One of the best parts of the human experience is having a big ol’ crush — the pitter-patter of your heartbeat, the swell of euphoria when you see the object of your affections, the desire to just squeal with joy! At Polygon, though, we’re very flexible about how we interpret “crush.” Brief-yet-intense infatuations don’t necessarily have to be on real people (or even on people!), or even romantic. Since I have many many (many) crushes, I’ve decided to share the energy of writing their names over and over again in sparkly 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 check out the AMC series one Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, I started at 10:30 p.m., and about 15 minutes into the first episode, I was too swept up by Jacob Anderson’s hypnotic take on Louis, and the rich story he was spinning. I had to stop before Lestat appeared, because I knew once the moment he did, I would be fully intoxicated by their deliciously tumultuous relationship, and I’d stay up far too late for a weeknight. I had to resist the lure of toxic vampire yaoi if I wanted to keep my sleep schedule intact.
Interview With the Vampire eventually got me with its dark, splendid story, which has enough key 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 fully lose myself to this journey, I wanted to take a moment to really appreciate Neil Jordan’s 1994 movie adaptation of Anne Rice’s gothic vampire novel, technically titled Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles.
I first watched Jordan’s film at age 12, right as I was really getting into vampires. (Because of Twilight — sorry! I was the target audience back then.) Interview With the Vampire, starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise as Louis and Lestat respectively, left a deep mark on my psyche. It gave me a fondness for the Southern Gothic genre, and fundamentally shaped my taste in vampires, fictional men, and fictional relationships. The movie is lush and atmospheric, sinking its fangs into the setting of 1800s New Orleans. It’s decadent to the point of excess, almost to the point of rot, heavy with frills, gilded furniture, and Spanish moss hanging from trees.
Brad Pitt’s Louis anchors the film with his disaffected, haunting narration. He’s sexy in that tortured, brooding Byronic hero way, with his long, tawny hair tumbling over those broad shoulders. Meanwhile, Tom Cruise’s Lestat fills the role of the charming rake, golden curls and a snarky smile, the bad influence dragging Louis down with him. It’s a murderously attractive combination, especially to someone whose initial brush with vampires was the very sanitized Twilight. Move over, Edward Cullen — these were vampires worth running away with!
The 1994 movie doesn’t make Louis and Lestat’s relationship explicitly romantic, like the new show does. That’s one big aspect of the story that I’m eager to see unfold in the AMC series, since that’s more in line with the original book series, where Rice wrote the vampires as openly queer in later novels. (She also confirmed in 2012 that she saw Louis and Lestat as a same-sex couple.) Still, there’s something to be said about the aching homoerotic undertone that pulses throughout the 1994 movie — a heartbeat of its own. Watching Lestat whispering seductively into 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 there, huh?
Judging from what I’ve watched so far, I’m certain I’m going to drink up the rest of the AMC Interview With the Vampire. But the 1994 movie will always hold a special place in my heart. I’m dreaming of it right now, romanticizing the humid New Orleans nights in a way I hope will translate to battling the current New York heatwave. Maybe your crush this week will also assist you in combating the steamy summer weather — let me know who you’re crushing on!
The post I can’t deny the allure of Louis x Lestat in any form appeared first on Polygon.
