QUEEN OF THE DAMNED   
2002, Warner Brothers Pictures
DIRECTOR: Michael Rymer   PRODUCER: Jorge Saralegui

STARRING:  Stuart Townsend,   Aaliyah,    Marguerite Moreau,    Paul McGann,   Vincent Perez,   Lena Olin		   

The problem with making a movie from a very popular book is that a movie will never, no matter how brilliant, ever satisfy all the book's die-hard fans.  Look at Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, for example.   I loved them, thought Jackson did a spectacular job, and yet:   I wasn't totally satisfied with any of them, and there were many, many out there who were less satisfied than me.  My point here?   Well, that even though the RINGS trilogy was brilliant, there was still some small amount of disappointment with them.   UnfortunatelyQUEEN OF THE DAMNED does not fall within a hundred miles of the quality of the least of Jackson's RINGS films.  

QUEEN OF THE DAMNED undertakes the task of familiarizing the viewer with the vampire Lestat, the story's central character (despite the film's title).  Ultimately, however, I came away with less of a feel for what lies at Lestat's core than I did from Interview with a Vampire.   Worse yet, even after repeated viewings I never could get interested in the story.  What eventually became of any of the characters didn't matter to me at all.  And the sappy "love story" between Lestat and Jessie (which was NOT in the book, I might add) was the worst sort of forced Hollywood drivel.  Additionally, although given time I'm sure the late Aaliyah would have become an accomplished actress, her performance in this film was essentially unimpressive (except in the degree to which she overacted.)   And finally, despite the fact that I REALLY admire Stuart Townsend's acting ability, even he was unable to make me care about Lestat.

If you like Anne Rice's books and want to see a movie based on one of her works, rent INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE.    Don't bother with this one.

RATING:    

I had high hopes for QUEEN OF THE DAMNED despite the relative disappointment I felt upon watching INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE; for some reason, I thought this film would be better -- it was less high-profile, and so I thought it might be less subject to the "mainstream constrictions" that plagued the Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise opus.   But unfortunately, despite the gorgeous sets, accomplished cast and cool soundtrack, QUEEN OF THE DAMNED fell flat and -- pardon the pun -- lifeless.  It strayed further from the book than INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE, and often for no apparent reason.   I wouldn't call QUEEN OF THE DAMNED a bad movie, but I do call it mediocre.  And that is, in my opinion, even worse.   Because a bad movie can also be amusing, while a mediocre movie is just..., pointless.

None.

SCENES THAT MAKE ME GO "HMMM...,":


1. What kind of creepy little kid wipes blood off the face of a relative's face and tries to taste it?   She's not even a vampire yet, for crissakes!

DID YOU KNOW...,:

 -   Actor Stuart Townsend (Lestat) was originally cast in the role of "Aragorn" in Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy.   However, only a few days into filming, Townsend was released and replaced by Viggo Mortenson.

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