AMC’s Interview with the Vampire breathed new life into the gothic horror genre, blending sensuality and terror while challenging long-held notions of race and desire in supernatural storytelling.
Drawing inspiration from Anne Rice’s book series The Vampire Chronicles, the show’s creator, Rolin Jones, reimagined Louis de Pointe du Lac, played by actor Jacob Anderson, as an affluent Black man running a brothel in New Orleans during the early 20th century while unknowingly being studied by the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt, portrayed by Sam Reid.
While Rice’s work introduced the character of Louis as a wealthy plantation owner wracked with guilt following the death of his wife and daughter, AMC transformed him into a businessman trying to salvage his father’s legacy through means his family loathed. Following his rebirth as a vampire, Louis is faced with the reality of what eternity as a Black gay man will mean for him.
This iteration of Interview with the Vampire presents the interactions between race, desire and the supernatural with remarkable depth. By reimagining characters like Louis, Claudia (Bailey Bass and Dalainey Hayles) and the vampire Armand (Assad Zaman) as racialized in a time where racial hierarchies were starkly entrenched, the show adds a layer of complexity to their vampirism, as a metaphor for power, desire, and exclusion.
For instance, Armand’s identity adds another dimension to his character, particularly as a leader within the vampire community. Traditionally portrayed as an ancient vampire with an almost ethereal, timeless beauty, Armand’s racialized identity in AMC’s adaptation allows the show to explore power dynamics within the supernatural world and the societal structure at the time.
Similarly, Claudia’s character transformation offers another poignant exploration of race, desire, and identity. Originally depicted as a white five-year-old in the 18th century, the show reimagines Claudia as a Black girl trapped in an immortal body and amplifies the themes of stunted growth, both emotionally and socially.
Her eternal youth becomes more tragic as she grapples with the dual oppression of being a Black woman in a racist society and a child in a vampire’s body, forever denied the autonomy and freedom she craves. Thus, she is ostracized both in the human world and in vampire society, as it is a law that children should never be given the “dark gift.”
This layering of racial and sexual identities within the context of vampirism challenges the audience to reconsider the genre’s traditional portrayals of power and desire. Vampires, often seen as the ultimate outsiders, are now navigating their otherness not just through their supernatural abilities but through their marginalized racial and sexual identities.
Subsequently, the depiction of Louis and Lestat’s relationship as overly romantic is a significant departure from the original books and the 1994 film adaptation, where their bond is often shrouded in subtext and left ambiguous.
By fully embracing their relationship as a passionate and complex romance, AMC’s Interview with the Vampire adds a new dimension to the source material, bringing to the forefront themes of queer desire and power dynamics that were only hinted at before.
In previous iterations, their connection was rooted in more manipulation and the shared experience of vampirism, with any romantic or sexual tension kept beneath the surface. In contrast, the show’s portrayal of their love — complete with the highs of passion and the destructive lows of toxic codependency — allows for a more in-depth exploration of their emotional complexities.
This shift modernizes the story and provides a richer, more nuanced look at their relationship. The show as a whole becomes incredibly more relevant to contemporary discussions around queer representation and love that transcends societal boundaries. This makes AMC’s iteration not just a story of bloodlust and immortality but a nuanced exploration of what it means to exist on the fringes of society, even within the supernatural world.
In doing so, Jones’ portrayal of the show revitalizes the gothic horror genre, making it more inclusive and reflective of today’s societal issues. It challenges long-held notions of identity, desire, and power, offering a fresh lens through which to view both vampirism and human relationships.