The Vampire 1994: Claudia Interview With

: Lestat turns her to "bind" Louis to him forever.

When we talk about the great tragedies in vampire fiction, our minds often go to the brooding Louis (Brad Pitt) or the flamboyant, vicious Lestat (Tom Cruise). But if you sit down and re-watch Neil Jordan’s 1994 gothic masterpiece, Interview with the Vampire , you will quickly realize that the soul of the film’s horror belongs to a little girl in a blue nightgown. Claudia Interview With The Vampire 1994

Claudia’s existence is a philosophical horror story. When Lestat turns her to save Louis from suicide (and to keep Louis from leaving him), he unwittingly creates a monster that will destroy their fragile family unit. The horror of Claudia is not her bloodlust—vampires are expected to kill—but her stasis. : Lestat turns her to "bind" Louis to him forever

At just eleven years old, Dunst possessed a preternatural maturity. With her cascade of golden ringlets and piercing eyes, she looked the part of the porcelain doll she was often compared to. But it was her voice—husky, deliberate, and dripping with a specific kind of weary arrogance—that secured her the role. In the documentary history of the film, Neil Jordan noted that Dunst simply "understood" the character. She didn't play the monster; she played the tragedy. Claudia’s existence is a philosophical horror story

This is where Dunst’s performance becomes legendary. She doesn’t play Claudia as a child pretending to be evil. She plays her as a 60-year-old woman who is tired of her abuser. When she drags Lestat’s body to the swamp, there is no hesitation. She is a predator.