Interview With the Vampire [Blu-ray]

In a genre where violence, blood and cryptic imagery run rampant, Interview With the Vampire plays on the eloquence of Victorian times and how the blood-hungry immortals are more concerned with blending in than reigning supreme. Interview With the Vampire is a stylish adaptation from author Anne Rice’s best-selling novel that features Louis (Brad Pitt) recounting his transformation from a wealthy human into the walking dead to Daniel Malloy, a young reporter played by Christian Slater. Early on, Louis is faced with a decision to die or to join Lestat (Tom Cruise) as his companion and chooses poorly. The two move around the Louisiana area hunting the dregs, whores and poor immigrants that appear on their doorstep until one night when Lestat abducts a young girl and her mother. After taking the mother’s life, Louis forces Lestat to make Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) a part of their morbid family. At their most prominent, the three are constantly feeding on human livestock until dissension enters the ranks and Claudia subdues Lestat by tricking him into drinking a corpse’s blood. With feelings of regret, Louis takes Dunst and searches the world for other vampires to join but it isn’t until they arrive in France that they find a powerful group of their kin ruled by Armand (Antonio Banderas). Cruise’s performance as Lestat is one of the most humanizing for a vampire character. He acts the part of a father throughout by killing for his family as well enforcing rules and education to help ensure their survival and concealment. This movie is by no means a 30 Days of Night or Blade gore-fest, rather it goes beyond the topical ideas of what a vampire is and focuses on their ability to have humanizing aspects. Extra features include a commentary with director Neil Jordan, the "In The Shadow of The Vampire” featurette where Anne Rice explains her process of coming up with, writing and working on the screenplay for Vampire. As well insight is offered from Cruise, Pitt, Dunst and Banderas regarding their characters in the movie. Plus: a theatrical trailer and introduction to the movie with Rice, Jordan and Banderas.