Queen of the Damned

2002
R
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

5.3/10

62K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,191

Aaliyah and Stuart Townsend in Queen of the Damned (2002)

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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

62K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

4,191

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 7 nominations total

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

10/10

I guess it depends on your point of view, but I think it's good

I'm notorious among my loved ones for my love of movies that most people wouldn't like. I'm blessed with a gift to appreciate them, I guess. And I'm also blessed with the ability to take movies as totally separate from their book counterparts. Die hard Ann Rice fans might not like this movie because it slams two books (The Vampire Lestat and The Queen of the Damned) into one to make a relatively short film. So, obviously, a lot of the story was changed or left out. Which makes it understandable why some were upset. I mean, come on, Interview With the Vampire was over two hours long, and it was the movie version of just one book.

However, taken as it's own story, the movie is actually very good. Well, in my opinion. Stuart Townsend's portrayal of Lestat is wonderful. And it doesn't hurt that he takes off his shirt quite a bit (he has a really nice, defined, if lean, body) and wears leather pants quite a bit. He also has the rock star quality that is often missing when most actors play musicians. You can see how into the music he is. He also is able to project Lestat's arrogance and loneliness very well.

Vincent Perez, who plays Marius, also does a wonderful job. Though quite popular in Europe, he is sadly under-appreciated in the U.S. I can't honestly say that his portrayal was dead on (so to speak) because I haven't read any of the books the character appears in, but I thought he was quite good. (Another one that is good-looking, ladies.)

Akasha, unfortunately, displays very few emotions, so Aaliyah didn't get a chance to really showcase her acting talents in her final performance, but she did play the evil vampire convincingly. Since she was said to be quite pleasant in real life, I'd say her performance was excellent.

Most of the remaining cast were also enjoyable, if not impressive in their performances.

There are also interesting special effects.

I loved this movie.

If nothing else, you should at least check out the soundtrack. The songs are well penned and preformed by a number of talented musicians. My advice? At least give this movie a chance. Despite the bad reviews, you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.