FeistyUpper
If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
XoWizIama
Excellent adaptation.
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Curt
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
gcoregistrar
How could a movie with such high production values get so much wrong?
1. With exceptions of Mahatet and Akasha, the entire cast was, well, miscast! Lestat is constantly described by Anne Rice as tall (got that right), with long full blonde hair (oops!), and was French (oops again!) Lestat was turned into a vampire not by Marius, who was described as being very tall (oops!), with long flowing blonde hair - the Kelts that kidnapped him in the book kept him captive until his hair grew long. He was the illegitimate son of an Italian father by a Keltic slave woman.
2. Lestat was actually turned into a vampire by an old (as on he was old when he stole the blood from a vampire to make himself immortal) vampire, told Lestat a few basic things, gave him his wealth and a tower in Paris, then promptly killed himself by going into a fire. Lestat was now alone in Paris, having traveled there with the son of a rich merchant neighbor, Nicolo, who played the violin.
3. Lestat learned to love and play the violin, not from a random gypsy he met on a beach, but from watching and listening to his beloved childhood friend, Nicolo.
4. Lestat met Marius, not on an island as the vampire who brought Lestat immortality, but in Egypt, where Lestat had eventually wandered with Gabrielle, his mother, whom he had rescued from near death from consumption, turning her into a vampire as his companion.
5. Akasha was killed, not by Maharet drinking the last of her blood after Akasha had been drained by the other vampires at Maharet's compound, butby Maharet's tongueless, mute twin sister, Mekare, who tore Akasha's head off, taking the demon spirit into herself, not into Maharet.
I can understand changing around a few things in a movie to make the plot run more smoothly, but to get so many things completely wrong, is just plain wrong! Blonde hair versus dark brown hair may not sound like much, but Lestat was known to be very vain about his appearance, and big brautiful fluffy long hair seems right - aside from the fact that Tom Cruise had long blonde hair in the prequel to this (albeit he was almost half a foot shorter than Stuart Townsend), and I doubt that list start would have died his hair brown every morning after having had blonde hair for so long! Another messed up element is one of Lestat's sidekicks, Louis, who was nowhere to be found in this movie. In her book, Anne Rice had Louis spend the night before the concery with the band at Lestat's secure compound in Carmel, California, and rode with them to the concert, which took place not in Death Valley but in San Framcisco. In her book, Marius is described as being of a towering height due to his Keltic forbears, even taller than Lestat's described 6 foot height. I don't know who wrote the script, but it wasn't Anne Rice...at times the actors seem to be speaking lines straight out of a bad soap opera. The movie us, at times, a fun one, but it would have been 10 times better had the scriptwriter kept to the story and to Anne Rice's characterizations. I was expecting so much more, but I was truly disappointed!
jacobjohntaylor1
This is a sequel to Interview with a vampire. It is just what we need. Another vampire movie written by Ann Rice not. Interview with a vampire is an awful movie. And this is worst. The evil vampire Lestat became a rock star. Come on that is campy. An evil vampire becomes a rock star. I do not care how mush blood and gore this in this movie. That is really campy. The story line in this movie is awful. There are some good actors in it. But what a waste for there time. How did this get a 5.2. This movie is so stupid. I am running out of things to say and I need more lines. Do not waste your time. Do not waste your money. Do not see this awful movie.
bowmanblue
It says on the front cover of the DVD of 'Queen of the Damned' that it is the sequel to 'Interview With a Vampire' – you remember that – the smash hit movie, starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Everyone loved that. It was a hit! Unfortunately, 'Queen of the Damned' is only a sequel as it's using some of the same characters (characters, not actors – there's a difference) and set in the same universe, so to speak. Basically, it's not really a sequel. It's another vampire story written by Anne Rice following some of the characters who you might have seen before. Don't expect to see Tom or Brad in this one.However, just because it doesn't really follow on, doesn't make it a bad thing – a disjointed thing, but not a bad thing. But, in some ways, it's not really the film's fault. It's about a vampire who has got disillusioned with drinking people's blood over the centuries and has gone to sleep for hundreds of years. Now he's woken in the modern age and decided to 'out' all the other vampires and their blood-sucking ways. It goes without saying that the rest of the vamps don't take kindly to his outspoken ways and decide to take him out. So where does the Queen come into it? She doesn't. That much. Unfortunately she's only in it for two scenes because the young actress playing her tragically died while the film was being made, leaving the story lacking what should have been a big part of its central element.Plus it doesn't really do the book justice. I haven't read the book. I'm one of the many who just watches the film, but I've generally browsed through enough internet message boards to realise that a lot of die-hard fans of the source material didn't appreciate the transition to film.So, it's got its fair amount of negative points. And yet it's actually quite good. Not great, but somehow highly watchable (if you're into vampires in general). It should all be quite campy and yet Stuart Townsend plays the lead vamp pretty well and is actually fun to watch. Aaliyah, for the few scenes she's in, sizzles as the Queen of the undead. It would have been pretty good if she'd have been able to show what she can do all the way through the film.It's probably not a film you're going to want to see again and again, but if you're not totally bored with vampires after binge-watching box sets of 'True Blood' then take a look at vampires rocking out on stage and fighting each other in the chorus.
mizabizou
Queen of the Damned is a 2002 vampire horror film and a loose adaptation of the third novel of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, The Queen of the Damned, although the film contains many plot elements from the latter novel's predecessor, The Vampire Lestat. It stars Aaliyah as the vampire queen Akasha, and Stuart Townsend as the vampire Lestat. Queen of the Damned was released six months after Aaliyah's death and is dedicated to her memory.Vampire Lestat is awakened from decades of slumber by the sound of a heavy metal band which he proceeds to take over as the lead singer. Achieving international success and planning a massive live concert, Lestat is approached by Marius, and warned that the vampires of the world will not tolerate his flamboyant public profile.Jesse Reeves, a researcher for the paranormal studies group Talamasca, is intrigued by Lestat's lyrics and tells the rest of the group her theory that he really is a vampire. Her mentor, David Talbot, takes her aside and tells her they know he is and that a vampire called Marius made him. He also shows her Lestat's journal that he recovered and is now in the Talamasca library. In a flashback to his origins, Lestat recalls how he awoke Akasha, the first vampire, with his music. Jesse tracks him down to a London vampire club where he saves and confronts her. She later goes to Los Angeles for the concert and gives him back his journal. The two spend some time together and Lestat shows her both the horrors and the perks of being a vampire. Showing him that she's not scared of him Jesse stays with Lestat as she sees how lonely and miserable he is. She asks him to turn her as she reveals that it's her dream to be a vampire, but he refuses as he won't do it to her. The more time they spend together, the closer they become and soon Lestat and Jesse start to fall in love. Meanwhile Akasha is awakened by Lestat's new music. She arrives and torches the club, and all the vampires inside, who want Lestat dead.At the concert in Death Valley, a mob of vampires attack Lestat and Marius. Akasha bursts through the stage and takes Lestat with her as her new King. The two vampires then proceed to have a sort of sexual intercourse in Akasha's home where they mutually feed on one another. During which time Lestat becomes spellbound by Akasha and is forced to obey her. Empowered by Akasha's blood, Lestat and the Queen confront the Ancient Vampires at the home of Maharet, Jesse's aunt, who is an Ancient Vampire. The Ancient Vampires were planning to kill Akasha, to save the human world from demise. Akasha then commands Lestat to kill Jesse as The Queen sees her both as an enemy and as food as she is Maharet's mortal niece and Maharet is a big enemy of Akasha's. Queen Akasha also wanted to make an example out of Jesse because Jesse dared to stand-up to her and to put fear into the other vampires. Lestat ostensibly obeys the Queen, but afterwards he quickly comes to his senses and is released from her power. He then very angrily turns and begins to drain Akasha's blood with the help of the Ancients. Mael and Pandora are killed by Akasha's power. Armand is almost killed, but is saved as The Queen's powers diminish. Maharet is the last to drink Akasha's blood, and thereby ends up becoming a marble "statue". Maharet then becomes the new Queen Of the Damned.Lestat then turns and walks to where Jesse is lying lifeless, and cradling her in his arms, gives her his blood, turning her into a vampire. Jesse, now a vampire, and Lestat then return the journal to the Talamasca, and walk away, among mortals, into the night. As they exit it is shown that they are now a couple and hold hands while Marius enters the Talamasca. The film closes with a scene of David reading the journal as Marius's voice catches his attention, cheerfully saying, "Hello, David."