Podcasts
‘Interview with the Vampire’ Creates One of Horror’s Most Surprising Killers [The Lady Killers Podcast]
“I want some more.”
When we think of Neil Jordan’s lush adaptation of the classic Anne Rice novel, we remember Tom Cruise’s surprisingly magnetic performance, the implied romance between Lestat (Cruise) and Louis (Brad Pitt), and a cast filled with ’90s heartthrobs. This genre-bending film is all this and more, but what we often forget is the story of one of horror’s most heartbreaking villains.
Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) is a little girl still cuddling her mother’s corpse and lingering close to death herself when she meets the vampire who will become her father. Struggling with demons of his own, Louis drains her blood and leaves her to die before Lestat swoops in to bestow the gift of immortal life. While this does mend their tenuous relationship, the new fathers have created a time bomb of inevitable pain. Eventually, Claudia will begin to long for the adult body she has no hope of ever possessing.
In the latest episode of Bloody FM’s The Lady Killers Podcast, co-hosts Jenn Adams, Rachel Reeves, Sammie Roffman, and Shelby Novak discuss one of the genre’s most surprising killers. Why does Lestat create Claudia? Why does Claudia hate Lestat? Why can’t Lestat find his way out of the swamp, and why is Louis always so sad? They’ll answer these questions and more as Gothic Horror Month continues.
Stream below and subscribe now via Apple Podcasts and Spotify for future episodes that drop every Thursday.
Podcasts
‘The Boston Strangler’ Adaptations Share One Major Blind Spot [Murder Made Fiction Podcast]
Amanda and I have spent the month of July examining the various cinematic depictions of The Boston Strangler over on Murder Made Fiction, and we’ve come to an odd realization: despite the case claiming thirteen lives, none of its filmed adaptations seem to care at all about the victims.
After walking Amanda through a Primer on the case, which seems like an open and shut indictment of Albert DeSalvo (until it gets muddied by conspiracy and possible corruption by the Boston PD), we tackled three very different films:
- 1964’s The Strangler: Burt Topper directs Whatever Happened to Baby Jane actor Victor Buono in a slice of 60s pop psychology that tries to inject a weird doll fetish into the proceedings. The real life details of the case mostly fall by the wayside, in large part because DeSalvo wasn’t implicated in the murders until after this film’s release. Still, Buono’s performance is pretty astounding!
- 1968’s The Boston Strangler: The best of this month’s three films, though it is less for Tony Curtis‘ take on the killer than its use of split screens by cinematographer Richard H. Kline and editor Marion Rothman. It’s magnificently entertaining, though the back half slows down too much when it comes time to let Curtis do his thing.
- 2023’s Boston Strangler: This is the film that finally prioritizes women…although not the victims. The straight-to-Hulu film (which I reviewed for Bloody back in the day) stars Keira Knightley and Carrie Coon as Record American reporters, but writer/director Matt Ruskin’s thesis, which boils down to “it’s hard for women in the workforce,” feels overly simplistic. In hindsight, this one is mostly just a boring misfire.
The Boston Strangler 1968
Next month: For August, we’re turning our attention to John List, the family annihilator who went on to inspire 1987’s The Stepfather. We’ll partner that up with the 2009 remake, starring YOU‘s Penn Badgley (!), as well as the 2026 Tubi version starring Taye Diggs (!!)
Want even more true crime adaptations and Murder Made Fiction? Support the show on Patreon to listen to our coverage of Elle Fanning in The Girl From Plainville and Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher Netflix series, as well as full-length primers and 160+ hours of bonus content.
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