ANNE RICE’S INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SEASON 1 & 2 BOX SET (Acorn Media International Blu-ray Review)

ANNE RICE’S

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

SEASON 1 & 2 BOX SET

Label: Acorn Media International 

Region Code: B

Rating: Cert. 18

Audio: English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.00:1) 

Cast: Jacob Anderson, Sam Reid, Eric Bogosian, Delainey Hayles. Assad Zaman

AMC's Interview with a Vampire series, based on Anne Rice's seminal novel, tells the tale of Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson, Game of Thrones), a hustler operating out of New Orleans in the early 1900's, who meets hedonistic French vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Sam Reid, The Newsreader), a charming bloodsucker  who invites him to become his immortal vampire lover and companion, which he accepts. The decades long story is told in flashback as Louis recounts his afterlife-story from a state of the art high-rise in modern-day Dubai, to an acerbic journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian, Special Effects), who has a history with Louis after a mysterious encounter in San Francisco back in the early '70s. The intoxicating tale, including the the introduction of 14-year-old vampire Claudia (Bailey Bass), a sort of adopted daughter for the vampire couple, who proves to be quite challenging and forceful.

I am not someone familiar with the novel or the '90's adaptation starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, somehow I have managed not to see it for all these years, so I came into this with only the basic premise in mind, and having no comparison to how it measures up against the source material. Watching it I was engrossed from the first episode, the early 1900's New Orleans setting in the Storyville neighborhood is Gothic cat-nip, dripping with mood and atmosphere, the show's production design and costuming looks terrific, it just looks like some serious money is onscreen here, and it's visually stunning slice of television.  

The story of vampire love is fraught tension and suspense, it turns out that being a bloodsucking immortal not only allows for a long-life, but also allows time for passions to boil over, and the perils  of raising an eternal teenage bloodsucker proves to be quite a challenging. The contentious love story between Lestat and Louis never dulls, and is often inflamed by the presence of the headstrong and often brattish and impulsive Claudia, as does Louis decision to not feed on humans, to only drink the blood of animals, while Lestat and Claudia hunt nightly for human prey. Season one ends with quite an impactful and blood-soaked finale with major repercussions, which includes a wonderfully campy and gory Mardi Grass Ball at their home.

The second season picks-up immediately where season one left off, with Louis recounting his tale to reporter Daniel in Dubai, who often pushes back on the story being told looking for truth and clarity. For the second season the character of Claudia was recast with Delainey Hayles (Holby City) capably assuming the role, which took some getting use to, because I adored Bailey Bass, and as I watched these seasons back to back over the course of three nights the change was quite noticeable, so the shift felt abrupt, but Hayles won me over. The pair have fled New Orleans after the events of the first season, travelling to post-war Europe in search of more of their kind. It's a hardscrabble life of wandering, along the way encountering a grotesque feral vampire in the Romanian forest, an experience that is unsettling for Claudia. They end up in  Paris, where they discover a coven of vampires who operate a macabre vampire-theater. There Louis once again finds a love interest by way of the coven's leader, the ancient vampire Armand (Assad Zaman, Hotel Portofino) while Claudia looks to join the coven looking for a sense of belonging. The change in setting to a post-war Europe is just as stunning as New Orleans, there's new love and a new chemistry, but it seems that the thrall of Lestat looms large for both Claudia and Louis, and surprisingly for Armand as well, all of whom struggle to free themselves from Lestat’s far-reaching grip. 

The show's mix of Gothic period settings, and vampiric melodrama is a heady concoction, season two gets a bit campier, especially towards the end when Louis embarks on a bloody revenge killing-spree in the past, and how things resolve in the current day Dubai, but I loved it, I was absolutely was enthralled by the first two seasons of the show, and I am looking forward to checking out season three when it arrives, and seeing where things go from here.  

Audio/Video: Seasons 1 and 2 of AMC's Interview with a Vampire arrives on a 5-disc Blu-ray set from Acorn Media International. The show is presented in 1080p HD 

2.00:1 widescreen, and it looks largely terrific. The flashbacks to New Orleans and Paris have a nice earthy tones to them, while the current day Dubai interview segments are sharper and more colorful. Compression looks solid, I noticed a bit of banding in spots, but otherwise the discs are well-authored with a supportive bit rate. Black levels are strong, and colors look wonderful, especially the splashes of red when the bloodsucking and carnage starts up. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles, the track is well-balanced and nicely robust during the livelier sequences.  

Extras include the 40-min 2022 San Diego Comic-Con Panel; the 4-min Pre-Premiere Inside Look; 2-min Blooper Reel; and the 43-min "Show Me More" Interview With A Vampire: Season 2. The 50disc set arrives in a keepcase with two flipper trays housing the 5 Blu-ray discs, with a single-sided sleeve of illustrated artwork. 

Special Features: 

Season 1:
- 2022 San Diego Comic-Con Panel (39:58) 

Season 2:
- Pre-Premiere Inside Look (4:00)

- Blooper Reel (2:05) 
- "Show Me More" Interview With A Vampire: Season 2 (42:33) 
- Episode Insiders (17:29)