Queen of the Damned Review Funny
Best 2002 Horror Movie.
Great Plot & Amazing Performance From Dead Singer Aaliyah .
Rated R, yet does not offend Kids.
Action From Beginning To End .
Handsome Actor Stuart Townsend in his best roles.
Great Soundtrack & Awesome Movie About Vampires.
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I guess it depends on your point of view, but I think it's good
I'm notorious among my loved ones for my love of movies that most people wouldn't like. I'm blessed with a gift to appreciate them, I guess. And I'm also blessed with the ability to take movies as totally separate from their book counterparts. Die hard Ann Rice fans might not like this movie because it slams two books (The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned) into one to make a relatively short film. So, obviously, a lot of the story was changed or left out. Which makes it understandable why some were upset. I mean, come on, Interview With the Vampire was over two hours long, and it was the movie version of just one book.
However, taken as it's own story, the movie is actually very good. Well, in my opinion. Stuart Townsend's portrayal of Lestat is wonderful. And it doesn't hurt that he takes off his shirt quite a bit (he has a really nice, defined, if lean, body) and wears leather pants quite a bit. He also has the rock star quality that is often missing when most actors play musicians. You can see how into the music he is. He also is able to project Lestat's arrogance and loneliness very well.
Vincent Perez, who plays Marius, also does a wonderful job. Though quite popular in Europe, he is sadly under-appreciated in the U.S. I can't honestly say that his portrayal was dead on (so to speak) because I haven't read any of the books the character appears in, but I thought he was quite good. (Another one that is good-looking, ladies.)
Akasha, unfortunately, displays very few emotions, so Aaliyah didn't get a chance to really showcase her acting talents in her final performance, but she did play the evil vampire convincingly. Since she was said to be quite pleasant in real life, I'd say her performance was excellent.
Most of the remaining cast were also enjoyable, if not impressive in their performances.
There are also interesting special effects.
I loved this movie.
If nothing else, you should at least check out the soundtrack. The songs are well penned and preformed by a number of talented musicians. My advice? At least give this movie a chance. Despite the bad reviews, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.
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Addictive and visually beautiful
I've seen this movie countes times now and still can't get sick of it. It's like a frickin' drug. I know a lot of people don't like it but there's something about it that just draws me in. Every single performance is spectacular, but Aaliyah is the one who steals the show. She not only played the role of Akasha she became it. Her body movement and beauty was captured exceptionally well. It's also nice to see that a black girl was chosen for the role of an Egyptian Queen (No, I'm not predjudice against white people, I am one). True it's not known what color the ancient Egyptians really were but this was a nice change. Stuart Townsend completely made me forget about Tom Cruise's portrayel of Lestat and Marguerite was striking once again. All in all it was a good time at the movies. For those who haven't seen it, be sure to watch it with an open mind and not take it too seriously. I mean, it's a movie about a vampire who becomes a rock star. Take it as that.
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Queen of the Damned is amazing!
Stuart Townsend plays the role of Lestat better than anyone could have ever dreamt. Pale skinned, dark haired and red lipped, he does mysterious, intriguing, irresistible and evil all rolled into one. Aaliyah is not quite as wonderful. Although she wasn't bad, her acting was slightly wooden or way over the top and she should have stuck to the day job. (No offence.) This is an incredible movie with a great plot and generally stunning actors. The sets and costumes are just SO Gothic (obviously) and some of the scenes are breathtaking. It's one of those rare occasions where the sequel is actually better than the previous (Interview with the Vampire). A brutal tale with a happy ending. A perfect movie.
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One You Can Sink Your Teeth Into
If vampire tales are your cup of blood, then this Goth-fest based on the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles should prove to be a satisfying experience. A veritable consortium of the undead in a contemporary setting, `Queen of the Damned,' directed by Michael Rymer, is a story of shadows and darkness, and of the unfortunate souls who dwell therein for eternity.
The vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend), bored with a world that no longer excites him, has been `asleep' for many years; but suddenly, the sounds of that world he hears from his extended slumber change, and liking what he hears, he ventures forth to investigate. What he finds is a world filled with new sounds, a new kind of music-- driving and penetrating-- sounds that assault the senses and make him feel alive and welcome. And he knows that at long last his time has come, that it is time for him and those like him to come out into the open and face the world on their terms. Toward that end he becomes the front man for a band-- a singer and performer unlike any the world has ever known. He presents himself as a vampire, and very quickly amasses a following that extends far beyond London (where it all begins), and will ultimately take him to Death Valley, California, where he plans to give a concert that promises to be beyond anything anyone has ever seen or experienced.
Lestat is powerful, without question, but there are those of his kind who do not take favorably to the fact that he has revealed them, one of whom is Marius (Vincent Perez), a vampire powerful in his own right-- the vampire, in fact, who `made' Lestat so many years before-- and they are gathering, coming together and making their plans to meet Lestat at the concert. And they are not going for the music. But there is something else, as well: At one point Lestat has inadvertently awakened the `Mother' of them all, the most powerful of all the vampires, Akasha (Aaliyah), who is about to make her presence known to all, and especially to the one she has chosen to rule by her side as her King: Lestat. And at the concert, rest assured, Akasha will be in attendance, without fail.
Make no mistake, this is Lestat's story, and Rymer presents it amid a setting rich with atmosphere and with some exquisite moments, though his film has less bite to it than say, `Interview With the Vampire,' or `Bram Stoker's Dracula.' He sets a good pace, and there are some scenes that provide some real thrills, but overall the film isn't as soaked in menace as it could be, or as much as one might expect. In the final tally, in fact, the amount of flesh that is incinerated wins out over actual blood-letting, though there is more than a taste of gore, and more than a fair share of lips and mouths dripping with the red stuff. There's some good F/X on hand, too, especially in the sequences that accentuate the speed of the vampires, as they move and hurtle through the air faster than the naked eye can discern. It's a decent job by Rymer, but he could have put more teeth into it had he played up the alienation hinted at by Lestat; as it is, you get a sense of his detachment, but not enough to get you totally involved.
In `Interview With the Vampire,' Tom Cruise brought some charismatic star power to the role of Lestat, but Townsend is even more effective, with a look and an attitude that captures Lestat perfectly. He plays him with a sense of acceptance, and under closer scrutiny you may even find a hint of remorse and longing. It's a good performance, and one that sells his character convincingly.
As Marius, Vincent Perez does a nice job, too-- he is, in fact, one of the strengths of the film-- though his character is a bit ambiguous; that, however, has more to do with the way he was written than with Perez's performance, which is quite good.
Turning in noteworthy performances, as well, are Marguerite Moreau, as Jesse, a young woman too curious for her own good; and the gorgeous Lena Olin as Maharet, Jesse's Aunt, who ultimately plays a pivotal role in the outcome of the drama involving Lestat and Akasha.
And as Akasha, Aaliyah is an absolutely riveting presence. What more can one say about her other than she is a gifted performer, with tremendous talent and beauty. And, tragically, she has left us much too soon.
The supporting cast includes Paul McGann (David), Christian Manon (Mael), Claudia Black (Pandora), Bruce Spence (Khayman), Matthew Newton (Armand), Tiriel Mora (Roger) and Megan Dorman (Maudy). With a much stronger story than the usual offerings of this particular genre, Anne Rice fans, especially, will be pleased with `Queen of the Damned,' a film nicely crafted and delivered by director Rymer and his engaging cast. By focusing attention on the drama of the story-- and the way it's presented-- rather than concentrating on merely providing some cheap thrills, Rymer has succeeded in turning out a true horror film that is definitely a cut above, and one that just may whet your appetite for more of the same. And that's the magic of the movies. I rate this one 7/10.
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Only one dodgy scene at the beginning...
The rest of the movie is great. The cast and crew did a stellar job (Aaliyah is chillingly beautiful) and the soundtrack is unparalleled, it fits the movie perfectly.
Ignore the low score on IMDb. Watch and enjoy it as a stand-alone film, as it is a world away from Interview With The Vampire. At least an 7/10 if you like the genre, and it is on Netflix in most countries, so go for it
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simply brilliant vampire movie(adds to the mystique)
Warning: Spoilers
"Queen of the Damned"is based on the novel by Anne Rice,as part of her popular "The Vampire Chronicles" series.The screenplay is written by Scott Abbott, and directed by Michael Rymer(various episodes of the new Battlestar Galactica Series)Stuart Townsend plays the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt,and Aaliyah plays Queen Akasha,The Queen of the Damned.the basic plot is that Lestat has been asleep for hundred of years.he wakes up to a new world and craves to become famous.he becomes a wildly popular rock singer,and publicly announces the existence of vampires.The vampires are threatened by this and believe their continued survival is at risk.they attempt to destroy Lestat before he can do irreparable harm.meanwhile,Lestat's music has awakened an ancient evil,Akasha,mother of all vampires"queen of the Damned".Akasha has decided to take Lestat as her king.i'll leave the plot at that.moving on,Stuart Townsend,as Lestat,gives an astounding performance.his charisma and screen presence radiate off the screen.But,it is Aaliyah, in the title role who steals the show with a performance nothing short of miraculous.she is simply smoldering as the queen.this is Aaliyah's last screen role before tragedy struck.there is no doubt she would have gone on to become a legend.as for the movie itself,it is stylish beyond words,beautifully photographed,superbly directed.add to that a haunting musical score,and you have one extraordinary movie.i loved this film. 10/10
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As a stand alone vampire flick, it's worth seeing.
Combining The Vampire Lestat and the Queen of the Damned novels into one screenplay was, ahem, damned to suffer massive story cuts because of the intricate and detailed background of a dozen or so characters involved. The amount of detail always was the strength of the Vampire Chronicles, in my opinion, and they were certainly worth the read.
That said, the question remains, without the detail and extra characters, can the basic story of Lestat's re-awakening of the Queen of all vampires be entertaining and sufficient enough to sustain itself? While I can not answer the question with a glowing appraisal, I will certainly admit that it did a decent job of combining all of the basic elements into a stand alone movie. The fact that this movie can stand on it's own without any ties to the prequel, Interview with the Vampire, is one of it's assets. You do not need any fore-knowledge of the characters, books, or prequel movie in order to watch this.
Even though it fits into it's own little package does not mean it was packed very well. There were some plot holes, some of which could have been filled by simply restoring the "Ancients" scenes that were on the dvd. I understand, as the dvd points out, that they were left out because it introduced another subplot and characters that would add unnecessary confusion. While I agree with their reasoning, I do think they should have somehow salvaged the scene so that while the introductions of the ancients would have been left out, Maharet's few lines about Akasha's reign of destruction and the vampire's responsibility should have remained. They would have added a needed sense of urgency and motivation that would have made the final confrontation with Akasha and the ancients a bit more reasonable and satisfying.
The character of Jessie is supposed to be the human link for the viewer to empathize through as they are taken into the world of vampires. In some scenes, this works adequately, but on the whole, Jessie's motivations, while they are explained, seem kind of empty. I am not sure if I can fault the actress or script, but when the movie was over, I still felt ambivalent about the character's experiences.
There were other elements that were not as fleshed out as they could be. The paranormal Talamasca needed a bit more background about their vampire tracking as did the character of Maharet and her family tree. Like Jessie, they were given some explanation, but I think a couple more lines of dialogue would have helped.
As I mentioned, the movie did a decent job of the basic story, but massive changes were made from the source material. Characters were dropped completely, or merged together, and huge sections of character history were removed. Most notably, Lestat's history is extremely compacted and revised. Nonetheless, there are some things that remained that I thought were done pretty well. The character of Lestat in this picture is rebellious and reckless which is more true to the character than he was portrayed in Interview. Lestat's re-awakening and concert scenes were exactly like I had envisioned when I originally read the book. The character of Akasha was also as I pictured and a very good casting choice.
If you are a fan of the books, and you need the twins, Gabriel, Magnus, and crew, you are going to have difficulty sitting through this. If, on the other hand, you can set that aside and view this as a vampire movie of it's own, unrelated to the chronicles, you will probably enjoy this for the stand-alone vampire flick that it is.
In summary, worth the rental.
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The music is pretty good, but that is about it.
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is actually based on the next two books of the Vampire Chronicles, The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned. It seems as if quite a lot of people didn't really like this movie and I suspect one of the reasons that this was the case was because they changed the lead actor, but then again I did find Townsend preferable to Cruise. Plotwise, well I doubt that it could be much of an improvement on the first one, which did not seem to have a plot either, but also this movie is basically compressing two books into one so the plot was always going to suffer.
Basically Lestat has been asleep for about a hundred years (since the end of the last movie) and has recently awakened to discover a new world, however he is still alone, so he decides to join a rock band and openly display the fact that he is a vampire, not that he would be considered a freak considering that he is moving about in the Gothic world of the 1990s.
Then there is a young woman whose auntie turns out to be a vampire as well, and she has some special telekinetic powers that enables her to, well, I'm not exactly sure what, but she seems to be torn between becoming a vampire and not becoming a vampire. She is also a part of a secret society that monitors and records the paranormal activities, which includes vampires.
We learn about Lestat's past, and that he stumbled across the statue (but is it really a statue) of the prime vampire known as the Queen of the Damned, and he also discovers that music has a tendency to awaken her, which is probably why he started a rock band (or at least joined one) because he did know that music awakens her, and what better way to summon her than through Gothic rock music.
To me this was an okay movie, but the thing that I did really like about it was the sound track. One does wonder if a sound track really does make the movie. I guess it can make a bad movie bearable, but then again so does a short length. In the end though, I have seen this movie once and am unlikely to watch it again.
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great movie
I have watched this movie at least a hundred times. It is fantastic. Aaliyah did a great job and so did the other actors. I am a fan of vampire movies an also of Aaliyah's work so for me it was a good combination. The title is a little misleading since the movie is not based around akasha but it is still a great movie. If you have not seen it yet, go out and buy the DVD. Personally I would have enjoyed seeing a bigger fight scene and more of them between akasha and the other elder vampires, I did not understand why they were so set on protecting mankind. They are the biggest group of vampires I have seen with consciouses. It was different, refreshing. Can't wait until Ann Rice makes another one.
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Pretty average stuff that feels cheap in many areas
Centuries ago, Lestat grew weary of eternity alone and decided to go to sleep and hope that it would serve as a sort of death. The years turn to centuries and something changes to the point where Lestat decides to get up (well, after five more minutes maybe). The sound that awakens him is not the industrial revolution, not the invention of the engine nor world wars but a rather bland collection of heavy metal music. Seeing how their fans worship the musicians, Lestat becomes one, however his fame brings the attention of a group of paranormal investigators – in particular the curious Jesse. However Lestat's problems are not them but the other vampires who do not appreciate the publicity he has brought to their kind, not to mention the original Queen of the vampires, Akasha, who wishes to make Lestat her new king.
This film struggles because it opens with a silly idea (that Lestat only returns because of formulaic heavy metal music) that it cannot get over for the majority of the time because it just doesn't scan at all. With this as its main narrative thrust (it never gets away from it) it is no surprise to find that the film fails to engage on more than a "trashy movie" level. It provides enough in the way of entertainment to be watchable but only if you're in an undemanding mood because it doesn't have anything that interesting in it and is consistently just quite bland. It doesn't help that the film feels cheap in many areas. The special effects consist of a blurring effect whenever anyone moves and this gets old very, very quickly. The use of rather basic metal music also makes it feel cheap – I'm not sure why but it just doesn't work.
Not meaning to be unkind but you can't help feel the film is smaller when you compare this cast with the cast that were originally in "Interview". Townsend cannot help but send out low-rent vibes; he was enjoyable in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen but here he cannot carry the depth of the character (not that the script helps him out much) and he just does OK but nothing more. Aaliyah's death was a loss to the world of r'n'b but, on the basis of this film, she was no loss to the world of acting as she is terrible throughout. Behind a horrid accent, she seems to think that all she has to do is slink around the screen and, while that works in music videos, it is nowhere near enough for a film. In contrast Moreau is at least interesting even if her character makes no sense – she is sexy when she has to be but is also vulnerable at the same time. Perez is dull, Olin is underused and McGann just floats around the edges of the film.
Overall this is a pretty average film. If it is Saturday night and you are just looking for something brief and noisy to pass the time then this might do but there isn't really that much to it. A basic story based on an absurd idea is delivered with poor direction, low-rent actors and a lack of anything special in any aspect – very few viewers will be satisfied with this.
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I hate this film, give me Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee any time over this Hollywood crap.
Warning: Spoilers
Queen of the Damned opens with a tedious monologue by the Vampire Lestat De Lioncourt (Stuart Townsend) who basically says that he has been asleep for 200 years because he is lonely. However, it appears that the present day interests him enough to awake and forge a career as a rock star. He has become highly successful and openly admits he is a Vampire to the press, although nobody seems to actually believe him. He lives off the blood of female groupies that his Manager Roger (Tiriel Mora) picks up and brings him. A woman named Jesse (Marguerite Moreau) who works for 'Talamasca Center for Paranormal Studies, London', listens to some of Lestat's lyrics and is convinced that he is a real Vampire because he talks of a pub called the 'Admiral Arms' and various other silly things. Jesse's friend and colleague David Talbot (Paul McGann) says that the organisation knows of Lestat and are already onto him. David gives Jesse Lestat's journal to read which chronicles Lestat's life, how he was turned into a Vampire by Marius De Romanus (Vincent Perez) and how he first came across the Queen of all Vampires, Akasha (Aaliyah) who was at the time some sort of weird statue. Jesse becomes obsessed with Lestat and heads to the 'Admiral Arms' in which she finds acts of Vampirism taking place. There she meets Lestat who lets her live. Lestat heads back to Los Angeles to prepare for a sell-out concert. Jesse follows him. It appears that most Vampires dislike Lestat for his high public profile, which is drawing unwanted attention to all Vampires and not just himself, and they want him dead. While in Los Angeles Lestat is contacted by Marius who he hasn't seen in nearly 200 years, he begins to fall for Jesse when they meet again and Akasha makes an appearance as she plans to wipe out the human race and rule the Earth with Lestat by her side as King and Queen! All this while trying to prepare for a big concert too! Will the Vampires successfully assassinate Lestat? Will Akasha wipe out the entire human race? Will Lestat turn Jesse into a Vampire and condemn her to eternal life as a blood-sucking Vampire? Who cares? Directed by Micheal Rymer I hated this film. This film isn't horror as far as I'm concerned. It's as much horror as a music video. The script by Scott Abbott and Micheal Petroni based on the Novels 'The Vampire Chronicles' by Anne Rice is an absolute mess. It tries to have various story lines going but forgets about them during the film, it also fails to juggle the various sub-plots so that I cared about or even remembered them. The flash back to Lestat's early years is almost redundant, Akasha's plan to take over the world isn't even mentioned until the last half an hour or so, Jesse at first is trying to track Lestat down as part of her job but that is also quickly ditched as she becomes the love interest, Lestat as a rock star is only really focused on during two scenes, there's a scene where Lestat and Akasha fly to an island and well, I'm not really sure as it's so choppy as to be almost incoherent and generally speaking there just isn't a single focused story going on. There is a typical Hollywood 'happy ending' that almost made me sick. It's really slow and boring too. There's no blood, gore, violence or Vampire action except a ripped out heart a bloodless decapitation and a couple of Vampire fights with awful CGI effects that are simply embarrassing to watch. Having said that I did like the way Akasha died, but it only lasts for about a minute so doesn't compensate for the lack of any decent horror throughout the rest of the film. The acting is poor and no one looks particularly interested, Aaliyah stands out as being as rotten and miscast as anyone else and she looks like she should still be in school! It's quite well made but for a film with a budget this big that's the least I expect. Just to round this terrible film of and add insult to injury is the soundtrack which features mind numbingly bad rock tracks throughout. I hate this film. Avoid if at all possible, you'll be glad you did.
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Exactly what I expected
Warning: Spoilers
This film was basically set up for failure by the studio. One, Anne Rice (author of the book) offered to write the screen play but was refused by the studio. Two, they tried to stuff 2 in depth novels in to a 2hour movie.
I maintain the only way for these two books -Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned- to work in a live action form would be through a mini-series. First off the the Vampire Lestat alone takes place from the 1700's to the 1980's and has a plethora of character vital to the plot understanding of the main character, Lestat. The entire book Vampire Lestat sets up the events of the second part Queen of the Damned. Without that full understanding the premise of a movie is destroyed.
Lestat was not cruel and vicious to all, he was not wanting to go along with Akasha's plans, Marius did not make Lestat, Lestat did not love Jesse or make her, Lestat could not go remain unscathed by the light, Marius was not after David nor the other way around, every character was completely represented wrong, BASICALLY same names different story.
If they wanted to make a vampire movie, fine. Even if you wanted to be inspired by these novels, fine. But don't piggie back into the theaters off the success of Rice's great novels and characters just to destroy what her loyal readers have come to love.
If you haven't read the books you won't understand the film really, if you have read the books you will be insulted. That being said, I am such a huge fan I had to see the movie knowing full well this was going to be the case and still went for it. Catch 22, must see it, will hate it.
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beautiful
I had 3 hours to kill so I went to the nearest movie theatre and saw this movie. i was blown away by the beautiful (music video-like) artistry. I really hate scary movies, but this was focused more on the actual characters, rather then effects. the story played out like poetry, taking emotions of love, hate, and hope, and peace, to a whole new level, with characters that pull you in to their world.
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Regal feast
Romance, suspense, horror and treats for the theater 'gore' abound in this grade b spectacle. Eye-candy, an exciting script and 'delicious' actors make Queen enjoyable for intellectuals. aficionados and Rice-purists. A wild ride with a heart. See it with someone you trust :0)
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It's no Interview, but still a good vampire flick
I honestly did like "Queen of the Damned", despite it going on more of a MTV twist and not being faithful to the novels, come on. It was just a good movie for horror fans. I felt that it had good ideas and worked pretty well. With some new coming actors and a sexy performance of Aaliyah, the film really couldn't go wrong.
We have a new Lestat, Stewart Townsend, who is just now starting to be more noticed from his last film with Kate Hudsen "About Adam". A lot of people were disappointed that Tom Cruise did not reprise his role, but to be honest as much as Tom did a great job, he couldn't have fit this time into the Rock -N- Roll Lestat. Stewart captured that sexiness and that sleek look of cockiness that was just perfect. All though yes, I didn't really like the romantic side the director took on him, he's still one of our favorite vampires.
Aaliyah, no, she didn't have the look of Akasha, Queen of all that is damned. But she did a good job and was so incredibly beautiful. Her tragic death had just happened before they released "Queen of the Damend" into theaters, RIP! This movie captured her beauty and talent very well. She was so sleek and just sexy during her dancing scene in the pub with the other vamps before her massacre.
There was one very bothersome actress, the one who played Jesse. She did so badly! Her lines, were, she just... gah! She was horrible, you'll have to trust me on that. Otherwise, I think you'll enjoy it, please! Don't compare the book, I like to say to people that if you want the book, read the book. This is a movie and it's not always going to be faithful, it just wanted a hipper look for a younger audience. Yes, of course the books are better, but if you're just looking for a fun horror flick, I'd recommend.
8/10
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Guilty Pleasure.
Review: 'Queen of the Damned' is a horror film directed by Michael Rymer. It is loosely based on the third novel in The Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice. This is not you're typical vampire tale. It's a gothic and fun story and is not heavy like 'Interview with the Vampire'. If you're a fan of vampire lore and can't turn your brain off about the information on them, you might have a hard time with this movie. Although, not as bad as 'Twilight'. Lestat de Lioncourt (Stuart Townsend) is awakened from his slumber. Bored with his existence, he has now become this generation's new Rock God. While in the course of time, another has arisen, Akasha, (Aaliyah) the Queen of the Vampires and the Dammed. He wants immortal fame, his fellow vampires want him eternally dead for his betrayal, and the Queen wants him for her King. Who will be the first to reach him? Who shall win? While the acting might not be the best I've seen, the actors are portraying their characters in such an overly dramatic way that it makes sense still. Especially Aaliyah when she comes on screen as the Queen Akasha. You know right off that this is not a character to be messed with, and she will get her way one way or another. I do like a lot about this movie aside from the acting, such as the amazing soundtrack. Being made in the early 2000's when goth-rock was in the up and up even if for a short while. I didn't once believe that the character of Lestat was singing these songs because they all sound like distinctly different voices, but the songs were great. I enjoyed the overall story being told, but for it being called 'Queen of the Damned' I think it should have been her story instead of Lestat's. Akasha was very under utilized in this film. Overall, the movie had no short of entertainment and while it might not have been the tightest structure, the characters, soundtrack and story are enough for this to at least be a guilty pleasure when the moment calls for it. 3.5/5
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Execrable nonsense
Recently I sat through TWILIGHT, and I thought to myself that I'd never see a worse vampire movie. Then I watched QUEEN OF THE DAMNED. An adaptation of the Anne Rice novel and a follow up to 1994's well-remembered INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, QUEEN OF THE DAMNED updates the action to the present and recreates the vampire Lestat as a rock star. The film sees him crossing swords with an age-old vampire queen. That's about it.
Everything about this movie smacks of self-indulgence. There were qualms over Tom Cruise's casting in INTERVIEW, but Stuart Townsend (who he?) is a million times worse. His Lestat is a character you want to beat mercilessly with an iron bar, he's so smug and supercilious. The supporting cast are diabolical, the plotting is straight out of a bad episode of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, and I actually felt sorry for Paul McGann, so extraneous is he here.
This movie wants to be so achingly hip and cool and the truth is that it's a ridiculous mess. A mix of trite dialogue, absurd and poorly filmed action scenes and a great deal of badly animated burning vampires straight out of the BLADE films. I was hoping for Wesley Snipes to come and kick some namby-pamby vampire ass, but sadly it wasn't to be. Watch out for the rock concert invaded by flying vampires, undoubtedly this awful movie's nadir.
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Damned good fun
As a fan of the novels and the movie Interview with a Vampire, I spent a good half hour yelling at the screen before realizing the following:
1. These are not Anne Rice's vampires. Every character is different, despite their names (The only one to nail a character was Vincent Perez, the highlight of the movie as Marius. Good job.)
2. The plot of the movie is not based on the books. It as if someone picked up a copy of The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned, opened to random pages, made assumptions, got bored and stopped reading, then wrote a screenplay.
3. The vampiric rules adhered to in the books are not followed in the movie. The vampires just do whatever is coolest. A certain vampire can't fly? Why not? And why not give him a trail?
Once you have acknowledged all these things, you can watch the movie. Have fun. This is not heavy stuff like Interview with the Vampire. Watch Stuart Townsend dance around in a mesh shirt and tight pants, and applaud when his shirt disappears, or, if you like it better, watch Aaliyah gyrate in a scanty metal bra contraption. It's what these two do best.
Embrace its plot holes and stupid dialog (which lends itself to random quoting), sing along to the entertaining rock songs. Try and figure out what each of the ancients are named. Pride yourself if you can provide any explanation for what happens at the end of the movie, because "trimming to help the pace" leaves the ending fairly incomprehensible, especially to those who have read the books.
Be sure to watch the extra features, the gag reel for laughs and the deleted scenes if you want to know what happened in the movie. Also try the various documentaries, which are entertaining when they throw in weird special effects while people are speaking.
Perfect for a loud, popcorn-filled Friday night with the friends!
Prindora (Eibzesii)
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Perfect film!!!
i think that Queen of the Damned is the best film i have seen in ages. i love the way Stuart Townsend is portraide as Lestat, especially with him wearing tight pvc clothing. Even if you're not the vampire type, you have to go to see it because Stuart Townsend is soooo gorgeous in all that make-up, lush! overall i think it is a brilliant film and all the make-up, special effects and sets are fantastic! It all creates the atmosphere of danger and evil, once again, fantastic!
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Queen of the Damned
Warning: Spoilers
I had an idea of the concept, something to do with a female vampire anyway, I knew it was meant to be rubbish, but I also knew the actress playing the title character died during or after making it, so I had to see it. Basically, vampire Lestat De Lioncourt (Stuart Townsend) is woken from his slumber by the sound of rock music, and he plans to be a success in the industry, with everyone knowing what he is. Jesse Reeves (Marguerite Moreau) is a journalist looking into the paranormal and obviously Lestat in particular, specifically his lyrics and past. The past reveals Marius De Romanus (Vincent Perez) was the vampire who made Lestat a vampire himself, and he disappeared years ago, but has come back to warn him that he should not be exposing himself. There is a point in the past when Lestat discovered a secret door leading to the statues of Queen Akasha (singer Aaliyah) and the King, and in the more recent days he bit her. This leads to her waking up, and gains her powers back by biting the neck of the King statue, and she is now on the rampage killing vampires at random until she finds Lestat. It all leads to Lestat's big selling concert performing his material, and Queen Akasha shows up to create chaos, oh, and Jesse finds out that she is the daughter of a vampire. In the end most of the vampires team together to drain Queen Akasha until she turns into fire and ash, and the new Queen becomes a statue, and everything is back to normal. Also starring Withnail and I's Paul McGann as David Talbot, Lena Olin as Maharet, Christian Manon as Mael, Claudia Black as Pandora and Bruce Spence as Khayman. It is tragedy that Aaliyah died in a plane crash not long after completing the film, she is best known for the songs "Back & Forth", "Try Again" and "More Than a Woman. But it is also tragedy that her final performance is pretty terrible, she only looks good in her metal plated bra, the rest of the cast are terrible, the special effects look slightly cheap, and it isn't a scary horror at all, a waste of time. Pretty poor!
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A new Lestat is an improvement.
When I went into the theater I did not expect to like this movie at all, but I was pleasantly surprised. Stuart Townsend was a wonderful Lestat and was much like I would have preferred to see in Interview with the Vampire. The scenes were well adapted from the book and followed the book as best as possible. The movie was not exact, but neither was Interview and that was a pleasant surprise as well. Give this movie a chance and give the newer, better Lestat a chance as well.
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Come out come out wherever you are...
Warning: Spoilers
Lestat de Lioncourt is awakened from his slumber and bored with his existence, has now become this generations new Rock God.
While in the course of time, another has arisen, Akasha, the Queen of the Vampires and the Damned.
He want's immortal fame, his fellow vampires want him eternally dead for his betrayal, and the Queen want's him for her King.
Who will be the first to reach him and Who shall win the final battle of the vampires and survive.......
There are some films that never need a sequel, despite the fact hat the first was based on a best selling collection. Interview With A Vampire was a phenomenal movie, and changed the way the vampire movie was imagined for a few years.
It was classy, sultry, and Cruise conquered the screen as Lestat.
So eight years later, this movie was as welcome as a hole in the head, and was just a blatant cash in for those good ol' greedy folk at Warner Bros'
I haven't read the scourge material, and forgive me if I'm wrong, but who in the right mind would bring back a very sinister signature character, and have him try to conquer his race by becoming a Rock Star.
In the hands of Rea, its possible that it could have been something, and he may have coaxed Cruise back in the title role, but no, we get an out of his depth Townsend trying to emulate the panache cruise had with ease eight years prior.
And despite his best efforts, it's no surprises that he fails, and the fact he is carrying the film only adds insult, the audience know he isn't Cruise, so detach away from him.
And I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but Aaliyah is awful in her role, and spends her screen time movie really strangely and hissing her lines.
It's a worthless sequel, most of the cast know this, and I feel sorry for Townsend, he's a decent actor otherwise.
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Take A Bite...
The movie focuses on Lestat (Stuart Townsend) a vampire lured into the whole new rock scene. So tired of hiding underneath the shadows, he was quickly engulfed with his new discovery he joins the goth band Satan's Night Out and before we know it in a flash--- he has the music industry and legions of fans attention. Part of his mystery is he kept people guessing if he was a "real vampire" about to "catch his breakfast". Enter Jesse(Marguerite Moreau ) a Talamasca member, her job is to research on all things out of ordinary, you guessed it right she gets to know about vampires! She stumbles across Lestat's old journal which gave us a background about his 'life' or whatever you want to call an undead's life. Instantly Jesse has this little school girl obsession towards him. They meet, have a connection.
Meanwhile,we come to learn about Lestat's fascination of the "Those Who Must be Kept" the very first vampires and that is Akasha(Aaliyah) and Enkil who are hidden in Marius'(Vincet Perez)chamber as statues sleeping. We later learn Lestat drank from the Queen the night he played his violin for her. Marius his teacher and maker warns him about the danger of the Queen. Back to modern day,Lestat has a Death Valley Concert and Oh no! Akasha has awakened! Lestat joins her and gets to do the "vampire nasty". Now this beautiful evil lures Lestat to become her lover and partner in her wrath to destroy. Will Lestat turn his back on her now?
The film is not something to be taken seriously, I don't think that was the intention. It's a fun vampire rock movie, no more,no less. It's flashy, fast paced,funny,vibrant and violent, at times scary. It completely butchered the book. First of all,Queen Of The Damned and Vampire Lestat combination already sounded awry, it's completely hard to adapt that part of the chronicles. The vampire history was completely scrapped in the movie, which disappointed me. I do see why though, it will turn out to be so long-winded and that's like a whole movie by itself. Lestat is basically the focal point here and the filmmakers basically had a new spin on his story. I believe if they did take themselves seriously as a page by page adaptation for a film, I don't think it might work quite as well.
The acting was decent, my favorite would be Vincent Perez's Marius though odd looking as a short haired, pale and thin lips, he surprisingly caught the essence of the character. Lena Olin was a great Maharet what the hell she's great in everything. Stuart Townsend though he got the evil, mischievous, sexy and androgynous side of Lestat, he's no Tom Cruise. I literally squirm at the sound of his horrible accent, he would've been good but that accent really irks me. He should've been mute all through out,aaah! The nightmares I will have. Marguerite Moreau (Jesse) suffers with such a boring and lousy chracter with hardly any depth, at times how I wanted Akasha to drink her all up or do that heart stunt to her. Poor girl, she did what she could do, I can't blame her she can only do so much to a bland character. I must disagree though about the comment given about Aaliyah's acting, coming from someone who was never a fan and am never familiar with her work both as a singer and an actress, I thought she played Akasha very well indeed. Sensual,arrogant and totally intimidating and screwed up as hell. Sure, she's a mediocre villain but that bar scene made me want to clap as she walks over the fires with this serpentine movements,so alluring. As a sophomore film effort, she was great.
About the soundtrack Jon Davis and Richard Gibbs did an amazing job integating the nu-metal influence in this vampire flick, although I thought it was a bit overdone, I would have wanted more of the violin score from time to time. Maybe because I'm not a big fan of hardcore metal/rap music anyway.
Overall, take a bite it's an entertaining ride. You're right this is no 'Interview'...I don't think it wants to be.
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New Wave and stylish.
mm-39 25 February 2002
This film reminds me of the early 80's New Wave infusion. One can see how Punk evolved into 2 high breds of Heavy Metal and New Wave. This film reminds me of the '83 film "The Hunger" with David Bowie. It has the grainy, blue light film quality with most of it being filmed in the dark. The synthesizer music and the character Marius looks like the singer of Human league; dresses simular to the guy in the video. The cool Lt Cosello (Miami vice) acting style is done in true 80's fashion. The concert, with the flames in it, reminded me of Blade Runner. A lot of style, but all vampire films become redundant. I give it an 8 for style, and originality a 4. If I was younger, say 14, I would give this an 8, but as I march into my 30's I give it a 4 or 5 because second time around I seen this before.
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Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238546/reviews
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