"Interview with the Vampire" and "Bram Stoker's Dracula": Sucks to Be Them

What the Kids Were Watching

The late aughts had “Twilight,” but in the early 90s, vampire fans were sinking their teeth into “Interview with the Vampire” and “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” — and today, these two movies are the subject of a bloody good podcast episode. Raf explains how these films were groundbreaking in many ways, from portraying vampires as creatures worthy of sympathy to featuring a gay subtext that was rarely seen in the era's big-budget films. Sarah admits she hasn't seen these movies as many times as Raf has, but she does approve of Gary Oldman’s “Victorian Geddy Lee” look.

In many ways, these two films are as different as night and day. Both hosts agree that “Dracula” is beautiful but boring, despite Sadie Frost’s amazing Lucy (and in spite of Anthony Hopkins' scenery-chewing Van Helsing). “Interview,” meanwhile, suffers from Brad Pitt's Louis — who Sarah dubs "sullen furniture" — but sparkles thanks to Tom Cruise's charming sociopath Lestat and Kirsten Dunst’s fantastic baby vampire Claudia, as well as Latinx representation and the afore-mentioned gay subtext. But why do women suffer so much more than men in both films? And is living forever an eternal party, or an eternal funeral? The hosts try to find some answers that don't suck.