Queen of the Damned (2002)

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

Director:

Michael Rymer

Writers:

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

Stars:

Aaliyah, Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Aaliyah	...	Queen Akasha
Stuart Townsend	...	Lestat de Lioncourt
Marguerite Moreau	...	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.

Storyline

After many years of sleeping in his coffin, the vampire Lestat awakens only to find that the world has changed and he wants to be a part of it. He gathers a following and becomes a rock star only to find that his music awakens the ancient Queen Akasha and she wants him to become her king...

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Plot Keywords:

vampire | queen | rock star | fame | living dead | 

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Taglines:

This time there are no interviews.

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for vampire violence

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros.

Country:

USA Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned

Filming Locations:

Duckboard Place, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$176,168 (Japan) (11 October 2002)

Gross:

$690,809 (Japan) (25 October 2002)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Village Roadshow Pictures, NPV Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Josh Hartnett was considered for the role of Lestat.

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Goofs

When the gypsy girl is lying dead on the pyre, you can see the pulse at the base of her neck.

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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, until you realize you're going to spend it alone. So I went to sleep, hoping that the sounds of the passing eras would fade out, and a sort of death might happen. But as I lay there, the world didn't sound like the place ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Dedicated to Aaliyah Dana Haughton 1979 - 2001

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Connections

Featured in Vampire Reviews: Queen of the Damned (2013)

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Soundtracks

"System"
Written and Produced by Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs
Performed by Chester Bennington
Double Violin and Vocal Improvisation by Shenkar
Jonathan Davis appears courtesy of Epic Records
Shankar appears courtesy of 15 Records

User Reviews

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)