... Jesse keeps hunting down Lestat and other vampires for information and the Queen of the Damned the mother of all vampires rises to meet Lestat. You get the idea. How many times did I type Lestat? 9. The answer is 9 times
I'll refrain from being too critical of this film as after watching ... Read review
Queen of the Damnedcombines the plot elements from the two disappointing novels Anne Rice ... more
cranked out as the sequels toInterview with the Vampireand contrives to be better than the book it is named after, but not by much. The vampire Lestat (a pale, pr...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Queen of the Damnedcombines the plot elements from the two disappointing novels Anne Rice ... more
cranked out as the sequels toInterview with the Vampireand contrives to be better than the book it is named after, but not by much. The vampire Lestat (a pale, pr...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Legendary Vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend - Wonderland) has risen from a decades - long ... more
slumber and reinvented himself as the closest thing to God on Earth: a Rock Star.The intoxicating lure of his music has snaked its way around the globe, awakening t...
In the final days of the Third World War, a bio-weapon was unleashed which effectively ... more
killed it's victims' bodies, but left their tortured minds alive inside rotting corpses, creating a post-apocalyptic wasteland overrun by zombies. One last pocket of...
After 6 000 years of horrifying stillness Akash mother of all vampires and Queen of the ... more
Damned has risen from her sleep to let loose the powers of the night. But her monstrous plan for ruling the worlds of the living and the undead must be stopped before she destroys mankind and it falls to the evil vampire Lestat to fight her all-encompassing evil - for it is he who challenged her power by waking her from sleep.
Postage & Packaging:£0.00 Availability:3-5 working days
Advantages: The target audience will enjoy it Disadvantages: No-one else really will
...vampires for information and the Queen of the Damned the mother of all vampires rises to meet Lestat. You get the idea. How many times did I type Lestat? 9. The answer is 9 times
I'll refrain from being too critical of this film as after watching it I can quite clearly see that this was for a very specific target audience and not a film that was expected to be enjoyed generally. It's for your girls in their teens early 20s who think ... ...be the lack of the Queen of the Damned. The woman is hardly in the film. She isn't really all that vital to the story either which mainly centres around Lestat's music career and other vampires getting pissed off at him. I didn't like her when she did arrive; moving about like a freak all the time and being all of a sudden really powerful and then when the proverbial hits the fan she doesn't seem to take advantage of that power. So maybe I should ... more
A vampire Lestat has been asleep in his crypt for many years. The lonely life of a vampire has bothered him and he now wishes for a sort of death. After over a century of sleep he is awoken by the sound of rock music (ugh what a rubbish story so far). He casually walks in amongst a band who are playing together, he's dressed in leather trousers and an open leather jacket and the guy obviously thinks a lot of himself as rather than act he just poses a lot. He joins this band and they become really, really big. Bigger than Elvis apparently (I wonder if Elvis was a vampire).
Jesse is a paranormal researcher in London. She works in this massive ornate paranormal research centre for this board of very intelligent, ordinary looking people. But they all believe in vampires and do a very bad job at looking like they're anything other than business men. Jesse believes that Lestat is a real vampire and puts it to the board that his songs are revealing vampire secrets. She has unveiled a coven and wants permission for further investigations. Her mentor David isn't keen on it because it's not safe and tells her that they already know about Lestat. He gives her Lestat's lost journal and she reads it and through this the film flashes back to Lestat's past and we learn how he became a vampire and why he is the way he is.
Lestat's band is to play a big one-off concert in Death Valley and has dared all vampires to come out. Other vampires are peeved as Lestat is breaking the code of secrecy. Jesse keeps hunting down Lestat and other vampires for information and the Queen of the Damned the mother of all vampires rises to meet Lestat. You get the idea. How many times did I type Lestat? 9. The answer is 9 times
I'll refrain from being too critical of this film as after watching it I can quite clearly see that this was for a very specific target audience and not a film that was expected to be enjoyed generally. It's for your girls in their teens early 20s who think vampires are sexy and tend to dress like them. Any emo/goth girl I imagine would probably think this film was pretty good with large quantities of such people actually appearing in the film and it's use of metal bands also. It's essentially for the same audience of Twilight. I don't fit into that category at all. Stuart Townsend does nothing for me. He's a wiry git and his constant posing was beginning to get a bit too much. Lestat is essentially Villo Valo of H.I.M. and if there's one person I can't stand it's Villo Valo but for some reason people love him. However, the story did start to change and as we started to watch the flashbacks into Lestat's past and how he became a vampire he poses a lot less and gains a bit of depth and it gets good for a while. Credit here goes to Vincent Perez who was excellent as the vampire ancient, Marius, who sired Lestat. The island palace that they created for Marius' home looked spectacular and in general the costumes and the sets in this section of the film looked great and the story was a lot more interesting and enjoyable.
Other than this respite in the past I did not like the story. Lestat becoming this big rock god didn't interest me. The fact that this annoyed all the other vampires didn't really compute. What was their problem? Lestat complains that being a vampire is a lonely life yet in the film there's a vampire coven where all the vampires hangout and some even seem to have vampire partners. Jesse was just generally a bit stupid and Marguerite Moreau who played her is not an actress worth paying attention to. (Two people called Marguerite in the space of two reviews) The ending was just a bit too much romantic lovey-dovey completely flying in the face of evil vampireness for me to bear. You have never seen such poofy vampires as appear in this film. Now I know that Dracula is pretty much where everyone draws inspiration from when creating vampire stories and he was a romantic character blah blah blah but I wish they'd make a really hard-core could-not-give-a-sh*t vampire some day. Have a vampire bite Dirty Harry or someone. More and more vampire films are becoming girly films and it needs manned up a bit. Like Blade sort of does, but not like Blade.
One other problem with the film has to be the lack of the Queen of the Damned. The woman is hardly in the film. She isn't really all that vital to the story either which mainly centres around Lestat's music career and other vampires getting pissed off at him. I didn't like her when she did arrive; moving about like a freak all the time and being all of a sudden really powerful and then when the proverbial hits the fan she doesn't seem to take advantage of that power. So maybe I should say that the lack of the Queen isn't such a big problem but the title, the film art and DVD blurb all indicate that she's central to the story when she really isn't. Perhaps this is because Aaliyah who played her was quite famous at the time whilst Stuart Townsend wasn't really and he was replacing Tom Cruise in playing Lestat.
It wasn't a badly directed film for what it was intended to be. The special effects were pretty awful. The flying vampire scenes and the swishing about they done looked so fake because it left his ghost blur. That dubbed little vampire film had equivalent effects. For all the Lestat's singing they had him miming and Jonathon Davis of Korn was doing the actual vocals and they did not blend well at all. Jonathon Davis is quite a big person whilst Stuart Townsend is a small, thin man and being familiar with Korn and Jonathon Davis it just didn't seem right. They weren't great songs he sang either. I have to admit that the majority of the artists who appear on the soundtrack of this film I have a CD of, not a kind of music I've listened to in ages. I'm not a big fan of bands like Korn, Disturbed and the Deftones etc. but again taking into account the target audience I'd say it worked well. House of Flies by Deftones is played and I do quite like that song. Jonathon Davis does also make a short appearance in the film as a guy selling tickets outside the concert.
To the world at large I wouldn't recommend this film. It's for a specific audience and isn't really enjoyable for those outside that group. It had too much posing and sentimental tripe for me to stick. For its purposes it's not bad but beyond that just leave well alone.
I haven't seen Interview With A Vampire or read any of Anne Rice's books so I can't draw comparisons.
Advantages: Incredible music videos Disadvantages: Oh where oh where did my storyline go oh where oh where could it be?
Queen of the Damned the movie, supposedly based on two of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles books. These are Queen of the Damned and the Vampire Lestat. Well before I get started on this review I just want to say this movie's like marmite you either love it or you hate it. Being one of my favourite movies you can guess which side i'm on. Anyway if you love rock music then you'll probably love this movie, if you're a fan of Anne Rice and of movies with ... ...and foes of enormous power. Queen Akasha herself rises from her statue like sleep in search of Lestat, but does she seek to kill our young hero or aid him in taking back the night? The Talamasca, a group that investigate paranormal activity pick up on Lestat's song and it's authenticity. A young member, Jessie tries to track Lestat down herself, though for what means? They are her own and it would spoil the slightly hard to follow plot if I told ...
vampiresthirst 08.05.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Queen Of The Damned (DVD)
...day Akasha – the titular QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (great title, admittedly) has woken up - for some reason – and is looking for Lestat. He wants to be found. Does this make for a suspenseful film? Read on…
* * * * *
No. It’s like writing a movie about going to the shops for a packet of prawn cocktail crisps. You know the storekeeper always has them. You think back to a time when you bought them before. Then you go to the shop, ... ...books (The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned), but multiple voiceovers only work in noir thrillers. Here it’s just snoozey-town. “I wanted to know more about myself so I walked down the road. Little did I know that at the end of the road would be something to make me wonder less about what I was wondering about blah blah blah”. Okay, I made that up but you get the idea.
Dialogue becomes dire-logue. Example – ...
peppersinclaire 22.04.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Queen Of The Damned (DVD)
Advantages: unintentionally funny Disadvantages: not scary, not sexy, not clever, Lestat is gay now?
...to be let down horribly. Queen of the Damned is an awful movie, made even more awful by the fact that firstly, it ought to be so much better considering its source material, secondly it doesn't even look as if any attempt was made to make it any better when they knew they could play on the source material and thirdly, most importantly in my eyes, it feels very much like Anne Rice has tried very hard to spin a line of bull to her fans in order to ... ...would hope not. Queen of the Damned opens with a monolgue from Lestat, detailing how he tired of walking the Earth alone and decided to sleep instead, until he is awaked by a world which is changed - a world where new gods are worshipped - rock musicians(!). He rises from the grave(talk about music loud enough to wake the dead) and forms his own band. He is tired of walking in shadows, hiding his existence and so instead openly proclaims his vampirism, ...
wampyrii 07.03.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Queen Of The Damned (DVD)
Advantages: Watchable, good acting Disadvantages: Too short, does not do justice to the books at all.
...of the Vampire, and the Queen of the Damned stunned me with the shear inventiveness from the author. When Interview with a Vampire was released, I rushed to see it, and I enjoyed it. Many years seemed to pass. Then, when the Queen of the Damned was released I thought, ‘Huh? What happened to the film of the second book (The Vampire Lestat)?’ Had I missed its release? No… the thing is that the film Queen of the Damned is based on both books – that ... ...to kill him. Meanwhile, Akasha: Queen of the Damned has been stirred by his music – the lyrics are directed at her – and she has woken and wants him as he new master…
Full cast:
Aaliyah .... Akasha
Stuart Townsend .... Lestat
Marguerite Moreau .... Jesse
Vincent Perez .... Marius
Paul McGann .... David Talbot
Lena Olin .... Maharet
Christian Manon .... Mael
Claudia Black .... Pandora
Bruce Spence .... Khayman
Matthew Newton .... ...
Borg 05.05.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Queen Of The Damned (DVD)
Advantages: Not Recommended for Anne Rice fans, great soundtrack Disadvantages: Not much is based on the book
...of The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned; but they got so many things wrong and a lot of Anne Rice fans were very angry about that. First mistake: Lestat had dark hair. I nearly died when I saw that. How could they let Lestat have dark hair??? I asked incredulously; but all that was forgotten soon as I realised how hot Stuart Townsend looked in the movie and I had something else to concentrate on.
Second mistake: I remember that in The Vampire ... ...of mistakes in the movie Queen of the Damned that will make you frustrated and annoyed.
THE PLOT: The movie is mostly based on the book queen of the Damned where the queen and mother of all vampires has come to life and killed her husband Enkil and seeks to destroy all her children and the men in the world. Lestat becomes a rockstar which angers the fledglings and a few of the ancients because he is exposing the vampires' secrets in his songs and ...
RedTape 08.07.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Queen Of The Damned (DVD)
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Advantages: Great movie Disadvantages: Some slow parts, targeted at a specific audience
find the evil that is Valek and destroy him at the only time they can, during daylight. However more trouble is to cross there path, how will the trio find Valek? How can they destroy such a powerful master, it would be difficult to force him into the open, and soon perhaps maybe even sunlight could not stop one so powerful...?
What is for sure that this movie is definitely worth the watch, for the most part it will leave you thinking this is incredible, and on occasions yes you may be thinking is it over yet. However overall I believe this is a good movie that would appeal to anyone who loves action films, but more particularly to anyone who loves occult movies. For instance, Queen of the damned, Jacob's ladder, Dracula 2000 etc. This film is great and well worth seeing.
Disk: This DVD has five options which are as follows, Play movie ...
The vampire Lestat wakes after many years asleep in his coffin. He realises that the world has changed and he decides to become a rock star. His music stirs Queen Akasha and she is looking for a King...
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
WARNER HOME VIDEO; CINRAM LOGISTICS, AMERICAN WORLD PICTURES; CORNERSTONE MEDIA; TRILOGY LOGISTICS
Release date
28/10/2002, 26/02/2007
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
D 022186, AWP 011DVD
Barcode
7321900221863, 5013037056945
Screenwriter
Anne Rice, Scott Abbott, Giulio Petroni
Composer
Richard Kendall Gibbs
Executive Producer
Bruce Berman, Andrew Mason, Bill Gerber, Su Armstrong
Audio Commentary By Director Editor And Producer, Aaliyah Remembered, Music Of Lestat, Creating Vampires, Three Feature Length Lestat Music Videos Including Forsaken And Redeemer And System, Static X Music Video Cold, Extended Concert Sequences, Additional Scenes, Production Book Stills Gallery, Gag Reel, Interactive Menus, Scene Access, Trailer, Interactive menu
Aspect Ratio
2.35 Wide Screen, 4:3
Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1, Stereo
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital 5.1 English French Italian
Professional reviews
Review
"...Directed with Goth pizazz and brains by Michael Rymer....The widescreen production shows affection for the genre..." (Hollywood Reporter, p.15-39, 12/02/2002)
"...[Aaliyah is] genuinely appealing as the Vamp queen....The action receives an excitement injection every time she appears..." (Total Film, p.94, 01/05/2002)
DVD Description
A deep, dark, stylistic adaptation of the book by Anne Rice from her hugely popular series of vampire novels, THE QUEEN OF THE DAMNED is like a Nine Inch Nails rock video. Undernourished goth club kids are the focus of the film and they all look great with piercings, net t-shirts, tattoos, dyed hair, and dour facial expressions. The film follows the celebrity rock star Vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend), who has emerged from 200 years of solitude to show his face--and his vampire powers--to the world. He has assembled a goth band, makes regular media appearances, and has enchanted the world with his otherworldly mystique. In addition, he has planned one of the most controversial publicity stunts of all eternity: he is holding a one-night rock concert in California's Death Valley, inviting all vampires young and old (along with his extensive fan-base of mortals) to join him. As a side bar to this activity, the mortal Jesse, a young woman who works for the Talamasca society studying paranormal occurrences, has found a secret portal to the vampire world: a London pub where vamps hang out. There she meets Lestat and is instantly smitten with him, insisting on travelling to Death Valley to see his concert. Also en route to the show is the sleek and sexy Egyptian mother of all vampires Queen Akasha (Aaliyah), who has recently arisen from a 2,000-year nap in order to unleash hell on earth. From a distance, a wise band of vampires watch telepathically as Akasha, Lestat, and Jesse converge in Death Valley. But what nobody knows is that the headstrong Lestat, who is the most impulsive and irresponsible of immortal beings but practically a god in the eyes of mortals, is the only one who can defeat Akasha and save the world.
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