Meet the Vampire Lestat

by Cláudio Alves

The best show currently on TV is coming for a third season. Though its renewal was only announced at the end of last month, shooting for the next chapter in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire seems well underway. At least, that's what one can surmise from the just-released teaser, where Sam Reid dons the Vampire Lestat's rock persona and sits down for a filmed interview. Moving from the literary-minded recordings of the first two seasons, the show is moving into the realm of concert tour mockumentary. One hopes that the updated format maintains the queer Gothic romance sensibilities that have earned it a small army of devoted fans. But of course, judging from the online reaction, the showrunners have nothing to worry about. The fandom is over the moon...

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Dorian TV Awards: Horny Vampires, Queer Comedians, Fellow Travellers, and Baby Reindeers

by Nathaniel R

Fellow Travelers © Showtime

The Society for LGBTQ Entertainment Journalists have released the Dorian Award nominations for the 2023-2024 TV season in twenty-four categories. As per our usual disclaimer, multiple members of TFE are in the 500-wide membership of GALECA. It's a four way tie for the leading show between AMC's interpretation of Interview with the Vampire, perennial Emmy favourites Max's Hacks and FX/Hulu's The Bear, and Netflix sensation Baby Reindeer all grabbing six nods each. FX/Hulu's remake of classic period epic Shōgun and Showtime's thrilling romantic drama Fellow Travellers were not far behind with five nods each. 

After the list, the full nominations and a few scattered comments...

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Review: "The Vourdalak" is a Gothic throwback with its own soul

by Nick Taylor

We love 19th century gothic horror, don’t we folks? One of the most durable subgenres of all time. Influential to our current understanding of what horror is and how to depict it in ways so finely woven into the genre we couldn’t possibly begin to disentangle it from contemporary media.

Director Adrien Beau, making his feature film debut with The Vourdalak following a handful of spooky shorts, has created a vampire film equally indebted to the rhythms and moods of the gothic novella and the style of a Hammer horror flick. There’s no self-aware pastiche, no riffing on the genre, just an immersive attempt to bring some very particular sensibilities back from the dead. After premiering at the 80th Venice Film Festival last year, The Vourdalak is getting a theatrical release this summer. It works beautifully, mordant and sensually detailed, and it’s exactly the kind of gem folks should remember from this part of the year when we’re overwhelmed by December releases...

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Venice 2023: Three terrific films that could be formidable Oscar players

by Elisa Giudici

Venice's 80th edition feels weaker (in terms of competition films) than the previous editions I've covered for The Film Experience. That said there are some strong contenders for the Golden Lion, and a few exceptional pieces of filmmaking. Here are three movies that stand out from the crowd. What's more they each have the potential to be strong Oscar contenders after Venice. 

I'll present them in order of their excellence, from the very good to the simply superb...

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October Diary: My Spooky Season Favorites

by Nick Taylor

Hello, ghosts and ghoulies of The Film Experience! Did y’all have a good October? I did! Much like many film-obsessives, I used this month as an excuse to seek out horror films I've had lounging on my to-watch list from across all corners of the genre. With Halloween soon approaching, I figured it would be fun to share five of the best from my diary while my roommates and I try to trick the host of an upcoming Halloween party into putting on Troll 2. Without further ado, let us begin! More after the jump... 

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