DVD 97 mins IMDB 4.6
Suitable for 15 years and over
Queen Of The Damned [2002]
 (22/02/2002)
In Collection
#334

Seen It:
Yes
Horror, Music, Fantasy
USA  /  English

Aaliyah Queen Akasha
Stuart Townsend Lestat de Lioncourt
Marguerite Moreau Jessica 'Jesse' Reeves
Vincent Perez Marius de Romanus
Paul McGann David Talbot
Lena Olin Maharet
Christian Manon Mael
Claudia Black Pandora
Bruce Spence Khayman
Matthew Newton Armand

Director Michael Rymer
Producer Jorge Saralegui
Writer Anne Rice; Scott Abbott

Queen of the Damned combines the plot elements from the two disappointing novels Anne Rice cranked out as the sequels to Interview with the Vampire and contrives to be better than the book it is named after, but not by much. The vampire Lestat (a pale, pretty Stuart Townsend) awakens after a century-long nap and discovers flamboyant metal music, then irritates the vampire community by "coming out" and courting celebrities. His sub-Marilyn Manson songs interest paranormal-watching human librarian Jesse (Marguerite Moreau), who looks him up in a Mile End Goth club that caters for an undead clientele, but his tunes also awaken Akasha (Aaliyah), eponymous mother of all vampires, who makes him her number one disciple and sets about devastating the world, opposed by a cadre of conservative vampires who include Lestat's sire Marius (Vincent Perez) and Jesse's Aunt Maharet (Lena Olin).

The plot is of the "one-damn-thing-after-another" variety, zipping about the world from New Orleans to Glastonbury to a huge concert in Death Valley as broody characters exchange solemn but comical dialogue and indulge in fight scenes too swift for the camera to catch. Like Blade 2, it offers some spectacular vampire combustions, but its romance is strictly 15-certificate blood-nuzzling and it's hard to take Lestat himself seriously when Townsend plays him as such a feckless twit. --Kim Newman

Edition Details
Barcode 7321900221863
Region 2
Release Date 28/10/2002
Screen Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles Arabic; Dutch; English; French; German; Italian; Spanish
Audio Tracks English Dolby Digital 5.1
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Personal Details
Links Amazon UK
IMDB