--- title: "Interview with the Vampire: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/interview-with-the-vampire/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/interview-with-the-vampire" critics_score: 65 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Interview with the Vampire (1994): what the critics said Critics' score 65 from 7 reviews: 5 positive, 0 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics respond warmly to Neil Jordan’s gothic vampire drama, with praise clustering around the performances and lavish production design. Tom Cruise’s Lestat is the main attraction: the reviews find humour, menace and sexual confidence in his pleasure at being monstrous. Kirsten Dunst’s Claudia also draws particular praise. The film’s treatment of immortality as a troubled domestic arrangement appeals to several critics, who find its melancholy and homoerotic tensions more interesting than straightforward scares. The spread is wide, however, with disagreement over whether that melancholy sustains the drama or drains it. Sight and Sound finds effective horror despite weaknesses in the source material. The Independent admires the depiction of eternal ennui and the Claudia scenes but finds little excitement or emotional payoff. Time Out is more dismissive, judging the script repetitive and its philosophy banal, while conceding that the production design supplies some atmosphere. ## Empire — Mark Salisbury Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). The critic sees the film as a morbidly fascinating domestic drama of immortality and a homoerotic yarn, hailing its gothic production design splendour and strong performances (especially Cruise's malevolent grace) that make it an unlikely feast compared to other lavish vampire adaptations. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/interview-vampire-vampire-chronicles-review/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 February 2024. The critic finds Neil Jordan’s horror-comedy an outrageous yet entertaining bromance that explores the complex lived experience of vampirism. Cruise delivers a hilarious, scene-chewing performance as Lestat while Dunst stands out as Claudia. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/15/interview-with-the-vampire-review-tom-cruise-brad-pitt-kirsten-dunst-antonio-banderas) ## Sight and Sound Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). The film is as strong as could be expected given weaknesses in the source material. Jordan achieves moments of creepiness and shocking horror, and Cruise delivers a fine performance as a narcissistic monster who relishes being one. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/it-refreshing-find-screen-vampire-who-relishes-being-monster-interview-with-vampire-reviewed-1995) ## The Independent — Adam Mars-Jones Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 19 January 1995. The critic finds the film melancholy and bloodless rather than scary or funny, with a sophisticated take on vampirism as curse or lifestyle but an overall mood that dampens excitement and thrills. Jordan excels at capturing eternal ennui over cheap genre shocks, with strong scenes involving the child vampire Claudia but limited erotic or emotional payoff. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/deathless-ruthless-and-bloodless-1568721.html) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2011. Jordan's adaptation is a disappointment that is neither scary nor engaging, and is instead dull and conventional. The script is dramatically repetitive and philosophically banal, though the production design provides some atmosphere. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/interview-with-the-vampire) ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin 11 November 1994. The critic finds Jordan's film a sophisticated and spookily intense rendering of Rice's story that is as strange and mesmerizing as it is imaginatively ghastly. Cruise's fiery, mature sexual magnetism as Lestat is singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/11/movies/film-review-interview-with-the-vampire-rapture-and-terror-bound-by-blood.html) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★☆. 16 February 2024. Neil Jordan’s lavish vampire movie showcases Tom Cruise’s versatile, pansexual delight as Lestat seeking domestic harmony with Pitt’s Louis and Dunst’s Claudia. Dunst’s fiery performance is highlighted as the standout. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/interview-with-the-vampire-1994-film-review-tom-cruise-is-a-delight-ltn6dx07f) ## Collider — Isabella Soares Rating A-. 12 November 2022. The critic finds the film an exquisite analysis of immortality and the danger of wishing for eternal youth and beauty. She singles out the strong performances, particularly the dynamic between Cruise and Pitt, and the script's ability to make viewers empathize with the monstrous characters. [Read the review](https://collider.com/interview-with-the-vampire-review-brad-pitt-tom-cruise/) ## Den of Geek — Robert Mclaughlin Rating 4/5. 20 November 2008. The critic calls the film one of the best vampire movies of the past twenty years and praises its opulent gothic production design, strong ensemble cast (especially Tom Cruise as Lestat and a young Kirsten Dunst as Claudia), and subtle make-up effects. They single out the detailed sets, costumes, and visual textures for particular praise while noting the Blu-ray edition itself is a lazy re-release. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/interview-with-the-vampire-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/interview-with-the-vampire.md