Queen of the Damned

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

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.

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

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)

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.