In this loose sequel to Entretien avec un 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 Entretien avec un 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 Entretien avec un vampire (1994), the vampire Lestat becomes a rock star whose music wakes up the equally beautiful and monstrous queen of all vampires.
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- Stars
- Awards
- 7 nominations total
Megan Cooper
- Maudy
- (as Megan Dorman)
MiG Ayesa
- New York Vampire
- (as Miguel Ayesa)
- Director
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- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This is a movie that is a bit hard to review. The reason is that there is a HUGE gap between movie quality and soundtracks.
It is siple, the movie is just ok and worth watching. Just do it.
Just watch the movie on, BUT.... You need a good sound system. Not a "half baked" soundboard that sounds like s$it. The movie is just ok as it is, it is a vampire movie that is worth watching at least ones just for the movie it self. But what makes it worth watching a few more times is the music in the movie. Is simply is epic. It is so epic that I have watched the movie 4 times and I dont know how many times I have listen to the sountrack on other medias. It is EPIC! But you really need a good audio system to enjoy it fully.
I recomand you to watch the movie at least ones,
It is siple, the movie is just ok and worth watching. Just do it.
Just watch the movie on, BUT.... You need a good sound system. Not a "half baked" soundboard that sounds like s$it. The movie is just ok as it is, it is a vampire movie that is worth watching at least ones just for the movie it self. But what makes it worth watching a few more times is the music in the movie. Is simply is epic. It is so epic that I have watched the movie 4 times and I dont know how many times I have listen to the sountrack on other medias. It is EPIC! But you really need a good audio system to enjoy it fully.
I recomand you to watch the movie at least ones,
Ok, so this is not a brilliant movie. Its not even a very good movie. But it is a bit of a guilty pleasure. Kind of half vampire movie, half rock video.
The reason I like Queen of the Damned? Stuart Townsend as Lestat - he is utterly beautiful in this film. Sexy, seductive, with model-looks. The man looks the part and he plays the part very well too. You can understand why characters are seduced by him. He totally oozes that kind of sexy rockstar charm.
I know the movie is literally nothing like the novel, and it garnered a LOT of criticism for that, as well as it generally not being a particularly great movie even if you treat it as stand-alone.
I tend to put this movie on when I fancy watching something a little silly that doesn't require an awful lot of thinking about. Its kind of early 2000s trash at its finest.
The reason I like Queen of the Damned? Stuart Townsend as Lestat - he is utterly beautiful in this film. Sexy, seductive, with model-looks. The man looks the part and he plays the part very well too. You can understand why characters are seduced by him. He totally oozes that kind of sexy rockstar charm.
I know the movie is literally nothing like the novel, and it garnered a LOT of criticism for that, as well as it generally not being a particularly great movie even if you treat it as stand-alone.
I tend to put this movie on when I fancy watching something a little silly that doesn't require an awful lot of thinking about. Its kind of early 2000s trash at its finest.
This might have been a good movie it they hadn't of associated it with the book. Any reader of the Vampire Chronicles knows what I mean. They changed so much of the story that they will be unable to make any of the other books into movies without changing them completely also or remaking this one.
They totally trivalized the debate between Akasha and her 'children'.
Marius (who did not make Lestat btw) in the chronicles is the great reasoner of the Vampires. In the book he had a long argument for Akasha. In the movie all he says to her is "Akasha, please". He was never jealous of Lestat drinking from Akasha (he himself had many many times) and didn't try to hide Enkil and Akasha from Lestat. They turned the Vampires from sad and beautiful creatures of the night who only kill the evil-doer into blood hungry wanna-bes who eat whatever mortal wanders by. Maharet's twin, Mekare, isn't even in the story. Mekare crawling out of the jungles after thousands of years, insane and single minded, to fufill the curse she spoke to Akasha in her court in ancient times was a major plot point. Anyway, my point is that a very well thought-out and seductive story was turned into a joke of a movie. Honestly, don't bother seeing the movie, read the book.
They totally trivalized the debate between Akasha and her 'children'.
Marius (who did not make Lestat btw) in the chronicles is the great reasoner of the Vampires. In the book he had a long argument for Akasha. In the movie all he says to her is "Akasha, please". He was never jealous of Lestat drinking from Akasha (he himself had many many times) and didn't try to hide Enkil and Akasha from Lestat. They turned the Vampires from sad and beautiful creatures of the night who only kill the evil-doer into blood hungry wanna-bes who eat whatever mortal wanders by. Maharet's twin, Mekare, isn't even in the story. Mekare crawling out of the jungles after thousands of years, insane and single minded, to fufill the curse she spoke to Akasha in her court in ancient times was a major plot point. Anyway, my point is that a very well thought-out and seductive story was turned into a joke of a movie. Honestly, don't bother seeing the movie, read the book.
The rest of the movie is great. The cast and crew did a stellar job (Aaliyah is chillingly beautiful) and the soundtrack is unparalleled, it fits the movie perfectly.
Ignore the low score on IMDb. Watch and enjoy it as a stand-alone film, as it is a world away from Interview With The Vampire. At least an 7/10 if you like the genre, and it is on Netflix in most countries, so go for it
Ignore the low score on IMDb. Watch and enjoy it as a stand-alone film, as it is a world away from Interview With The Vampire. At least an 7/10 if you like the genre, and it is on Netflix in most countries, so go for it
Combining The Vampire Lestat and the Queen of the Damned novels into one screenplay was, ahem, damned to suffer massive story cuts because of the intricate and detailed background of a dozen or so characters involved. The amount of detail always was the strength of the Vampire Chronicles, in my opinion, and they were certainly worth the read.
That said, the question remains, without the detail and extra characters, can the basic story of Lestat's re-awakening of the Queen of all vampires be entertaining and sufficient enough to sustain itself? While I can not answer the question with a glowing appraisal, I will certainly admit that it did a decent job of combining all of the basic elements into a stand alone movie. The fact that this movie can stand on it's own without any ties to the prequel, Interview with the Vampire, is one of it's assets. You do not need any fore-knowledge of the characters, books, or prequel movie in order to watch this.
Even though it fits into it's own little package does not mean it was packed very well. There were some plot holes, some of which could have been filled by simply restoring the "Ancients" scenes that were on the dvd. I understand, as the dvd points out, that they were left out because it introduced another subplot and characters that would add unnecessary confusion. While I agree with their reasoning, I do think they should have somehow salvaged the scene so that while the introductions of the ancients would have been left out, Maharet's few lines about Akasha's reign of destruction and the vampire's responsibility should have remained. They would have added a needed sense of urgency and motivation that would have made the final confrontation with Akasha and the ancients a bit more reasonable and satisfying.
The character of Jessie is supposed to be the human link for the viewer to empathize through as they are taken into the world of vampires. In some scenes, this works adequately, but on the whole, Jessie's motivations, while they are explained, seem kind of empty. I am not sure if I can fault the actress or script, but when the movie was over, I still felt ambivalent about the character's experiences.
There were other elements that were not as fleshed out as they could be. The paranormal Talamasca needed a bit more background about their vampire tracking as did the character of Maharet and her family tree. Like Jessie, they were given some explanation, but I think a couple more lines of dialogue would have helped.
As I mentioned, the movie did a decent job of the basic story, but massive changes were made from the source material. Characters were dropped completely, or merged together, and huge sections of character history were removed. Most notably, Lestat's history is extremely compacted and revised. Nonetheless, there are some things that remained that I thought were done pretty well. The character of Lestat in this picture is rebellious and reckless which is more true to the character than he was portrayed in Interview. Lestat's re-awakening and concert scenes were exactly like I had envisioned when I originally read the book. The character of Akasha was also as I pictured and a very good casting choice.
If you are a fan of the books, and you need the twins, Gabriel, Magnus, and crew, you are going to have difficulty sitting through this. If, on the other hand, you can set that aside and view this as a vampire movie of it's own, unrelated to the chronicles, you will probably enjoy this for the stand-alone vampire flick that it is.
In summary, worth the rental.
That said, the question remains, without the detail and extra characters, can the basic story of Lestat's re-awakening of the Queen of all vampires be entertaining and sufficient enough to sustain itself? While I can not answer the question with a glowing appraisal, I will certainly admit that it did a decent job of combining all of the basic elements into a stand alone movie. The fact that this movie can stand on it's own without any ties to the prequel, Interview with the Vampire, is one of it's assets. You do not need any fore-knowledge of the characters, books, or prequel movie in order to watch this.
Even though it fits into it's own little package does not mean it was packed very well. There were some plot holes, some of which could have been filled by simply restoring the "Ancients" scenes that were on the dvd. I understand, as the dvd points out, that they were left out because it introduced another subplot and characters that would add unnecessary confusion. While I agree with their reasoning, I do think they should have somehow salvaged the scene so that while the introductions of the ancients would have been left out, Maharet's few lines about Akasha's reign of destruction and the vampire's responsibility should have remained. They would have added a needed sense of urgency and motivation that would have made the final confrontation with Akasha and the ancients a bit more reasonable and satisfying.
The character of Jessie is supposed to be the human link for the viewer to empathize through as they are taken into the world of vampires. In some scenes, this works adequately, but on the whole, Jessie's motivations, while they are explained, seem kind of empty. I am not sure if I can fault the actress or script, but when the movie was over, I still felt ambivalent about the character's experiences.
There were other elements that were not as fleshed out as they could be. The paranormal Talamasca needed a bit more background about their vampire tracking as did the character of Maharet and her family tree. Like Jessie, they were given some explanation, but I think a couple more lines of dialogue would have helped.
As I mentioned, the movie did a decent job of the basic story, but massive changes were made from the source material. Characters were dropped completely, or merged together, and huge sections of character history were removed. Most notably, Lestat's history is extremely compacted and revised. Nonetheless, there are some things that remained that I thought were done pretty well. The character of Lestat in this picture is rebellious and reckless which is more true to the character than he was portrayed in Interview. Lestat's re-awakening and concert scenes were exactly like I had envisioned when I originally read the book. The character of Akasha was also as I pictured and a very good casting choice.
If you are a fan of the books, and you need the twins, Gabriel, Magnus, and crew, you are going to have difficulty sitting through this. If, on the other hand, you can set that aside and view this as a vampire movie of it's own, unrelated to the chronicles, you will probably enjoy this for the stand-alone vampire flick that it is.
In summary, worth the rental.
Did you know
- 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.
- Alternate versionsDVD 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."
- SoundtracksForsaken
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
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
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- Also known as
- La reina de los condenados
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $35,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $30,336,800
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $14,757,535
- Feb 24, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $45,479,110
- Runtime
- 1h 41m(101 min)
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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