Queen of the Damned (2002)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

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 | Slit Throat | Narrative

Awards:

3 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 9

1:50 AM

HBO

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:

The blood that Queen Akasha has in her mouth is really cherry juice.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the movie, it shows that Marius was the creator of LeStat. However in "The Vampire Chronicles" books the creator of LeStat was Magnus. Still, viewers should remember that when a work of fiction is adapted from one medium to another, details are routinely changed in order to fit the style of the new medium. Therefore, what holds true in the "universe" of the Vampire Chronicles books doesn't automatically have to hold true in the Vampire Chronicles movies.

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:

Referenced in "Psych: Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast (#1.15)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Not Meant for Me

Enchanting with the music and the mood.

The movie, although not faithful to the original novels, succeeds in creating modern gothic vampire vision. Somebody tried to insult QotD calling it a 1,5h music video clip. Actually it is a complement. The everpresent gothic music combined with the music-video-like shots made the movie so moody - and "Queen of the Damned" is a mood-driven story.

I do not understand the die hard fans who complain on the modifications of the story. The plot has been modified to be less confusing for viewers who do not know the novels. The number of characters had been lessened and I have no problems with changing Lestat's maker or skipping Mekare's character. The biggest change - the romance of Lestat and Jesse - seemed a very nice addition to me.

Actually, I think that a faithful adaptation would be a complete failure. The slow and gloomy mood, that was perfect to XIXth century New Orlean and Louis's angst, wouldn't fit Lestat's rebellion and his music. And while the book can be slow, descriptive and combining multiple elements yet conveying them well, the movie simply cannot do it without turning chaotic. "Vampire Lestat" and "Queen of the Damned" can be split into at least three movies - the creators had to choose something.

Some of the special effects, like the flying or walking out of the flames were the only thing I actually didn't like in this movie. But Akasha's death was very nice. The cast was good, Stuard Townsend was convincing as Lestat, especially on the concert, but I preferred Banderas as Armand. I loved Jesse, Maharet and Marius though. And of course Aaliyah was perfect with her quasi-ancient-Egyptian accent.

So if you are into gothic music and vampiric dillemas of loneliness and eternity (and you don't consider books to be movie scenarios) "Queen of the Damned" is one of the few movies which show vampires as something more than blood sucking monsters. But please do not compare it to the "Interview" movie. It has a completely different style, precisely as much different as different were Louis and Lestat. Personally I find it thrilling first to watch a vampire's existence from Louis' "bottled hunger" point of view, and then switching to one devoid of all morals but surprisingly outgoing for a vampire, Lestat.

I'd give "Queen" 8 of 10 as it had some technical flaws, but I decided to give it 9 as it's vastly underrated by people who hate it simply because it didn't match their vision of the books, which can be clearly seen by looking at the votes breakdown.