Queen of the Damned

15A102 min

A critical and commercial disaster upon its release in 2002, director Michael Rymer’s largely unrelated sequel to 1994’s Interview with the Vampire is a film that is ripe for reassessment. Based largely on the second and third novels of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, the film continues the story of the vampire-brat Lestat de Lioncourt as he continues his pursuit of hedonistic pleasures. Woken from his slumber by the sounds of nu metal, Lestat becomes an international rock superstar whose fame brings him into conflict with the global community of undead and face to face with Akasha, the mother of all vampires. Blending the queer excess of Anne Rice’s novels with a b-movie horror aesthetic and pounding music score in a manner reminiscent of Ken Russell in his heyday, Queen of the Damned acts as a time capsule for early twenty-first century youth rebellion. The film features an extraordinary soundtrack of songs written by Korn frontman Jonathan Davis, performed by nu metal legends such as Static-X, Disturbed, and Linkin Park. Irish actor Stuart Townsend and the late R&B performer Aaliyah are excellent in the leading roles of Lestat and Akasha, bringing an androgynous sensuality to the roles in a film that is as much goth as it is horror, its flamboyant visuals a clear departure from the seriousness of Neil Jordan’s interpretation. Horror fans will take additional pleasure in the nods to classic silent titles such as Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Nosferatu.