Reviews
‘Interview with the Vampire’ Review – TV Series Draws Fresh Blood With a New Take on Anne Rice’s Saga
Editor’s Note: This Interview with the Vampire review covers only the show’s premiere episode.
AMC’s playful look at the gothic, gory world of the infamous vampire Lestat hits a healthy artery that feels like it can keep its pulse beating for years.
“There’s a simple answer to that, but I don’t believe that I want to give simple answers. I want to tell the real story.”
It’s only a few minutes into Interview with the Vampire that a character prompts another for the real story. Vampires are a supernatural creature that have fueled stories for centuries, but many modern examinations of the undead attempt to present the real story and finally uncover a level of truth and realism that’s previously been absent in the genre. In most cases, this “realism” comes across as hackneyed, or even worse, increasingly derivative of past ideas until it’s a Russian nesting doll of diminishing returns.
Right from the start, Interview with the Vampire feels fresh and unpredictable, which already gives it a distinct advantage over contemporary vampire programs like Vampire Academy, Reginald the Vampire, First Kill, or even What We Do in the Shadows. Of course, that’s largely a testament to Anne Rice‘s rich world that has had decades to ruminate and improve upon itself, but “In Throes of Increasing Wonder…” understands that it has a a lot to prove here and it makes sure that this update on Interview with the Vampire is not just generic vampire material that coasts on comfortable themes and iconography. This premiere episode is just over 65 minutes long and it doesn’t abuse this extra time, nor does it feel laborious in its construction. It has to do the heavy lifting of handling copious introductions, between two timelines no less, but it doesn’t feel like a pilot that’s bogged down in exposition and can’t show off its true colors.
Furthermore, Interview with the Vampire also has a lot to prove now that AMC has lost Better Call Saul and The Walking Dead might, finally, be approaching some state of final decomposition. It cannot be underestimated how much they need this show to be a hit and the program’s early two-season renewal is good business as much as it’s a gesture of faith in the series. That being said, Interview with the Vampire actually feels like a quality program that could carry the mantle of The Walking Dead. It’s even a show that could pull off a decade-plus of seasons, or multiple spin-offs, since it has hundreds of years to pull from in its fascinating exploration of Louis and Lestat’s growth.
Photo Credit: Alfonso Bresciani/AMC
So many vampire series focus on the visceral nature and overflowing sexuality that consumes vampires, which is still on display here, but what’s often overlooked in these vampire projects is the feeling of eternity that constricts these creatures. This endlessness is the whole point of Interview with the Vampire and so it’s satisfying to see that it’s a palpable component that’s felt right from the start of the series. “In Throes of Increasing Wonder…” carries the pomp and circumstance of what a story of this grandiose nature necessitates. Purple narration that’s pulled right out of Rice’s books accompanies gorgeous swooping shots of skylines across the world, throughout time, that are powerful and inspirational, rather than condescending. Alan Taylor’s slick directorial tricks often help the viewer feel as invincible, and fragile, as Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson) and Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid) do at the various points of their lengthy lives in which “In Throes of Increasing Wonder…” checks in.
Lestat and Louis are squarely the focus of this premiere, but Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) is forced to reckon with his own mortality after his dwindling health triggers his reunion with this undead orator. Building upon this level of vulnerability, “In Throes of Increasing Wonder…” also leans into health concerns through the pandemic, but it actually incorporates this modern real-life disaster in a natural manner that’s often lacking in recent series that attempt to do as much. What makes it effective in Interview with the Vampire is that it contextualizes this pandemic as business as usual for Louis. It’s just one, of many, disasters that he’s lived through and will continue to live through. A vampire series of this nature gets the opportunity to flex an eerie, nihilistic perspective when COVID-19 is just one blip that these eternal creatures have seen alongside the Black Plague, Spanish Flu, or anything else.
Photo Credit: Alfonso Bresciani/AMC
The start of the series covers multiple stretches of history, but it uses the early 1900s in New Orleans to explore some incendiary turning points for Louis. The series uses these recurring parables to condemn, but also celebrate, humanity as well as reflect the repetitive cycle that it heads down, which makes it all pointless in the process. All of these societal observations and critiques are present in Rice’s original writings, but Interview with the Vampire effectively develops these themes through intuitive changes to race, gender, and sexuality in this version of the text. A lot of the discussions with this series will inevitably come down to Sam Reid’s performance as Lestat and compare him to the previous actors who have portrayed the timeless vampire. Reid makes sure that his take on Lestat is appropriately austere, but there’s a festering anger to the character that’s always fighting to break out of its careful package.
“In Throes of Increasing Wonder…” lives up to its title and it’s a series premiere that feels epic, but also doesn’t bite off more than it can chew. It shows off enough of this world and its characters to feel substantial, yet also creates anticipation for what’s to come and the rest of Lestat’s lengthy life. Interview with the Vampire covers a lot of ground, but it’s important to address a central accusation that Daniel poses to Louis early on in the episode–”Maybe your story wasn’t worth telling.” Despite Louis’ confidence, he still spends the bulk of his time in “In Throes of Increasing Wonder…” attempting to prove the contrary. Interview with the Vampire is ultimately taxed with the same challenge.
In an over-bloated genre, vampire series need to justify themselves rather than purely exist off of reputation alone. It’s still too early to predict the quality of its far-off future, but if the series premiere is any indication, Interview with the Vampire absolutely proves that this is, in fact, a story that’s worth telling.
‘Interview with the Vampire’ debuted October 2nd at 10pm (ET) on AMC.
Reviews
“AHS: Delicate” Review – “Little Gold Man” Mixes Oscar Fever & Baby Fever into the Perfect Product
‘AHS: Delicate’ enters early labor with a fun, frenzied episode that finds the perfect tone and goes for broke as its water breaks.
“I’ll figure it out. Women always do.”
American Horror Story is no stranger to remixing real-life history with ludicrous, heightened Murphy-isms, whether it’s AHS: 1984’s incorporation of Richard Ramirez, AHS: Cult’s use of Valerie Solanas, or AHS: Coven’s prominent role for the Axeman of New Orleans. Accordingly, it’s very much par for the course for AHS: Delicate to riff on other pop culture touchstones and infinitely warp them to its wicked whims. That being said, it takes real guts to do a postmodern feminist version of Rosemary’s Baby and then actually put Mia Farrow – while she’s filming Rosemary’s Baby, no less – into the narrative. This is the type of gonzo bullshit that I want out of American Horror Story! Sharon Tate even shows up for a minute because why the hell not? Make no mistake, this is completely absurd, but the right kind of campy absurdity that’s consistently been in American Horror Story’s wheelhouse since its inception. It’s a wild introduction that sets up an Oscar-centric AHS: Delicate episode for success. “Little Gold Man” is a chaotic episode that’s worth its weight in gold and starts to bring this contentious season home.
It’d be one thing if “Little Gold Man” just featured a brief detour to 1967 so that this season of pregnancy horror could cross off Rosemary’s Baby from its checklist. AHS: Delicate gets more ambitious with its revisionist history and goes so far as to say that Mia Farrow and Anna Victoria Alcott are similarly plagued. “Little Gold Man” intentionally gives Frank Sinatra dialogue that’s basically verbatim from Dex Harding Sr., which indicates that this demonic curse has been ruffling Hollywood’s feathers for the better part of a century. Anna Victoria Alcott’s Oscar-nominated feature film, The Auteur, is evidently no different than Rosemary’s Baby. It’s merely Satanic forces’ latest attempt to cultivate the “perfect product.” “Little Gold Man” even implies that the only reason that Mia Farrow didn’t go on to make waves at the 1969 Academy Awards and ends up with her twisted lot in life is because she couldn’t properly commit to Siobhan’s scheme, unlike Anna.
This is easily one of American Horror Story’s more ridiculous cold opens, but there’s a lot of love for the horror genre and Hollywood that pumps through its veins. If Hollywood needs to be a part of AHS: Delicate’s story then this is actually the perfect connective tissue. On that note, Claire DeJean plays Sharon Tate in “Little Gold Man” and does fine work with the brief scene. However, it would have been a nice, subtle nod of continuity if AHS: Delicate brought back Rachel Roberts who previously portrayed Tate in AHS: Cult. “Little Gold Man” still makes its point and to echo a famous line from Jennifer Lynch’s father’s television masterpiece: “It is happening again.”
“Little Gold Man” is rich in sequences where Anna just rides the waves of success and enjoys her blossoming fame. She feels empowered and begins to finally take control of her life, rather than let it push her around and get under her skin like a gestating fetus. Anna’s success coincides with a colossal exposition dump from Tavi Gevinson’s Cora, a character who’s been absent for so long that we were all seemingly meant to forget that she was ever someone who was supposed to be significant. Cora has apparently been the one pulling many of Anna’s strings all along as she goes Single White Female, rather than Anna having a case of Repulsion. It’s an explanation that oddly works and feeds into the episode’s more general message of dreams becoming nightmares. Cora continuing to stay aligned with Dr. Hill because she has student loans is also somehow, tragically the perfect explanation for her abhorrent behavior. It’s not the most outlandish series of events in an episode that also briefly gives Anna alligator legs and makes Emma Roberts and Kim Kardashian kiss.
“Little Gold Man” often feels like it hits the fast-forward button as it delivers more answers, much in the same vein as last week’s “Ava Hestia.” These episodes are two sides of the same coin and it’s surely no coincidence that they’re both directed by Jennifer Lynch. This season has benefitted from being entirely written by Halley Feiffer – a first for the series – but it’s unfortunate that Lynch couldn’t direct every episode of AHS: Delicate instead of just four out of nine entries. That’s not to say that a version of this season that was unilaterally directed by Lynch would have been without its issues. However, it’s likely that there’d be a better sense of synergy across the season with fewer redundancies. She’s responsible for the best episodes of AHS: Delicate and it’s a disappointment that she won’t be the one who closes the season out in next week’s finale.
To this point, “Little Gold Man” utilizes immaculate pacing that helps this episode breeze by. Anna’s Oscar nomination and the awards ceremony are in the same episode, whereas it feels like “Part 1” of the season would have spaced these events out over four or five episodes. This frenzied tempo works in “Little Gold Man’s” favor as AHS: Delicate speed-runs to its finish instead of getting lost in laborious plotting and unnecessary storytelling. This is how the entire season should have been. Although it’s also worth pointing out that this is by far the shortest episode of American Horror Story to date at only 34 minutes. It’s a shame that the season’s strongest entries have also been the ones with the least amount of content. There could have been a whole other act to “Little Gold Man,” or at the least, a substantially longer cold open that got more out of its Mia Farrow mayhem.
“Little Gold Man” is an American Horror Story episode that does everything right, but is still forced to contend with three-quarters of a subpar season. “Part 2” of AHS: Delicate actually helps the season’s first five episodes shine brighter in retrospect and this will definitely be a season that benefits from one long binge that doesn’t have a six-month break in the middle. Unfortunately, anyone who’s already watched it once will likely not feel compelled to experience these labor pains a second time over. With one episode to go and Anna’s potential demon offspring ready to greet the world, AHS: Delicate is poised to deliver one hell of a finale.
Although, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra, “How do you expect to be a good conclusion if this is what you’re chasing?”
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