Interview with the Vampire opened during my first year working at a movie theater. It was a highly anticipated film that played on two screens (out of nine). I waited until midweek to see it because I was working opening weekend, but I had followed the hype and Anne Rice/Tom Cruise controversy. Now it is part of my origin story like Loui (Brad Pitt)’s. It is forever tied to that joyous period in my life and watching it again brings it all back.
Yes, Louis is whiny. I still think if he so wanted to die he could still have stepped out into the sunlight. Yes, Lestat (Cruise) is far more interesting. Kirsten Dunst arrived fully formed as an actor, comparable to her most recent performances.
Some themes hit me harder as an adult. Lestat preyed upon Louis when he was vulnerable, so Louis was stuck with a companion who was essentially a bad decision he made under duress. Seeking other vampires is the universal theme of finding your chosen family, and that proves even worse for Louis, though his revenge is a cool set piece.
All of the film is at night so the 4K transfer gives you tons of deep black in 35mm grain. The opening shots of San Francisco give you the night sky and San Francisco Bay. The night sky is omnipresent at the New Orleans docks where Lestat flies Louis into the air, Louis’ estate where they lead victims, the river as New Orleans burns and the well with the deadly circle of sunlight growing.
Stephen Rea’s black cape and top hat is deep too. And boy, these were real sets they built. Period New Orleans, and Armand (Antonio Banderas)’ crypt under the theater feel way more lived-in than any digital background on a screen.
1994 was early days for surround still but they got fire crackling in the rear, thunder and rain, and some breathy effects when Claudia drinks from Lestat.
New bonus features have director Neil Jordan discussing the lighting. They show production designer Dante Ferretti’s art and discuss how they built sets to those specifications.
DVD and Blu-ray era bonus features also include Rice, Banderas and Rea. Gone is the 1995 VHS introduction where Rice apologized and praised Cruise.
Eight minutes of deleted scenes are mostly from the first half of the film, between Louis and Lestat, Louis and Claudia and a priest who is unable to answer Louis’ existential questions.