Queen of the Damned (2002)
Directed by Michael Rymer
Written by Scott Abbott, Michael Petroni
Starring Aaliyah Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau, Paul McGann, Vincent Perez
Release Date February 22nd, 2002
Published February 21st, 2002
As I get further away from having seen Queen of the Damned I get more and more annoyed as I realize what a missed opportunity this film is. After having seen this film I find that it could have been made without the Queen of the Damned character and been a far better film. It would probably need a new title. but nevertheless.
Stuart Townsend takes over the role so well inhabited by Tom Cruise in Interview with the Vampire, the role of the vampire Lestat. After sleeping for a number of years, Lestat begins to sense a change in the world that may allow him to walk among the masses, in the open, as a vampire. His opportunity is in the entertainment biz as a Goth rock star.
Lestat finds a band living in his old New Orleans castle but rather than kill them he uses them as his backup band and becomes a huge rock star. Lestat wants everyone to know that he is a vampire, whether anyone believes him or not is up to them. His celebrity doesn't sit well with his vampire brethren who follow a strict code of secrecy. There is more trouble for Lestat because his music has caused the resurrection of Akasha, the queen of the damned (Aaliyah).
Akasha wants world domination and for Lestat to be her King. Lestat, never one for being a kept man, soon chafes under Akasha's attention and conflict arises. All of this is paralleled by the story of a vampire historian named Jessie (Marguerite Moreau) who is obsessed with becoming a vampire and rejoining her family. She sees Lestat as someone who would be willing to help her.
The film would like us to follow Lestat as the wounded antihero, but how could anyone with a conscience identify with Lestat? It's hardly possible but Stuart Townsend's performance is nearly seductive enough to make the audience put aside their morals and follow him.
As for Aaliyah, she suffers from playing a character that is badly drawn and comes off as unnecessary as compared to the missed opportunity in the film. She was saddled with a bad script and because she died just as the film was in post production her brother was called in to dub her voice which may explain the over the top vocalizing.
There is an opportunity here to make a fantastic movie, but not like what ended up on the screen. For one, drop the Queen. The far more interesting story is Lestat the rock star. Think about it, a vampire rock star. Is it just a gimmick? Fans don't know that he really is a vampire. His manager has to cover up all the girls he kills. And for breaking the code of secrecy he's being hunted by other vampires. Much like 2001's Shadow Of the Vampire, where Willem Dafoe plays a vampire playing a vampire in a movie, while John Malkovich as the director tries to cover it up to finish the movie.
Lestat could have done a more modern satire of the same story. The opportunity for satire of the record industry, fandom and celebrity is endless. Unfortunately we will never see that movie and what we're left with in The Queen Of The Damned is a shallow, listless waste of film.
