Interview With A Vampire - what a terrible film!

[queenceleste]

It’s a Neil Jordan film and obviously had a hefty budget but it’s just so grim and apparently unredeemed by anything. The casting is so awful. The Homo-erotic undertones feel unexpressed. It’s all such a steaming great turd of a film. Brad Pitt looks miserable and umm that’s it. Such range of misery. Cruise is just horrendously miscast.

awful

It is a classic.

32 years ago. It was very 'of the time'

God, that made me feel old!

but yes, very much “of it’s time” and not in a good way.

I hear you but even the plot feels really lame. I just hated it but to be fair I usually can’t stand Pitt or Cruise.

although Pitt was good in the Assasination of Jesse James and Cruise was great in magnolia

Have you watched the TV series?

I loved this film when it came out. To be fair we had no idea how much of a prick both Cruise and Pitt would turn out to be so our opinions weren't affected by the casting. I don't think Lestat was miscast at all, he played him perfectly.

I hear the tv series is good - well, from my dd so who knows if that’s a good rec.

Lots of films do age very badly. But what were they thinking here? It’s so grim but not in a good way. It’s like it’s half- heartedly grim. Brad Pitt looking miserable with his bloody floppy hair biting rats and looking sorry for himself. Just spare me. I can’t believe Neil Jordan made it.

So much agree! Watched it on Halloween and it was so terrible! And creepy 11 year old vampire girl Kirsten dunst who can never grow up, drawing naked dead women with her two creepy vampire dads and a whole pile of angst. Brad Pitt as a plantation owner, setting buildings on fire every time he needs to leave the area, shouting back at his slaves as he flees the burning building “you’re all freeeee” - yeah sure that will have stood up with the local cops. No indication of how they stayed wealthy for centuries, especially since they need to keep running away. No suspicion that the massive trail of dead bodies in their wake is anything to do with them. The whole thing - bleugh!

I love the show , Sam Reid plays a fantastic Lestat

The books are amazing - but much more homoerotic than the film.

Apparently Brad Pitt hated filming this movie. He tried to get out of his contract but it would have cost him millions so he had to suck it up. I think his hatred of the experience definitely comes across in the film!

I think Tom Cruise is excellent though. And Kirsten Dunst is amazing, such good acting at such a young age.

And agree with pp who said to watch the TV series. Louis is played by a black actor and doesn't own slaves but is a pimp (so not much better but still) and Sam Reid just embodies Lestat. His acting is extraordinary. And he's hot, so there's that 🤭

That is the point about her being too young etc. In the book it was viewed as an abomination to make her a vampire and it should have never have been done.

Oh i totally got that - I just found it creepy because it is!
I did get a strong sense from the film that they were hurtling through the most dramatic plot points from one to another, and the background, inner thoughts of characters, more explanation etc were all left out to fit it in film format. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to hear that a longer tv series version - or of course the original book - are much better.

Brad Pitt setting fire to everything and running away! So true and hilarious.

Snd Antonio Banderas is wasted and looks lost.

Why direct this homoerotic material in such an unerotic way? It’s so weird.

I loved the film when I've seen it first - I was very young (those were the days) and it impressed me a lot!

I dont think its a bad film. There are much, much worse.

It was the 90s, it was a mainstream film, open homoeroticism was less acceptable than a full grown man falling in love with a woman in the body of a child 🤷🏼‍♀️

Very good point, well made!

Claudia was based on her own daughter who died of leukaemia when she was 5. If I remember rightly she had curly hair and Rice saw it as her daughter being saved. Louis was her grief and Claudia lived on paper. This is a great article about.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/anne-rice-the-interview-with-the-vampire-novelist-on-her-daughter-s-death-living-through-her-own-funeral-and-the-dangers-of-oxford-9829902.html

I loved it when it first came out … turned it off recently … True Blood is the king of vampire TV!

I rewatched it recently and can't believe I made it through to the end.

This is fascinating, thank you.

My favourite book and film I love Anne Rice books ❤️ I love the new tv series of it 😊

And Lestat was based on her husband Stan 🙂

All I remember is the comedy vampire teeth. They looked ridiculous.

Anne Rice was very vocal at the time about disliking the casting of Cruise, she was very opposed to it. I remember going to see it 30 odd years ago and thinking it was a load of shite.