Queen of the Damned tells the story of the vampire Lestat coming out of a centuries-long sleep to find himself in a world very different from the one he left. Becoming a goth rock star, Lestat decides to let slip vampire secrets to taunt his fellow bloodsuckers into "outing" themselves.
Direction and Music in Queen of the Damned with Stewart Townsend and Aaliyah - AKA "The Good"
Queen of the Damned was directed by Michael Rymer, who has made a name for himself recently by being a main director on the television hit "Battlestar Galactica." It was Rymer's careful eye, along with a great soundtrack, that made Queen of the Damned stand out as an interesting and relatively well-made vampire film.
According to IMDB, Warner Bros. had held on to the rights to "Queen of the Damned" and "The Vampire Lestat," but waited so long to get the films made that they had to condense both of them into a single film, chosing the latter book's title as the film's. Thanks to Rymer (and screeplay writer Scott Abbott), the story moved along cohesively without seeming bogged down.
The music was skillfully crafted by Jonathan Davis of Korn, and the singer provided the song voice of Lestat (though copyright troubles kept him from being the singer on the soundtrack). His dark but melodious tunes brought the vampire's music to life, and did a wonderful job of setting the tone for the film and a character that is simultaneously feared and adored.
Acting and Special Effects in Michael Rymer's Queen of the Damned - AKA "The Bad"
Unfortunately for Queen of the Damned, vampire films (and horror films in general) rely heavily on special effects and steady acting to sell the film as a whole. Unlike the films predecessor, Interview With the Vampire, which used fast cuts to show the quick movements of the undead, Queen of the Damned uses an odd, choppy effect (complete with schlocky sound effect) to show the speed of the vampires. Rather than have the "wow" reaction that may have been intended, the effect (coupled with the very lame "white face and dark eye makeup" look of the other vampires) created a rather rather unappealing set of villains, making them more comical than threatening.
Lastly (and sadly, this is bound to upset some fans) Aaliyah's portrayal of Queen Akasha was quite overdone. Yes, she should be sexy and yes, her movements should be seductive, but by overdoing the hip-swinging in her walk and really overdoing the accent, Aaliyah's final role before her untimely death proved to be just a little over-the-top to be believable.
The Last Word on Queen of the Damned with Aaliyah
When looked at as a whole, Queen of the Damned is a well-directed and interesting film, though due to the time constraints, not a great representation of the books. However, as a goth film with a terrific score and music worthy of the vampire Lestat himself, Queen of the Damned is a fun watch for vampire fans, so long as they are able to ignore the rest of the vampires in the film.
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