One of the best aspects of the human experience is having a big old crush — the pounding of your heartbeat, the rush of euphoria when you see the object of your affection, the desire to just scream with joy! At Polygon, however, we are very flexible about how we interpret “crush.” Short-lived but intense crushes don’t necessarily have to be real people (or even people!), or even romantic. Since I have a lot (a lot) of crushes, I decided to share the energy of writing their names over and over in a glittering gel pen in a journal.
This week’s crush: Louis and Lestat from 1994’s Interview With the Vampire
After seeing sexy gifset after sexy gifset of Interview with the vampire on my Tumblr dashboard, I finally decided to watch the AMC series on a Wednesday night. Unfortunately, I started at 10:30 PM and about 15 minutes into the first episode, I was too caught up in Jacob Anderson’s mesmerizing take on Louis and the rich story he was telling. I had to stop before Lestat showed up, because I knew that once he did, I would be completely intoxicated by their deliciously tumultuous relationship and would stay up far too late for a weeknight. I had to resist the temptation of toxic vampire yaoi if I wanted to keep my sleep schedule intact.
Interview with the vampire Ultimately, I got it with its dark, beautiful story, which has enough significant changes from the version I’m familiar with to intrigue me even more. The updates make sense and color the story through a new lens. But before I completely lose myself in this journey, I wanted to take a moment to review Neil Jordan’s 1994 film adaptation of Anne Rice’s gothic vampire novel, technically titled Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles.
Image: Warner Bros/Courtesy of Everett Collection
I first saw Jordan’s film when I was 12, right when I was really getting into vampires. (Because Twilight – Sorry I was the (target group at the time.) Interview with the vampirestarring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as Louis and Lestat respectively, left a deep impression on my psyche. It gave me a love of the Southern Gothic genre and fundamentally shaped my taste in vampires, fictional men, and fictional relationships. The film is lush and atmospheric, sinking its teeth into its 19th century New Orleans setting. It is decadent to the point of excess, almost to the point of rot, heavy with frills, gilded furniture, and Spanish moss hanging from the trees.
Brad Pitt’s Louis is the film’s anchor, with his disaffected, haunting narration. He’s sexy in that haunted, brooding Byronic hero way, with his long brown hair cascading over those broad shoulders. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise’s Lestat is the charming rake, golden curls and snarky smile, the evil influence that drags Louis down with him. It’s a murderously attractive combination, especially for someone whose first brush with vampires was the much-sanitized Twilight. Step aside, Edward Cullen — this were vampires worth running away from!
Image: Warner Bros/Courtesy of Everett Collection
Image: Warner Bros/Courtesy of Everett Collection
The 1994 film doesn’t make Louis and Lestat’s relationship explicitly romantic the way the new show does. That’s a big aspect of the story that I’d like to see in the AMC series, since it’s more in line with the original book series, where Rice depicted the vampires as openly queer in later novels. (She also confirmed in 2012 (That she saw Louis and Lestat as a homosexual couple.) Still, there’s something to be said for the aching homoerotic undertones that pulse throughout the 1994 film—a heartbeat of its own. Seeing Lestat whisper seductively in Louis’ ear as he lures him away to immortality and vampirism, asking him if he will come (seriously!) it’s hard not to think Oh, there’s something going on over there, huh?
Judging from what I’ve seen so far, I’m definitely going to drink the rest of the AMC Interview with the vampire. But the 1994 film will always have a special place in my heart. I dream about it now, and romanticize the humid nights of New Orleans in a way that I hope will translate to combating New York’s current heat wave. Maybe your crush will be watching this week Also help you brave the sultry summer days — let me know who you’re crushing on!