Queen of the Damned

2002
R
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

61K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer0:31

Vampire Horror Drama Fantasy Horror

In this loose sequel to Interview with the Vampire (1994), the vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the equally beautiful and monstrous queen of all vampires.In this loose sequel to Interview with the Vampire (1994), the vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the equally beautiful and monstrous queen of all vampires.In this loose sequel to Interview with the Vampire (1994), the vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the equally beautiful and monstrous queen of all vampires.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

61K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

2,245

503

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 nominations

Trivia
Aaliyah died in a plane crash shortly after principal photography was completed but had not yet actually performed any ADR redubbing for her character. Michael Rymer called in Aaliyah's brother, Rashad Haughton, to help with overdubbing her voice following her death due to their similar voices, special vocal technology was also used to make his voice sound more feminine.

Goofs
(at around 16 mins) The passage that Jesse cites, which tipped her off about Lestat being a real vampire, is not actually part of the song used in the film.

Quotes
Lestat: You're beautiful to me because you're human. Your frailty. Your short years. Your heart. All that suddenly seems more precious than anything I've ever known.
Jesse: I'm not as precious as you think.

Alternate versions
DVD release includes full unedited versions of Lestat's music videos for "Redeemer," "Forsaken" and "System", and Lestat's full concert performances for "Not Meant For Me" and "Slept So Long". DVD also features deleted scenes:
"Original Opening Sequence with Timelapse" - The idea of this opening scene was to show the passing of the decades to which Lestat slept. However, the production team was not pleased with the prelimenary visuals created for the scene, and ultimately, decided to skip the scene altogether.
"Original Jesse Dream Sequence and Meeting Roommate on the Street" - Jesse's encounter with a vampire in her dream was cut due to the fact that it raised too many questions as to wether Jesse herself was a vampire. The roommate scene, featuring Pia Miranda, came right after she watched Lestat on MTV, and before the first visit to the Admiral's Arms. It was deemed expendable.
"Marius talks with Lestat on the Beach" - The scene was trimmed to improve pacing. In it Marius tells Lestat that what keeps him going is seeing what human beings are going to do next.
"Jesse goes to Admiral's Arms #1" - The filmmakers shot a scene where Jesse visits the Admiral's Arms prior to her Talamasca presentation, but cut for pacing purposes. In it we just see Jesse getting off the subway and then walking down a dark alley towards the Admiral's Arms. Footage of vampires entering the Admiral's Arms is used later in the film when Jesse returns for a second visit.
"Band Plays in Admiral's Arms" - The instrumentalists are a who's who of Australian alternative rock. Aimee Nash is a rising young actress and singer. Robin Casinader composed the music. Although the filmmakers loved every second of the footage, they knew they couldn't show much of it in the movie, again because of pacing and timing.
"Groupies with 'Garlic' End" - This scene was cut because the garlic joke was thought to be tonally off. In it, after Lestat's manager, Roger, brings him two groupies Lestat discovers garlic in Roger's coat pocket.
"Jesse on Plane, Lestat in L.A. Mansion, Jesse Dreams of Akasha, Band Watching Videos" - The filmmaker's dropped the scene of Jesse's flight to Los Angeles because they weren't satisfied with the shock dream, featuring Akasha's attack on Jesse. Meanwhile, the scene with the band was trimmed because the filmmakers decided it didn't make much sense to dwell on them here.
"The Ancients Rise" - The scene was originally part of Lestat's satellite dish montage. It was cut as a part of the overall de-emphasis of the Ancients.
"Ancients at Hollywood Sign" - The Ancients storyline was reduced during the course of production because filmmakers felt that there were too many conflicting vampire agendas in the movie. In the final cut of the film, the Ancients are more in the background, and simply serve as allies of Maharet and Marius. In this scene we are introduced to Pandora, Armand, Mael, Khayman and Maharet as they first approach Marius next to the Hollywood sign, and we are given some insight into their relationships with each other. In this scene we hear a line that was used in the trailers, Khayman says "Akasha takes pleasure in only one thing: Destroying life."
"Akasha Dances" - Basically an extended version of the scene where Akasha kills all the vampires at the Admiral's Arms. Despite the fact that the filmmakers loved every second of Akasha's original dance as well as her closing words to Lestat, this scene was trimmed to heighten tension. In this scene Akasha speaks the famous line which was used in the trailers, "Lestat. Come out, come out, wherever you are."
"L.A. Mansion, Jesse Talks with Lestat, Extended Flying Sequence" - The filmmakers felt the dialogue between Jesse and Lestat was unnecessarily long, and tightened it considerably by cutting out a part where Jesse tells Lestat about her dreams. However, they regret trimming the flying sequence, as it establishes a suitably romantic mood.
"Jesse Writes her Aunt and Goes to the Concert" - Originally, Jesse was abducted by Mael at Griffith Park after her encounter with Lestat, and taken to Maharet. After their conversation, Jesse writes a farewell note, and goes to the concert. The scene where Jesse first meets up with Maharet now plays after the concert. After Jesse writes the note she goes out into a desert highway and hitches a ride with some friendly goths on their way to Lestat's concert.
"Band Backstage at Concert, Jesse Walks Through Crowd, Ancients Watch" An extended version of the scene where Jesse arrives at the concert where we see the band hanging out backstage as the Ancients arrive in search of Jesse. As the Ancients watch the partying concert-goers, Khayman notes "Akasha will not be able to resist this."

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: We Were Soldiers/40 Days and 40 Nights/Queen of the Damned (2002)

Soundtracks
Forsaken
Written and Produced by Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs
Performed by Jonathan Davis
Double Violin and Vocal Improvisation by Shenkar
Jonathan Davis appears courtesy of Epic Records
Shankar appears courtesy of 15 Records

User reviews759

Review

Featured review

5/10

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)