Vampire flick,
By Michael Moeschler
The sequel is never as good as the original. This old adage holds true with the latest vampire flick hitting movie theatres across the country this Friday. The Queen of the Damned, the sequel to 1994's blockbuster Interview with the Vampire, is anemic in almost every aspect of the film.
Director Michael Rymer replaces Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt with box office bores Stuart Townsend and the late hip-hop star Aaliyah. The vampire Lestat (Townsend), asleep for more than 200 years, suddenly gets the feeling that there's more to the eternal life than sleeping in coffins and sucking the blood of unsuspecting victims. What better way to live out the vampire lifestyle than by becoming a rock star?
Lestat assumes the role of lead singer in a cheesy goth rock group he wittingly coins "The Vampire Lestat." He apparently violates the cardinal rule of all vampires by revealing the dark secrets of vampire culture in his lyrics. His music moves the mortals who come out in droves to see his onstage antics - yet predictably, most every vampire in the world is out to get him.
His music is so powerful it awakens the queen of all Vampires, Akasha (Aaliyah) who has been snoozing for over 1000 years. Akasha plans on joining forces with Lestat to create a world free of humans. Inevitably, Akasha must face the challenges of meddling vampire scientist Maharet (Lena Olin) and her gang of vampire friends.
Queen of the Damned hopelessly drifts in and out of the central plot, established in the laughable 10-minute introduction. The preface, which was supposed to create a sense of suspense and fright among the audience, fell victim to the flashy and inflated style of today's dime a dozen horror flicks. Queen of the Damned never found its rhythm.
The scariest thing about Aaliyah's role as Queen Akasha was her acting. Where is it written that vampires must speak with an accent? I winced in pain as Aaliyah's mangled vampire twang rang in my ears. Painted in gold for most of the film, Aaliyah's on screen appearance seemed nothing more than tarnished.
Townsend failed to recapture the Lestat from Interview with the Vampire. The brash and arrogant Lestat of old is replaced with a boring and diluted imposter. Lestat's identity as a vampire is hidden behind the vanity of his rockstar lifestyle.
Townsend's poor performance cannot be placed directly on his shoulders. The script had bigger gaps in it than the Grand Canyon. In one scene Lestat is living in London and in the next he's moved to LA. Somehow, the writers created a love story in this jumbled mess. Lestat falls in love with Queen Akasha for one scene and shortly thereafter he's fawning over Maharet.
The only original concept from this film was the soundtrack. Jonathan Davis of Korn wrote the score. Other featured artists included Deftones, Tricky and Disturbed.
Unfortunately, this vampire flick bites. D