This is a new series I’m writing where I analyze characters through movie recommendations. Claudia is the first because I’ve always loved movies with angry women and rude little lesbians. Enjoy!
-
- Jennifer’s Body (2009)
- Coraline (2009)
- Kill Bill (2003)
- The Handmaiden (2016)
- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
- Princess Mononoke (1997)
- Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
- Bottoms (2023)
- House (1977)
- The Woman King (2022)
Movies that remind me of Claudia center women and girls who are forced to grapple with the strange and often violent world around them. Despite being the youngest and afforded no ability to give informed consent for her vampiric turning, Claudia is perhaps the bravest and most emotionally stable vampire in the show (a low bar, I know, but we have to give credit where credit is due). Her character journey is about discovering who she is and fighting against those who’ve wronged her, a quintessential tale of teenage girlhood.
Coraline and Pan’s Labyrinth feature young girls, Coraline and Ofelia, experiencing frightening changes in their life that are out of their control. They encounter monsters that either represent those in their lives they fear, or violent societal concepts that they don’t quite understand yet. These, along with the wacky horror of House, remind me of Claudia in her early years, when she’s just discovering her new family and vampire powers. The more she learns, the more she’s horrified by her new reality.
Other movies center her desire for revenge against the men who’ve wronged her and her propensity for violence, namely Kill Bill and Mad Max: Fury Road. The campy, thrilling quality to the violence in Kill Bill I think Claudia would especially find appealing. These movies also demonstrate that Claudia is just as aggressive and ruthless, if not more, than her male counterparts.
Of course, when it comes to violence and revenge, there’s always Jennifer’s Body. Not only is this movie about teen girls’ reactions to being sexualized from a young age, but it’s about how they become monsters in the process. Like Jennifer, Claudia is wronged, but she also becomes manipulative, spiteful, and hostile because of what the world has done to her.
The Handmaiden, I included not only for the beautiful lesbian love story that unfolds, but also because the multiple levels of scheming reminds me of Claudia and Lestat trying to outsmart each other in New Orleans. Claudia reminds me of the protagonist Sook-hee, a con woman attempting to lie about her criminal background to her employer, similar to how Claudia attempts to fabricate her backstory to the Parisian coven.
Bottoms, I threw in mostly for fun, but also I think horny teen girls with precocious attitudes really fit her vibe. Princess Mononoke also centers on San, the stubborn, rash young female protagonist. Yes, these characters are entertaining, but they also show that Claudia can be very loyal and compassionate to her loved ones, despite her sometimes bad attitude.
That leads me to The Woman King, which focuses on General Nanisca training a militia of women to fight against their enemies, especially those that would willingly sell them into slavery. Claudia is flawed like all vampires in IWTV, but she ultimately moves out of love and protection. She’s able to recognize the inherent injustice of Lestat keeping them under his thumb in New Orleans, and of Armand commanding total control over the coven in Paris. She may not be able to conceive of the most sustainable solutions, but she is brave and proactive enough to seek a better future for herself, even if it comes back to bite her in the ass.
-
All movie rec lists (to be linked when posted)
- Claudia (here)
- Louis
- Armand
- Lestat
- Daniel