Queen of the Damned (2002)

QUEEN OF THE DAMNED (2002) 2 stars out of 4. Starring Stuart Townsend, Aaliyah, Marguerite Moreau, Vincent Perez and Lena Olin. Music by Richard Gibbs and Jonathan Davis. Screenplay by Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni. Based on "The Vampire Chronicles" by Anne Rice. Directed by Michael Rymer. Rated R.

By their nature, vampires are seductive creatures. That probably explains why on screen they usually are portrayed by actors who exude a sexual or animal-like quality, such as Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt and, on the female side, Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon.

In that same vein, rock stars are seductive performers, luring audiences to auditoriums and stadiums to watch them sing - or lip synch - their latest and greatest hits.

Thus, what would be more natural than to combine the two, which is part of the premise of Queen of the Damned, a hard-rock vampire movie based on The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.

The vampire Lestat, last seen in the guise of Tom Cruise in Interview With the Vampire, is now portrayed by Stuart Townsend. Lestat has been sleeping for several years, but is awakened by the sound of heavy metal, goth music.

The lonely Lestat who wants contact with the outside world, rises and before you can say Ozzy Osbourne he is fronting a band.

His music and lyrics propel the band to the top of the charts and the Vampire Lestat becomes a rock megastar. The irony is no one believes he's a genuine vampire; the world thinks it is part of the act.

The ones who do believe are covens of other vampires who are angry that Lestat has broken their ages-old rule of silence. Through his lyrics and at his press conferences he urges his brother and sister bloodsuckers to come out of the coffin.

His music also awakens Akasha (Aaliyah) the mother of all vampires, a ravishing and ravenous creature who considers all mortals good for nothing else but feeding.

Queen of the Damned is a hoot; silly, campy and loud. Definitely a movie not to be taken seriously. And that's the film's charm. While not playing for laughs, the cast realizes the hokiness of the proceedings and acts accordingly.

Aaliyah's Akasha slinks around like a cat in heat, purring her dialogue. She gives an adequate performance and shows potential and screen presence. Her tragic death cut short what could have been a promising film career.

Townsend is no Tom Cruise, but he brings an appreciative appetite for life to his Lestat. He seems more vulnerable and less cynical than Cruise's interpretation.

Director Michael Rymer, working from a script by Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni, has conceived some very interesting set pieces. The best, an outdoor concert in Death Valley at which Lestat is attacked and battles his vampire enemies on stage, while the audience cheers, believing it is all part of his act.

The film's score, composed by Richard Gibbs and Jonathan Davis, assaults your ears. The pair also composed a few appropriate songs for Lestat.

The soundtrack includes tunes from such groups as Dry Cell, Static-X, Candyhateful, Godhead, Disturbed and Deftones.

Queen of the Damned's target audiences are those younger moviegoers who attend raves and an appreciate the heavy metal and goth sensibilities.

All others will probably find it alien terrain.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloomjc@yahoo.com or at bobbloom@iquest.net. Other reviews by Bloom can be found at www.jconline. com by clicking on golafayette.

Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom.

==========
X-RAMR-ID: 31237
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 293041
X-RT-TitleID: 1112623
X-RT-SourceID: 872
X-RT-AuthorID: 1363
X-RT-RatingText: 2/4