VampireEssence

22 May 2012

Not very much what i expected, though, i was hoping to be better?

even in the trying of bringing two of the Anne Rice's VampireChronicles novels Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned into onemovie, first it was too short for two long stories.... second it didnot capture the essence of the novels in part. although Stuart Townsendwas good in the role of the Vampire Lestat and Alliyah in the excellentrole of Queen Akasha: the mother of all Vampires. the only thingsinteresting were the melodies and the recopy of the environments andcharacters but nothing more. one Thumb up!!! :? the adaptation ofInterview with the Vampire to the screen was better, though. the Gothicmelodies are excellent for this type of movies. the Cast and Crew did anice job in making the movie, but trying to capture two long storynovels into one movie was not meant.

jaded_angel_13

22 May 2012

If you read and liked the book, dont see the movie

I went into this with high hopes. I had seen what had been done withInterview with the Vampire, and told myself that if someone had managed todo such a great job with that complicated -yet excellent- book, then Queenof the Damned should be even better. Boy, was I wrong. The basic plot ofthe movie somewhat resembles that of the book, but some crucial parts wereleft out of it. Where was all the history of the vampires, as recountedbyKhayman, which constitutes a significant part of the book? And what aboutAkasha's sinister plan of killing all but one male out of every hundred,tolet women rule the world? There were so many other discrepancies (whichvampire really made which?), and they made this movie thoroughlyunpleasant,being able to point them out as I was through my love of Anne Rice'snovels.Although, if you really have no idea of the story and are into gothicvampires, than this movie is for you. Now, this movie does have itsstrongpoints, such as Stuart Townsend, who does a wonderful job bringing Lestattolife, and the soundtrack of the film, very good if you like that sort ofnew-rock music. All in all, I give it a 4 out of 10.

22 May 2012

Good in the right mindset...

This was a great movie and I think it added allot of enviornment to both the books it covered. Although it did not follow the books it followed the it close enough to keep me satisfied. The only downfall of the movie was the casting. The only people who fit there characters were Lestat (Arrogant, sexy, and bloodthirsty) and Marius (Quintessential elder speaking from the background.) The worst was Louis, A chubby cheeked frat boy? What was that? His only line was "I will not." and that wasnt that good either.... Overall though the movie was good and the imagery was excellent! I would reccomend this to any with a strong stomach and an open mind....thanks

21 May 2012

Not all its cracked up to be.

I am a huge anne rice fan and have read the entire chronical. The movie was ..ok. If you've read the books you will understand more but be dissappointed in the changes. I liked townsend as lestat but the movie portrayed him horribly in my eyes. Cruise had the part down to the "T". Lestat was very arrogant and liked to sluaghter murderers and the likes not helpless women. He likes the hunt and sport of it. Aaliyah was a good pick for the queen she did have a commanding presence for the part. I didn't like how they switched roles of characters. Once I saw that I was outraged. I can't say anymore because it could spoil the movie for some people who have not yet watched it. The soundtrack was totally awesome, the music seeping to your heart and ripped it out and sucked the blood from it. All-in-all the movie is a good movie but anyone who has read the books may be dissapointed.

xanderificus

20 May 2012

The Martyr Principle in effect

There's a really bad trend going on where, if someone tries to "crossover" from music to movies and then dies, their movies become better.Actors and singers seem to love to try to jump the line and we'd all bebetter off if someone stood up to them and said "No." There may be theodd exception now and then, but the majority start with one career fora very good reason: they lack the talent in the other arena.As much as I hate to speak ill of the dead, Aaliyah's acting isabysmal. I've never really listened to her music but I'm guessing shestretched herself too thin, artistically.This movie was gawdawful; the fault largely resting with the paper-thinacting talents of the title character. Watching Aaliyah act was likewatching the Spice Girls act.

cddeloach

20 May 2012

Good movie, bad adaptation

I am a huge fan of Anne Rice, and particularly "Queen of the Damned" so Ireally looked forward to this movie. I left with mixed feelings about it.Onone hand, the movie was a terrible adaptation of the book with more plotcoming from "The Vampire Lestat" than "Queen" and most of those weredistorted or completely changed. However, I really did like the movie. ILOVED Stuart Townsend as Lestat! I think he captured the "brat prince" somuch better than Tom Cruise. Just the right mix of arrogance andvulnerability. Not so great was Aaliyah's Queen. Sorry, but I think shewasWAY over the top and her accent was really annoying.I do wish that the "twins" story of the book had been covered. I thoughtitwas the best thing about the book. Since there is no mention in the movie,it is hard to figure out the plot. It leaves too many holes.Overall, I enjoyed the movie for what it was and I will probably buy it ifonly for Stuart Townsend's performance.

Terri

19 May 2012

The second best move Aaliyah has made, to bad it had to end!

I saw "The Queen of the damned" at a sneak preview at my school. Being abigfan of Aaliyah, anything she does musically, and movie is DYNAMIC! So itwasno BIG surprise that this movie was going 2 get a 10. It's better than allvampire movies, because the Queen Vampire is Sexy, And Beautiful, and VERYTALENTED! Aaliyah was the best, no IS the best and no matter how many yearsgo by she will not be forgotten! And on top of that she gets 2 work with ahott Co-Star! So on a scale of 1-10 this movie gets a 100% ONE AND AMILLION!

marilynramon90

19 May 2012

great movie

this movie was awesome, although it didn't really stick to anne rice'schronicles it was still good. my favorite actor in the movie was StuartTownsend, he did a terrific job with the character Lestat. if you werereally into this movie you could buy the soundtrack, i did. it has alot of amazing artists and songs from the movie such as marilyn manson,dead cell, disturbed, korn, etc. if you haven't seen this movie, youshould really check it out. its right up there with bromstoker'sDracula and interview with a vampire if you're into vamp flicks!! it'serotic, Gothic, and bloody. it has a good romance story tied into it aswell. when the beauty and wonder of the 19th century french meetsmodern rock you just cant go wrong!

jj87

18 May 2012

Just too pretty and predictable. And no surprises lead to a mediocre movie.

Queen of the Damned started out slick, but as most vampire movies go, itbecame too predictable. There was a comment on how to kill the queen, andinthe end, that's how the movie ended, which was another slick moment. It wasjust too predictable with the foreshadowing handed over. No surprises, atall, which is the key for this type of movie. However, the cast wasimpressive, but that just is not enough for a higher mark.

18 May 2012

campy, campy, campy!

i dunno... this movie has lots of things going on... i mean, look at the first installment, "interview with a vampire" a bloody (no pun intended) good movie if there ever was one. and nearly a decade old. so what's wrong with this one?firstly, they actually skipped the second book in the series, "the vampire lestat" and just jumped into the third. i think they thought they justified it by meshing together both books but... heck, this is anne rice we are talking about! her books are nothing but full of plots...i think the atmosphere is right though to convey the 80's seedy underworld... the dark watery alleys and all... but how come they dress like something out of the matrix... *all the time*? sheesh... stuart townsend is quite compelling as lestat, there are cetain scenes where he's really good...although somehow he doesn't live up to tom cruise (honestly though, i am NOT a fan of cruise) as lestat.the plot itself is lacking... and all the vampires seemed to come from stereotype hell... can't they be more original, more than just gnashing jaws and flying cloaks (or in this case leather trench coats)? jesse acts like a half witted idiot, a wooden one at that. and they raved about aaliyah... i think she stinks. sad to say, that imho she can't really act, and if people think that walking around with bits of cloth plastered to her body equals to acting, i'd tear my hair out! and i think her rendition of akasha a bit weird though.. is that accent supposed to be an ancient egyptian talking in english? then how come everybody else sounds american? mystifyingly, if i'm not mistaken, townsend sounds british... weird for a french (since lestat *is* french) isn't it?this is one movie i have seen in recent memory where the soundtrack is way SUPERIOR.. too bad they are not releasing the songs sung by jonathan davis in the movie... that would be excellent! so 2 stars are for the songs and some good moments for townsend.i think it'd just whip out "interview with a vampire" for my fix... this - like another reviewer had said - is just B-grade material. at least IWAV have pitt, cruise, banderas, slater and co. to make my mouth water...

rnlaing

17 May 2012

The Brat Prince

Id have to agree that this movie is bathed in a very MTV type ofinfluence.I probably wouldnt have given in a second look had i read the book beforeisaw it, but i didnt. In fact, i hadnt read any of the vampire books. Thatwas the movie that put me through the series. So i have to thank it, eventhough it twisted the story beyond recognition.But to tell you guys the truth, i wasnt a big fan of the book. In fact,itsmy least favorite book in the entire series. And had they covered alltheyhad in the novel, i would have been bored to tears! To be quite honestwithyou, i dont care about Khayman, or many of the others.Im all for Lestat , as im sure many of the fans are. The one thing thattoasted me about the movie was that they fused two characters. Yes, youknowwhat im talking about all you readers. Marius and Magnus were made intooneperson.Another thing is, how hard would it have been to dye their hair blonde?Marius was supposed to have long beautiful straight blonde hair, andLestatswas to be a wavey gold. Also i think they shouldve expanded on the storywith the twins past with akasha and enkil. But to tell you the truth,thatbored me too.People were also complaining about stuart townsend. Frankly , i like theguy. And despite other comments about Tom Cruise, i liked him as Lestattoo.To be perfectly honest, ive not seen an actor who looks like i imaginedmyLestat.To finish this off, i'd like to say that no one even heard about thismoviecoming out until Aaliyah died. I was knee deep in a conversation with arelative of mine how they thought it was 'manipulative of hollywood toputit out and milk on peoples sympathy for her death'. I didnt see it thatwayat all.If she took the time from her busy schedule (and you know it was busy),andwanted to do the movie, she wouldve wanted it to be put out into thepublic.It was low budget, i assume (by costuming), so theres no doubt thatsomeonehad offered her other parts for more money.And it was a laid back flick with all good elements. Kickass music, Bloodand of course my Lestat.Love and Blood

17 May 2012

Queen of the Damned (DVD)

I am a huge Anne Rice fan, have read anything and everything that she has written and had published. With much anticipation I went and saw this movie, and was shocked to bits. I couldn't understand why she allowed those ppl to botch her work ...!!! I much preferred Tom Cruise as Lestat as he gave a very real to life performance, Stuart Townsend did a really good job "trying". Overall I was thoroughly disappointed in this movie, there wasn't a plot and things just didn't make sense, the actor gave a good try and the only reason I would view this film again would be to watch the good job the actors did in trying to portray this poor poor script, they seem to have made the best of the situation. Hope they allow Anne to write the next scripts, that is if there will ever be another movie thanks to the poor abilities of those in Hollywood who think they know best!

piedra

17 May 2012

Amazing! The soundtrack, I mean...

This awful movie has one of the best soundtracks ever. Of course, if youdon't like Korn (or that sort of music) you might find it awful too. Davis'songs are so cool it's a shame they have to be connected to thisfilm.Fun fact: What drove me to watch this was the aforementioned soundtrack. Ihadn't seen "Interview with the vampire", so I presumed that in order tounderstand "Queen..." I should see the previous one.I felt it like I was doing homework in a way, so I approached the moviewithout high expectations and, what do you know, I really liked it. Then itwas time to watch "Queen..." and, well, this just plainstinks.There's no reason to see this film, just buy the soundtrack.

tinervin

16 May 2012

Great Movie

I just got back from the movie and I highly recommend it. In my opinionthemovie was really well done. I am not a fan of any of Anne's books so Ihavenot read any. I went to see the movie without any knowledge of the worldsAnne has in her books. It was worth the money and time.

miguelsanchez69

15 May 2012

dumb concept, boring movie

Easily one of the most boring movies I've see in my life. A vampire rockstar? Gee, that takes willing suspension of disbelief to a new level. Idon't know if the book this is based on is this dumb but whoevergreenlighted this movie should be shot. Bad acting too but not bad enough tobe funny. Just a dull dull movie. I adored interview with the vampire andthis movie does not measure up in any way whatsoever. The actor who playslestat lacks any charisma as well. I fell asleep during this film. Avoidlike the plague.

tracytrebilcox

14 May 2012

Not quite happy with the finished product

To be honest, I'm an Anne Rice fan, and other than the title of the movieand the names of the characters, that's all that is similar to the book.This poor little movie is very campy in parts, to the point that insteadofbeing scary, it's funny.Stuart Townsend is beautiful to look at, but his performance is a crossbetween Jim Morrison of the Doors and Beef from "Phantom of the Paradise".Instead of fearing him, you feel sorry for him -- NOT the way the VampireLeStat should be portrayed. I hate to say it, but Tom Cruise actuallynailed the persona much better.Vincent Perez as Marius was also miscast. He looks nothing, soundsnothinglike the Marius of the books, who is a tall, blond philosopher.It's such a shame that Aaliyah will be remembered only for this role.Someone older would've been much better than this child. She just didn'tpull off the sophistication that should've been required for the part.Shewas very pretty, but had no depth.

12 May 2012

Fun, Stylish and Loud

Queen Of The Damned as a movie will win no Oscars, but that doesn't mean that it isn't great. It's Fun and campy in a way, it has a Rocky Horror vibe and the films music really sets a mood. Stuart Townsend plays an excellent Lestat, and Vincent Perez as Marius is a delite to watch. The DVD however features excellent extras including 3 full music videos shot for the movie by the actors. I only wish music videos where so creatively and artistically done for television. It is interesting to compare the one real music video by Static X to the 3 done for the film which are much superior.There are 2 documentrys about the making of Damned one about the musical process, featuring interviews with the various artists that contributed to the soundtrack, which gives you a look inside the recording studio and how the score of the film was made. The second documentry focuses on the Vampire special effects, specifically the use of wires and suspension cables, and an in depth look at the concert sequence, one of the more memorable moments of the film. There is also a brief tribute to Aaliyah, featuring Stuart Townsend(Lestat), Michael Rymer(Director), and her brother among others involved in production.This film is destined to be a cult classic for many reasons evident when watching the movie, but most of all because of Aaliyah's performance, which is haunting and chilling. Her presence fills the screen and it is completely evident from the film that she was destined to be great, it is truely tragic that she only had such a short time.The film provoked resonses of overwhelming love, or overwhelming hate from most people, and any film that can provoke such hightend feelings is one not to be missed whether you loved it or hated it.

Brandon L. Sites

11 May 2012

out of 4.

Vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend) awakens from almost a century of slumber.He becomes an instant hit with the public when he becomes a rock n' rollsinger who claims to be a vampire. The media and public alike think it is apublicity stunt, however the Queen of the Vampires, Akasha (Aaliyah), knowsbetter and awakens again from many centuries of slumber. She kills her kingand immediately sets up to make Lestat her king and gain world domination.The first two thirds of this film are pretty boring and badly done. It'smain problems are Townsend's wooden performance, the rest of the usuallysolid cast making fools out of themselves, and a thin script. However, whenAaliyah finally arrives on screen for the last act things speed up real fastand she turns in such a commanding, sexy and amusing performance that makesthe whole film worth watching.Rated R; Sexual Situations and Graphic Violence.

Christie

08 May 2012

I love the movie!

I thought Queen of the Damned was one of the best movies I have everseen. Not only did it cater to my vampire interests I got my StuartTownsend fix as well. The music is spectacular & I love Lestat! Theplot line was a little all over the place but if you've read theVampire Chronicles it should be fairly easy to follow. Personally Ithought the special effects suited the film. The make-up and costume ofthe various vampires in the movie were outstanding and really makes youbelieve that there could be vampires out there. Once again, the musicis amazing, Jonathan Davis is a genius! Stuart performed so well in theconcert scenes making it very realistic and I could almost feel like Iwas there watching. All the supporting actors did a wonderful job and Ithink Marguerite Moreau is a great Jesse. Aaliyah makes for anintriguing and beautiful Akasha, as well as Marius & Maharet beingplayed exceptionally. I could just think about Lestat all day......

JamieRaven

07 May 2012

Finally, a Lestat to believe in

After being disappointed with the casting in 'Interview with the Vampire'Iwondered if I would ever be able to tolerate another Hollywood version ofmybeloved Lestat. My wariness soon faded after the first five minutes intothis film. I found myself lured in completely with the much more appealinggoth atmosphere, and I settled in for the anticipation that this one wouldbe different. I've always felt when you play the role of a mythicalcharacter, especially a vampire, you should look and act the part. StuartTownsend took my breath away and never gave it back until the end. It waslike finally seeing the real Lestat brought to life in front of me. Ifoundmyself experiencing the pain and adventure right along with him. It wasn'tuntil Akasha made her entrance as the queen of vampires that I was able tobreak away from Townsend's performance. I was surprised by the depth ofAaliyah's talent. It was more artistic and developed from her role in'RomeoMust Die.' She left this world with a crowning achievement in cinema,leaving us to ask the question 'What might have been?' This is a movie Istill enjoy watching from time to time, and would recommend that anyonewho's a fan of Anne Rice, or Lestat, will want this one in theircollection.