I saw Interview with a Vampire (The Rest of Season 2)

I saw the entirety of AMC's Interview with the Vampire: Season 2, and the impression I got from Season 1 stayed on course, though with the devilish realization of jazz-kissed vengeance in the end, as captured by the seismic and satisfying "And That's the End of It. There's Nothing Else." (What can I say? I'm a revenge-prone type of guy.) 

The humanization (near mortalization) of the vampires, per precise, sexual distinction and common, quarrelsome disposition, in particular with Louis and Armand, played respectively by Jacob Anderson and Assad Zaman, remained a steady departure from the novel. Ironically, these two became crueler for being more down to earth. Consider, if you will, the condescending way Eric Bogosian's shrewd Daniel Molloy was treated, not to mention those who were, in fact, drained and mangled. 

This cruel edge extended to Delainey Hayles' Claudia, Sam Reid's Lestat and above all, Ben Daniels' Santiago, aka Frances (ha ha). They were as mean as mean could be and again, all-too-human for it: highbrows who performed like gutter vermin, with little or no empathy for mortals, let alone their own conceited kind.

This came to a head in "I Could Not Prevent It," a smashing, Theatre Des Vampires, kangaroo-court episode that reminded me of The Prisoner's "Fall Out," with a preordained, Mr. Sardonicus verdict attached. The episode confirmed we're our own worst enemies, during which Lestat reappeared in the bloody, fair flesh, no less, and his betrayal was a self-betrayal and maybe a little sad because of it, though despite the pathos, unworthy of forgiveness, but then on the other hand ... (wink wink). 

For a spell, the setup put Santiago in a Pontius Pilate position, but beyond the Christ allusion, the fanatical accusations he hurled against Louis, Claudia and Roxane Duran's Madeleine (even if scripted and not impromptu) were akin to those I've experienced in so many tedious, workplace meetings. (Indeed, I've seen good people reduced to buffoons by buffoons more than I care to admit.) As garish as Interview's kangaroo court proved, its structure was nothing more than spite for the sake of it, hate for the sake of it: ah, conditions that are again all-too-human!

I don't know how this angle may have struck Anne Rice or her son, Christopher, producers of the series by evident, marquee obligation. Rumor has it that the creative duo lost enthusiasm for the new Interview when it was decided by AMC execs to skip a close-to-the-bone translation. I can attest that what's in the series is often its own thing: i.e. it's reinterpreted, but so is Tod Browning's Dracula, James Whale's Frankenstein, Terence Fisher's Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula, and so on and so forth. Cinematic adaptations aren't often close to the bone, and yet can still reach classic status, so why not this particular Interview? 

I wonder how a Vampire Lestat adaptation might do within the teased, Vampire Chronicles continuation. A feature version never came to be, with Queen of the Damned following Neil Jordan's lucrative, Interview submission. If a Lestat storyline holds the petty prissiness of this Interview series, then it'll be off to a fine start. Lestat can (and will) be the embodiment of pettiness and woe-is-me deception. To see such epitomized could (should) work. I, for one, would like to see it manifest, no matter the interpretive risks.  

Interview with the Vampire: The Series (Anne Rice via AMC)

I hold Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire close to my jugular, along with its sequels. It's by no means the final word on vampire lore nor was it the first, but it gave the genre a new twist, while incorporating most of its parasitic traditions. For that, I (and a legion of fans) are grateful. 

Now AMC has re-entered the novel (i.e., the adventures of Louis, Lestat and wee Claudia) as a serial (an eight-part miniseries, to be precise), and from the footage shared, it appears to be as lush and macabre as Interview should be. That this remake is coproduced by Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul's Mark Johnson (with some executive help from Rolin [Boardwalk Empire] Jones and evident guidance from the late Rice and her son, Christopher) only further clinches its chance for favor. 

Here's the primary cast: Lois de Pointe du Lac is played by Jacob Anderson; Lestat de Lioncourt by Sam Reid; Claudia by Bailey Bass; and interviewer Daniel Molloy by Eric Bogosian. Good casting, it does seem, and for the sake of nuanced characterization, that's a prime plus. 

Embellishments and deletions will occur throughout, of course (with a second, spruce-up interview intervening, it appears), but whether this one rivals (or remedies) the Neil Jordan's Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise/Kirsten Dunst blockbuster is yet unknown. (As one may recall, the 1994 movie faced a heap of early, negative publicity, some of which came straight from Rice regarding its casting, but at the end of the day, the movie was [for the most part] embraced by the book's connoisseurs.)

Even with its box-office and critical success, the Jordan version didn't lead to a full-fledged, film adaptation of The Vampire Lestat. Hollywood instead waited several years to roll out Michael Rymer's mashup, Queen of the Damned, which proved a tepid reply at best, and that was that, until now. 

I'd imagine that if the new Interview secures a faithful following, we might see other Rice novels come to cinematic fruition, including Tale of the Body Thief and perhaps even a few, marginal experiments like The Mummy or Ramses the Damned and Cry to Heaven. Only time will tell, but a seamless, cinematic view of Rice's mythologies now appears much closer than many dared to dream. 

No matter what the Vampire Chronicles' long-term future holds, the immediate, next first step starts Oct 2.