Interview With The Vampire Season 2 (2024) Review
Interview With The Vampire Season 2 (2024) Review
The interview continues in modern-day Dubai, where vampire Louis recounts his life – or rather, his afterlife – to renowned journalist Daniel Molloy, now joined by fellow vampire Armand.
His story picks up immediately where season one left off. Having conspired to kill Lestat and fled New Orleans, Louis and Claudia find themselves in post-war Europe attempting to rebuild their lives. Their journey leads them to Paris, where they unearth forgotten secrets and encounter the vampire community Claudia had hoped to find, including Armand, with whom Louis feels an instant connection. But will they find the home they desperately seek, and are they truly free from Lestat’s grip?
Hot on the heels of its BBC Two transmission Anne Rice’s INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SEASON 2 will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and digital on 7 October 2024 courtesy of Acorn Media International. Anne Rice’s INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SEASON 1 & 2 Box set will also be available on Blu-ray and DVD.
Before I deliver my verdict on Season 2 I feel it would be appropriate to point out that whilst the first season had improved on certain aspects of director Neil Jordan’s 1994 blockbuster adaptation of Anne Rice’s 1976 novel – such as not shying away from the queer nature of the source material and also Sam Reid’s astonishing take on Lestat de Lioncourt bettering Tom Cruise’s lisping fay portrayal of the petulant vampire – elsewhere it added back story where none was needed, aside from fleshing it out for a TV series runtime, and often the pacing flagged.
When Season 2 was first announced back when the first season was still airing back in October 2022, I had some reservations. I knew that the story would cover the latter part of Rice’s novel, where Louise and Claudia happen upon The Théâtre des Vampires in Paris and are made welcome by the crew and performers, but how would the makers be able to flesh out the second half of the novel for eight hours’ worth of TV. Unbelievably the team behind this TV adaptation have not only pulled it off but also in the process made INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE SEASON 2 the best slice of TV this side of Apple’s SLOW HORSES.
By fleshing out the Paris episode of the story it comes up trumps. Whereas some of the changes to the source material in SEASON 1 were unnecessary, here any changes have improved things dramatically. This makes for one of the most absorbing and astonishing pieces of TV that you will see in this or any other year. If there are any weaknesses to be seen in this second season then that comes with its very first episode, as Louis and Claudia traipse around Europe looking for more of their ilk but rest assured that once the toothy twosome arrive in Paris, it moves up to top gear.
The performances are out-of-this-world with Ben Daniels killing it – sometimes literally – as the devious and spiteful Santiago. The production values are exquisite and there is an abundance of dark twisted humour running through its veins to add extra value – check out what is happening in the background when the vampires attack a mansion. It climaxes with an unexpected jaw-dropping twist that leaves one gagging for the recently announced SEASON 3 and I for one, cannot wait.
