Interview with the Vampire - Season 2

I’m excited about all the updates surrounding the Immortal Universe. It’s, of course, a complex process with grand plans, which is fine because Anne Rice built her world of vampires and witches from the 1970s, infusing it with her deepest experiences. This includes her youthful encounter with the lesbian film Dracula's Daughter and her own personal tragedy, where she witnessed the death of her five-year-old daughter from leukemia. These and many other experiences shaped not only Anne Rice's personality but also her work. She was the one who moved the vampire genre to New Orleans and played with homoerotic relationships among her vampires for years. She also had to watch numerous adaptations of her seminal novel "Interview with the Vampire" (1976). In addition to the classic film, there were musicals and many drafts intended to become additional films and the first series starring Lestat. However, the first series is only being made now. For the first time, Anne, her son Christopher (who became her successor), and the fans are satisfied. And no one wants to address the originally chosen real-life settings (the book’s Louis de Pointe du Lac was a plantation owner with slaves), nor is anyone up to handling Claudia as a real child (the book character was a faithful reflection of Anne Rice’s five-year-old daughter, a wishful thinking for her to live on - perhaps as a vampire); indeed, eleven-year-old Kirsten Dunst in the first film was also a compromise, so it’s understandable that the series creators have gone further and portrayed her as fourteen (Bailey Bass was replaced by Delainey Hayles in the second season). Personally, I’m not thrilled about moving the entire story to the 20th century, but there will always be opportunities to depict the distant past within the storytelling of other characters. At least, I hope so. In the film, Neil Jordan's team primarily shortened the events covered in this series, which explains the decision to remake the entire book in two seasons. Everything that happened in Paris fundamentally defined the events of the next 17 books in the series. So, I’m very pleased with the time spent with the Théâtre des Vampires, even though it is now set in the post-war period. The new aspect includes how to incorporate the new technologies of that time into the decadent theatrical plays. There’s also a new story for Claudia’s partner Madeleine, who is reimagined from the original book’s doll-maker (who sees Claudia as a replacement child) into a Jewish seamstress who builds a relationship with Claudia in a slightly different context. Another new element is the expanded story of Daniel Molloy, whose first interview with Louis is set back to the 70s, the time when the first book was first published. There’s also a depiction of the Talamasca processes, which first appeared in Queen of the Damned. This addresses the most glaring differences between the books and the first films. We have much to look forward to, and it will be grand. Sam Reid and Jacob Anderson are incredibly energetic, bringing empathy and passion to their roles, and it’s a joy to watch their interpretation of such a complex relationship. (29.07.2024) (vähemmän) (lisää)