Editor's Note: The following article contains spoilers for the first season of Interview with the Vampire.
With Interview with the Vampire Season 1 over, it's interesting to reflect on changes between the show and 1994's classic movie. For someone that grew up a massive fan of Neil Jordan's Interview with the Vampire, it's strange and exciting to admit that AMC's Interview With The Vampire may tell a richer story because of its differences.
Two overarching elements considerably set Interview with the Vampire (2022) apart from Interview with the Vampire (1994), making the series more powerful than the movie. First, Lestat and Louis are in an honest, domestic partnership, which is obvious, not merely a hint. Second, Claudia (Bailey Bass) is portrayed by an older actress. The importance of these difference rests in the events leading up to Lestat's "murder." In both productions, he is manipulative, divisive, and bloodthirsty (literally and figuratively), but admittedly, Tom Cruise's Lestat is far easier to sympathize with than Sam Reid's. His "murder" doesn't seem as brutal as it is necessary because he is not only selfish but outright abusive.
By finally saying what has long since been a hint or possibility in Interview with the Vampire, we now have an opportunity to see the toxicity of Lestat and Louis' relationship fully. Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson's Lestat and Louis's relationship begins as many toxic relationships do. Lestat draws Louis in with his charm in the form of vampiric knowledge and worldly sophistication, then lavishes affection on Louis. At the same time, he appears to reserve his savagery for the rest of the world, making Louis seem "different."
Lestat Is a Cheater
From the beginning, Lestat asserts that "from time to time, he likes a little... variety" and takes Antoinette (Maura Grace Athari) as a mistress. He first confirms to Louis that he can also take extramarital lovers but later says he does not like sharing. Although Louis stops seeing others outside Lestat, Lestat refuses to do the same. Meanwhile, after the heartbreak of Charlie's (Xavier Mills) death, Claudia goes on a wild killing spree. In one instance, her victim was drunk, which left her intoxicated. In a drunken rage, she reveals that Lestat still sees Antoinette on the side. Lestat promises to kill her, lies about doing so, and instead makes her a vampire.
By cheating and lying, Lestat repeatedly disrespects one of the fundamentals of any relationship. Although he initially instates an open relationship with Louis, he realizes that he can't tolerate the idea of Louis being with anyone else. Lestat creates an uneven power dynamic by continuing to cheat but reacting with hurt and rage if Louis ever considers giving his love to anyone else.
Lestat Creates Uneven Power Dynamics
Lestat is a possessive companion in every incarnation of his character. Sam Reid's Lestat admits that he fears abandonment, and his actions portray intense fear. With the obvious advantage of his age and strength aside, Lestat quickly establishes an uneven power dynamic in his teaching of vampire life. Although he appears to be a helpful mentor at first, throughout Season 1, he withholds useful information from Louis and later Claudia, presumably to keep them in the dark about other vampires or vampire powers. By doing so, Lestat and Claudia never know the full extent of their powers or community, leaving them dependent on Lestat and isolated. Most notably, Lestat withholds the ability to fly (which will be discussed later). With Lestat constantly flexing his strength and keeping them both in the dark, it keeps them in a position where they are petrified to leave.
As Lestat begins to recognize how instrumental Claudia is to Louis' happiness with him, he realizes that he cannot allow her to leave for fear that Louis will go with her. By Episode 6, Claudia begins to understand that she, like Lestat, also needs a companion for immortality. In her absence, the band-aid Claudia offered to Lestat and Louis' relationship was torn off. Louis became unhappy with Lestat from his unwillingness to change and his unfaithfulness, triggering Lestat's fear of abandonment. When she comes home knowing of Lestat's continued infidelity, Lestat reacts furiously. Furthermore, before Claudia can even attempt to find others like her in Europe, Lestat violently intercepts, making it abundantly clear that Claudia will not leave because he will not allow her to go. She stays by force, in fear of her once-beloved Uncle Les, but is left with an insatiable desire to remove him from her life by any means necessary.
That Scene Between Lestat and Louis Speaks Volumes
In a shocking scene that sets Sam Reid's Lestat apart from Tom Cruise's, Lestat nearly beats his husband to death. As he throws Louis through walls, he yells, "I am trying to restrain myself!" indicating that this moment could be worse. He drags Louis out by his throat and explains that he fought his nature so that he never harmed Louis, then surprises both Louis and Claudia by flying miles in the air, only to drop Louis with all the forces of gravity bringing him down to earth's surface. It was brutal and gave way to the ultimate display of Lestat's abusive nature. His claims of "holding back" or controlling himself despite his greater impulses refine his nature by implying that Louis deserves this beating or worse.
This scene alone showed that with the TV series, we are no longer watching gothic tales of vampires but an honest and heartbreaking fantasy grounded in reality. Claudia, protective and loving of her "Daddy Lou," then seeks to save him, understanding that Lestat will not let him go willingly and is too strong to fight. We are then brought to our second significant difference: In aging up Claudia, she no longer had to have the same concern as Kirsten Dunst's Claudia, who was aged up from the book's Claudia, who was five years old when she was made. Dunst's Claudia will, unfortunately, look ten years old forever. There is no mistaking a 10-year-old for an adult, but as seen with Bass' Claudia and her relationship with Charlie and her presence on college campuses, she can convince others she may be a college-age young adult. By erasing the forever-child struggle for Claudia, her character is then able to focus more seriously on Lestat's true nature, with his "end" now being more justified.
Lestat Resorts to Lovebombing
After the abuse from Lestat unto Louis, Lestat tries to win Louis back by all means besides real change. He lovebombs him. He comes to their home well-dressed with priceless copies of Louis' favorite books; he stalks and gifts Louis a Rolls-Royce, and vows to kill Antoinette. They resume their relationship, but nothing can ever be the same.
It's hard to make a remake of a classic, and at times, reinventing a story only disserves it. Interview with the Vampire improves on its original story by adding unfortunately relatable conflict, creating an almost entirely different account. In addition to displaying toxic relationships, it masterfully tells a story of race relations and the historic struggle of coming out. It's a rare occasion that one should get to say this, but in the case of Interview with the Vampire, the remake is genuinely better than the original.