Queen of the Damned (2002)

Director:

Michael Rymer

Writers (WGA):

Anne Rice (novels)
Scott Abbott (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

22 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Music | Fantasy

Tagline:

The Mother Of All Vampires

Plot:

The vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the queen of all vampires.

Plot Keywords:

Vampire | Queen | Rock Star | Fame | Groupie

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Aaliyah	...	Queen Akasha
Stuart Townsend	...	Lestat de Lioncourt
Marguerite Moreau	...	Jessica 'Jesse' Reeves
Vincent Perez	...	Marius de Romanus
Paul McGann	...	David Talbot
Lena Olin	...	Maharet
Christian Manon	...	Mael
Claudia Black	...	Pandora
Bruce Spence	...	Khayman
Matthew Newton	...	Armand
Tiriel Mora	...	Roger
Megan Dorman	...	Maudy
Johnathan Devoy	...	James
Robert Farnham	...	Alex
Conrad Standish	...	T.C.

Also Known As:

Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (USA) (complete title)
Interview with the Vampire II (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for vampire violence.

Runtime:

101 min | Spain:104 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 (nf) | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:VM18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #38721)

Filming Locations:

Duckboard Place, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Aaliyah died in a plane crash shortly after principal photography was completed. 'Michael Rymer (I)' called in Aaliyah's brother, Rashad Haughton, to help overdubbing her voice following her death.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end, when Jesse and Lestat are walking out of the Talamasca, they switch places between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Lestat: [voiceover] There comes a time for every vampire when the idea of eternity becomes momentarily unbearable. Living in the shadows, feeding in the darkness with only your own company to keep, rots into a solitary, hollow existence. Immortality seems like a good idea...
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Soundtrack:

Temptation

Don't expect a lot from this one.

Despite a few acceptable adaptations of the books' main themes, QUEEN OF THE DAMNED/THE VAMPIRE LESTAT did not stay true to Anne Rices's complicated story telling. The deep layers that build up all the characters were shredded apart to only their surface, if not a completely different identity. The chronological order of the major events in the movie seemed warped and uneven.

However, there were quite a few things the movie did to deserve my rating of 7. One was that the film strongly captured the affect that Lestat (among other vampires)had to the public, especially young girls. The movie also did a fairly good job focusing on the importance of heredity and history that the vampires took pride in. The scenes of sensuality were also atmospherically satisfying.

The acting in QUEEN OF THE DAMNED was moderate, if disappointing. Stuart Townsend and Aaliyah have a surprising chemistry, though it only shows when the acting is at its best (not very often). The characters are nothing compared to the ones established in INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE. It also lacks the emotional intelligence of THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS, which is a shame because Rice's Queen of the Damned book had that, and more.

This movie doesn't give all that it appears to be. The effects are dull and very disappointing. The extravagance needed in many scenes is not given, and the dialog is tiring. The settings for many scenes are not how I pictured them in the book, and I think that many of them weren't even taken from the story. There are only a few areas of incoherence near the beginning and middle of the movie, but it wraps itself up fairly neatly, giving the viewer a full story (if they had not read the book).

Somethings that I feel the movie needed include a good original score (Howard Shore or Elmer Bernstein), instead of the mix of rock music; though I had no problem with some of the songs. Another thing that would have made the movie better is better set direction. The scenery was boring as well as unclear, which is important in a story that moves around quite frequently.

Overall, QUEEN OF THE DAMNED was an unevenly disappointing yet somewhat satisfying adaption of the important novel. With a few simple changes, it may have been a very successful piece of film work. I'd recommend this movie for people who has seen INTERVIEW or have read the books, so that they can make their own opinion on the adaption.