Interview with the Vampire

Interview with the Vampire is a gothic 1994 film based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name. The film follows the tale of Lestat, a vampire, and the man he turned into a vampire, Louis. The film is told as a flashback, as Louis tells his story to a newspaper reporter.

Neil Jordan directed the film based on the screenplay written by Anne Rice. It starred Tom Cruise as Lestat, Brad Pitt as Louis, Antonio Banderas as Armand, Stephen Rea as Santiago, Christian Slater as Daniel Molloy (credited only as "Malloy"), and Kirsten Dunst as Claudia.

Plot summary
The film opens with Malloy (Slater) beginning an interview with Louis (Pitt), a vampire who had intended on feeding on Malloy, but has changed his mind and agreed to tell his life story. Louis opens with his "birth into darkness": his becoming a vampire.

After losing his wife and child during childbirth in the late 1700s, Louis loses his will to live. He lets the world know of his wish to die, but Lestat de Lioncourt (Cruise), a vampire, feeds on him first and offers him a choice: death or life as an immortal. Louis chooses to live the life of a vampire, and Lestat feeds him from his wrist, completing the transformation.

Louis finds the transition from mortal to immortal discomforting. Although he now has a natural thirst for blood, he still feels his mortal morals pulling him down. He learns from Lestat that he can "merely survive," on the blood of animals such as rats, but the thirst still haunts him. After feeding on one of his servants, Louis burns down his plantation mansion and frees all the slaves working there. Lestat and Louis then flee the plantation for New Orleans.

Life in New Orleans is not much different for Louis, as Lestat still tries to tempt him to feed on human life. Louis wanders out into a rainy night after fighting with Lestat, stumbling upon Claudia (Dunst), a young girl who just lost her mother to the Black Plague. While comforting her, Louis can no longer hold back his urge, and feeds on the girl. Lestat finds and turns the girl into a vampire, as Louis cannot bear the thought of himself killing someone so young.

Claudia becomes somewhat of a protege for Lestat, as their lust for killing is almost equal. However, being immortal, Claudia learns that she will always be a young girl (around 10 years old in the movie), unable to grow up. Louis reveals it was he who fed on her and Lestat who turned her into a vampire. She develops a hatred for Lestat, but feelings for Louis keep her from developing hatred for him. While attempting to make peace with Lestat, she feeds him "dead blood" and slits his throat, apparently killing him. Louis and Claudia then dump him into the swamp.

Louis and Claudia find life after Lestat quite enjoyable. Louis becomes almost obsessed with finding others of "their kind" and Louis arranges for them to go to Europe to continue their search. On the eve of their departure, Lestat returns, more of a swamp creature than vampire, and he attacks Claudia, but Louis sets him on fire and they escape to Europe.

Their search in Europe leads them to Paris in 1830, where they discover a theater of "vampires pretending to be human pretending to be vampires." The leader, Armand (Banderas) takes a liking to Louis, much like Lestat did, but the theater's main actor, Santiago (Rea), suspects Louis and Claudia are responsible for Lestat's death, a crime punishable by death among vampires.

One night after returning from a talk with Armand, Louis finds Claudia has brought home a woman named Madeleine, whom she wishes Louis to feed on and then turn into a vampire as a companion for her. Louis at first resists, but then gives in, killing "the last of me that was human." Shortly after, Santiago and the other theater vampires burst into the room and kidnap all three. Madeleine and Claudia are burned alive via sunlight, while Louis is sealed in a coffin. Armand rescues Louis, but Louis realizes it is too late to save Claudia and Madeleine. Louis takes revenge on the theater by burning it to the ground, killing all the vampires inside while they are sleeping.

Louis returns to New Orleans in 1988, where he finds a weakened Lestat living in the ruins of an old home. Lestat has apparently been feeding on rats as Louis once did, causing him to become vulnerable and weak.

Louis ends the interview, but Malloy is angered when he finds out there is not more to tell and wishes to become a vampire so he will know what its like. Louis attacks him and chokes him, but Malloy begs for his life and Louis lets him go. Malloy gets in his car and drives to the Golden Gate Bridge, where he is attacked by Lestat and fed on. Lestat then offers him "the choice that I never had."

Trivia

 * Anne Rice was very vocally opposed to the casting of Tom Cruise as Lestat and compared it with casting Tom Sawyer as her vampire. After seeing the finished film she apologized by taking out a full page ad in Variety.
 * The screenplay is credited to Anne Rice.
 * River Phoenix was cast as Malloy the Interviewer and died shortly before filming. Christian Slater took the part and donated his salary to some of Phoenix's favorite charities.