Review
Interview with the Vampire is an American gothic horror television series created by Rolin Jones for AMC which is based on the first book in The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, starring Jacob Anderson as Louis de Pointe du Lac and Sam Reid as Lestat de Lioncourt. The first season concentrates on the first half of the book but there is a twist in that we are beginning more than forty years after that first interview in San Francisco and a much older Daniel Molloy is invited to Dubai by Louis to have another crack at it.
The second part of Interview With The Vampire sees Louis and Claudia heading to Europe in search of other vampires after leaving Lestat for dead. The series had to cast a different actress in the role of Claudia as scheduling conflicts meant Bailey Bass was unable to continue, however Delainey Hayles take over is seamless and the actresses look similar enough to each other that is not jarring. The other big problem to solve was how to include Lestat (Sam Reid) since he is supposed to be dead but we are now meeting Ghost Lestat who pops up in Louis’s subconscious every now and again. We also get Armand’s flashbacks to his time with Lestat so we get to see Lestat through his lens as well.
Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia arrive in Europe just after the end of the Second World War so it is unsurprising everything seems very bleak. Based on the books, Claudia has been reading, they head to Romania where they hope to find some fellow vampires but they are shocked when they come across a feral vampire who is monstrous in appearance. The creature’s maker, Daciana (Diana Gheorghian), tells them her attempts at making a companion keep failing and Louis tells her it is because the blood of Europeans is bad due to an accumulation of pain and despair. Louis advises her to go to America to see. stronger blood with them, but Daciana is too far gone and throws herself on the fire. Daciana is a warning tale that even vampires need companionship and this resonates deeply with Claudia.
Louis and Claudia then move on to Paris where they eventually meet the coven at the Theatre des Vampires which is led by the mysterious Armand (Assad Zaman). The coven put on plays where they reveal their vampiric nature under the guise of it all being fake but they kill real victims on the stage in front of an unwitting audience. There are some fabulous actors cast in the roles of the coven characters and I loved Ben Daniels as Santiago who hams it up outrageously but with a sinister edge. Claudia takes to the coven right away and is excited when she is allowed to join as a member but it is all going to end in tears. Louis is much more reticent but that doesn’t stop Armand from trying to get into his pants. Assad is a fine actor but his Armand is very different to Book Armand, and I just can’t warm to his version yet.
This second part also introduces the relationship that develops between Claudia and Madeleine (Roxane Duran), a seamstress who is shunned for having been perceived as a collaborator during the war. Madeleine treats Claudia like a young woman and makes pretty dresses for her which draws them closer together. When Claudia reveals her true nature, Madeleine agrees to become her companion but Claudia has to enlist a reluctant Louis to turn her. The turning is done in a very beautiful way as an anxious Claudia holds Madeleine’s hand and whispers encouragement which is a big contrast to the scenes of violence from Lestat’s making. Sadly, Claudia and Madeleine never get the chance to enjoy their new companionship as the coven seizes them and puts them on trial along with Louis for violating the Five Great Laws. The star witness being Lestat himself.
Back at the penthouse in Dubai, Rashid has revealed himself to be Armand and joins the conversations Louis is having with Molloy, however you can see that the journalist is growing increasingly suspicious by the flaws in Louis’s memory. Molloy is now getting information fed to him by Raglan James, a member of the Talamasca, via his computer and he relishes exposing Armand’s lies to Louis. The story also flashes back to 1973 as we finally get to see the aftermath of Louis’s first interview with Molloy which ended with Armand torturing Molloy for days, while a despairing Louis chooses to walk into the sun before being saved by Armand.
Louis and Lestat are finally reunited when Louis walks out on Armand in Dubai and heads to New Orleans where he finds Lestat living in a hovel and surviving on rats. There is no explanation as to why Lestat looks so weak so we have to assume he buried himself underground after the events in Paris and has only recently reawakened. It’s interesting to note the shift in power here as Louis is the strong one but the reconciliation is a sweet one. The power status is further underlined when we learn the Talamasca has helped Molloy, now a vampire, to publish his book and vampires around the world are venting their rage at Louis. Louis dares them to come for him.
The tone of this series is going to change completely with season three as Lestat finally comes to the forefront and we move to the present time. There will be a significant backlash from the publication of Molloy’s book which is his own interpretation of Louis’s story and it is likely to blow apart Louis and Lestat relationship once more just as it looked like they were rekindling things. My dislike for Molloy in all his incarnations remains unchanged and I’m not buying into the future romance between him and Armand. I like this new powerful Louis and it is reassuring to note the writers will be including him in season three since Book Louis fades more into the background. However, step aside, the main man is about to arrive all his hedonistic glory.
