Interview with the Vampire

Exceptional on all categories; casting, mua, cinematography, lighting design, set design, costuming, and holy god the adaptation and acting are a home run. It's truly gorgeous, deeply loving, and genuinely horrifying. Phenomenal. It's a star-making series that I genuinely hope sweeps awards ceremonies once it reaches submission. Well done all involved. Thank you for creating and supporting the production of this awesome series - that somehow is even more profound in series 2...it's amazing and I'm going to be running my mouth off for years to anyone who hasn't seen it. Exquisite re-telling. Perfection!

I was skeptical at first. I had been a fan of the original movie. The cast in the movie was nearly perfect at the time. But the books were always disturbing to me. They had pedophilia and incest, which was such a typical thing in Anne Rice's books. That always bothered me. This series has taken the essentials of the book and made it better. Sorry Rice's fans, but I prefer a story where two grown men are fully aware of their relationship, over all the love and sexual feelings between a grown man and a woman in a 5 year old girl's body. At least the 90's movie had Claudia as an older girl, still too young, but they skipped the romantic and sexual relationship she had with Louis in the book. I much prefer this series' story, and I fully appreciate the way they adapted it to our present, Covid and all. I deeply appreciate that they made Claudia a teenager. And her love interests are usually age appropriate.

The writing is beautiful. I actually do not like gore nor stressful sexual scenarios. But the relationships in this show have been very well written and better yet, believable. The dialogue is very elegant even when they speak of horrible things like violent death and describe the terrible things that happen in the scenes. Every line has an intent and it's neither long and boring nor too short.

I loved Lestat. Sam Reid is exquisite as Lestat. OMG. His French accent is such a beautiful and important piece we missed in the movie. I always heard him with a French accent when I read the books and I appreciate the effort they put on making him more genuine. His acting is flawless. You really fall in love with his character. Bravo.

The rest of the cast is amazing. Even though they switch Claudia's actress in the second season, both Bailey and Delainey are brilliant at their work. Jacob as Louis was very good. His acting was superb. Eric as Daniel was pretty genuine. Assad was good but I always pictured Armand more like Antonio Bandera's version in my head. But the books do say he was pretty "boyish" so Assad actually fits the role very well. Ben as Santiago was perfect.

I think the only mistake has been naming it "Anne Rice's" IWTV. It's definitely not really the original Anne Rice's work. It's better. Her work, as beloved as it was, if you read it, it's sick and disgusting. I'll never be on board with her sadistic women sexual humiliation and pedophilia. But I get why they did it. It might've not grabbed our attention otherwise after so many vampire stories. The subject had become a bit exhausted and naming it IWTV grabbed our attention. Well played. I'm impressed.

Interview with the Vampire was actually even better than I was expecting. It's based on Anne Rice's popular novel about a family of vampires through the years. This is made with mostly unknown actors who all do a great job in their roles. There was also a popular movie about this made in 1994 with Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst. Obviously most people will compare the two and even though I liked the movie a little more this more than holds up and stands in its own. I never read the books but I've read that this show is a lot closer to it than the movie was. You can tell they try to respect the source material as much as possible and even had Anne Rice help create the show and have her on as an executive producer before her death last year. After reading through the reviews I'm glad that most people seem to agree with me that this is a good show.

I actually enjoyed Interview with the Vampire even more than I thought I would. I liked the movie so I thought this would be a little bit of a disappointment but it wasn't. Far from it. This one actually takes place in our current year. Vampire Louie de Pointe du Lac is currently living in Dubai and is telling his life story to a journalist. The story starts in New Orleans in the 20th century and shows how he met the vampire Lestat du Lioncourt and how they started their family with the two of them and teen vampire Claudia. It's much like the movie where the story follows Louie telling his side of the story to the journalist. It's also different in many ways to the movie, not bad just different. I've actually come to like it even more than the movie.

This show captivated me from start to finish! Although I hadn't read the book and only vaguely remembered the movie, the show's bold portrayal of love and passion left an indelible mark. The unabashed depiction of the relationship between Lestat and Louis might have deterred some viewers because of the homosexual theme, but I found it to be a beautiful and authentic portrayal of deep connection.

Sam Reid's performance as Lestat is nothing short of mesmerizing! His every mannerism, expression, and especially his voice, embody the essence of a vampire so convincingly that it feels almost real. Jacob Anderson's portrayal of Louis is equally remarkable, showcasing a depth and range that took me by surprise, especially knowing him from his stoic role as Grey Worm in Game of Thrones. The chemistry between Reid and Anderson is palpable, creating a dynamic that is both intense and moving.

Despite some people's reluctance to embrace the show's themes, they TRULY miss out on a TRULY exceptional series. The emotional resonance and impeccable performances made me smile and applaud by the end! Interview with the Vampire is a masterful blend of storytelling and acting prowess, with Sam Reid as the shining star who brings the entire show to life.