For starters, I've seen many vamp movies (favorite being "Nosferatu") and I never heard of the "secret code" that they apparently live by according to Michael Rymer. See, vamps live by this code that they are to live in secret. That's why we never see them in real life. This film is the first to mention this "code"-- well maybe I just haven't seen the right vamp movie if it's not the first.

      On to the review, the film starts out with the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt awakening and traveling to LA where he meets and joins a rock band, titled, you guessed it, The Vampire Lestat. Well, that's the name that they changed to after he joined...don't remember them even mentioning there other name. I found this funny (in a good way) that Lestat wanted to be a rock star, he looks like Marylin Manson.

How could he wait that long to mention the resemblance to Marylin Manson?!

      Another reason why this film is different from most in this genre is that it goes deeper into the culture of the vamps, and the hierarchy of them. Before today, I thought that all vampires were the same blood-sucking creatures that stalk the night. That's not true, there are many kinds of vamps and they-- hold on...let's not forget vampires are completely fiction.

Oh, James, some party pooper you are.

      Yes, they are completely fiction, everybody knows that, but sometimes the movies get us carried away in the fantasy realm.

      As I previously stated, the acting is decent if not great here. I've never seen Stuart Townsend act before, but damn, he's good. And so is Aaliyah--may she rest in peace--, she is so gorgeous; I'm in love.

Necrophilia, James?

      Haha...no. There just wasn't enough of her in this, but that's most likely because they put her on the poster to honor her life. At the end when Queen Akasha is dying it is impossible to hold back the tears because we know that the actor is dead. Dead at 22. That's not fair. It's a lot like the feeling I get every time I watch the scene in "Stand By Me" where River Phoenix's character fades away.

      Anyhoo, there's Marguerite Moreau (Jesse Reeves) who becomes Lestat's soul mate, and Vincent Perez (Marius) as the mentor to Lestat.

Do I recommend this film? Hell yea. Don't believe the negative!

     -- James ( 3 1/2 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

      Billy Ray ( 1 out of 4 pops )

      What a lot of people may not know is that "Queen of the Damned" was originally intended to go directly to video stores, completely skipping the theatre circuits.  From what I have read, the reason for the direct to video decision is that the producers didn't feel the movie had the potential to make a heavy impact at the box office.  But, when Aaliyah died, the producers evidently had a change of opinion and felt the film had become somewhat better; either that or they wanted to capitalize on Aaliyah's death.  You take your pick.  "Queen of the Damned" was a terrible film.  It felt like I was watching a really good vampire movie that was overtaken by a really bad vampire movie.  I hope nobody will take offense to my saying this, but Aaliyah was not what you would call an actress with a wide acting range.  Her performance as Akasha is overacted--it was as if she was trying too hard to be a vampire.  And, how could anyone possibly believe a fine actor like Tom Cruise could be replaced by a nobody like Stuart Townsend?  This film does have direct to video written all over it.  The only aspect of this film that I enjoyed was the unusual and sometimes intriguing cinematography.  The performances were all equally unimpressive, and the directing by Michael Rymer was disappointing.  This is not the worst film of the year, and I doubt it will even be in the top ten worst of the year, but it certainly takes its place on the list of worst vampire films and the list of worst cheap attempts to capitalize on the death of a fallen star.  Aaliyah might have one day made a good actress, but if this film is any indication of the pentacle of her acting ability--she should be remembered for her music.