. F*ck with that vampire and see what comes.” The show’s ability to drastically change the nature of its lead character Louis (Jacob Anderson) and update his relevance while maintaining his core characteristics is impressive. The presentation of a black queer man as a complex, passionate, and powerful character is all too rare in film and television, and episode three dives headfirst into exactly what Molloy is getting at. In contrast, episode two might have set up his comment, but episode three certainly showcases its outcome. Consequence is the name of the game in this episode for all parties involved.
Speaking of Molloy, Bogosian is growing on me. I must admit the change in the character’s age was initially jarring. Add to that the concept that his initial interview with Louis back in 1977 is now deemed irrelevant, false, and drug-induced, and I was actually angry. I see him as a poor man’s Anthony Bourdain—a wise, esteemed, cultured journalist who’s been to hell and back…and somehow, that works for what the series is trying to do.
Our new Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Ried) is all at once breathtakingly seductive and frighteningly dangerous—exactly as he ought to be. Assuming THE IMMORTAL UNIVERSE will continue with the book series, I can only hope we will see an interpretation of THE VAMPIRE LESTAT starring Ried that perhaps holds more steadfastly to the source material.
I fully expected to dislike this adaptation. Mike Flanagan’s rearranging of THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE (while very well-made and effectively scary) had absolutely no business sharing its title with Shirley Jackson’s neo-gothic, queer-coded novella, one of my favorite pieces of literature. The names were the same, but they belonged to brand new characters and a new story that had almost nothing to do with the book upon which it was based. Yet, INTERVIEW captures the essence, passion, and lore of what made Rice’s books so immortal in their own right, turns it on its head and provides us with captivating and beautiful storytelling. I wish she were alive to turn to her beloved Facebook page as she so often did and calm these angry “people of the page” with her words of comfort and approval. I think she’d be happy to.
INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE is available on AMC.