Now that Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Claudia (Delainey Hayles) are in Paris, it’s time for the Americans to get involved with the Théâtre des Vampires.
Episode 9: “What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned”: Armand joins the interview, and he and Louis tell Molloy how they met.
Missed A Review? Horror Queers S01 / S02E01
One of the most memorable sequences in Neil Jordan’s adaptation of Anne Rice’s source material is the introduction of the Théâtre des Vampires, which features Antonio Banderas as Armand and Stephen Rea as the Cabaret-esque emcee, Santiago.
Fans have been anticipating a fresh take since it was announced that Ben Daniels was attached to the latter role and, in his series debut, the queer actor doesn’t disappoint. Sporting a shock of bleached blonde hair, Santiago is delightfully melodramatic as he introduces the performance and “fake” floats for the low-brow audience.
It’s clear that the veteran actor is having a great time, but what’s most impressive is Daniels’ ability to balance the character’s campy theatricality with his underlying menace. Santiago is a dangerous wild card and the fact that he and Louis are already butting heads anticipates a bumpy road ahead.
I can’t wait to see more of Daniels in this role.
Meanwhile, as the interview continues in the present day, Louis reminisces about their first five months in the city of love. They didn’t realize it, but as he and Claudia settled in and he took up photography, they were inadvertently insulting the local vampire coven, who were waiting to be formally introduced.
It’s not until Armand (Assad Zaman) approaches Louis at a queer cruising park that the newbies finally visit the notorious theatre troupe. And, just like that, Claudia finds what she’s been looking for: a found family that sleeps together, hunts in a pack, and proudly flaunts their status as vampires. Naturally Claudia is smitten!
There’s one small hitch: the looming visage of Lestat (Sam Reid) quite literally hangs over the proceedings. Turns out the redhead was a co-founder of the troupe, and while Claudia is skilled at hiding her thoughts, Armand can sense Louis struggling to hide their connection.
Thankfully there’s a romance/attraction blossoming between Louis and Armand, which guarantees that the troupe’s creative director will help Louis. Which is important because despite Louis’ fear that they’ll be punished for killing Lestat, it’s evident by the end of the episode that Claudia’s newfound love of the troupe ensures that the Théâtre isn’t going anywhere soon.
Other Observations:
- As far as “meet cute” stories go, “What Can the Damned Really Say to the Damned” doesn’t fully sell the Louis/Armand romance. Perhaps it’s intentional, but compared to his chemistry with Reid, Anderson doesn’t have much spark with Zaman. Granted it’s still early days, but at least in this episode, it’s the colourful acting troupe that makes an impact, not the sexual connection that is purportedly bubbling underneath the surface.
- Best line of the episode goes to Hayles’ delivery of “Now I know what two fat cocks slapping together sounds like, so thanks for that.” Instant classic.
- The interview has taken on a different (read: combative) tone now that Armand is present and more vocal. After plotting last episode to present a unified front, Louis and Armand are now finishing each other’s sentences in a cutesy performative way that doesn’t sit well with Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian).
- Although Molloy was being curt with them, watching the couple attack the journalist’s relationship with his wife and his failed marriage proposal felt cruel. Kudos to Bogosian for subtly increasingly the character’s Parkinson’s symptoms as Molloy got more upset.
- Armand was awful quick to remind everyone that he and Louis have been together 47 years longer than Louis’ relationship with Lestat. Methinks he doth protest too much.
- Bogosian doesn’t always get a ton to do during the interview sequences, but the glee he infused in Daniel’s mockery of Louis and Armand’s relationship, describing them as a telenovela and playing the Days of Our Lives theme, is delightful.
- It’s a little disappointing that writers Jonathan Ceniceroz & Shane Munson don’t do much to distinguish the show’s infamous on-stage murder sequence from the film, despite dedicating significantly more screen time to it. With that said, the shift in mood from camp to terror as Annika screams for help before she’s killed is extremely effective.
- Shout out to director Levan Akin for the inspired staging of the “pack hunt” at the De LaCroix estate. As Louis and Armand have a (romantic) moment in the foreground, the others can be seen maiming and murdering the 13 guests in the background, including setting rooms on fire and guests falling off second story balconies. It’s pretty inspired.
Interview with the Vampire S02 airs on AMC on Sundays