Vampire Reviews: Queen of the Damned

[@xingcat]

I remember reading these in the 80s and thinking that Lestat should have woken up in the 70s and been a Ziggy Stardust type.

[@archer1949]

When I was reading the books, I pictured the Thin White Duke Bowie.

[@Devilsblood]

Or Jim Morrison

[@maudelynn1728]

I picture him as Sting... I love the fact we all see him so differently

[@JustChillingOnTattoine]

I remember I kinda imagined his stage presence like David Bowie in Labyrinth :D

[@anthonyparkernearlifeexp]

Hell yeah! That's what I thought too. Ziggy Stardust all the way. Bowie could have even played him as recently as the early 90's.

[@Frenzywonder]

So, if i take into account all that has been said, would it technically be accurate to say that if Lestat had rose in the early 2000, he would have instead emulated.... Lady Gaga? I mean, its all there, the campy style, the instantaneous fame, weirdly deep lyrics, yeah he'd totally be a Lady Gaga.

[@milkflower_r3094]

OMG we were cheated - Gaga Lestat would have been AMAZING!

[@rosangelamaria9386]

My gods gaga lestat whould bê amazing

[@binag1130]

so... the countess from american horror story? :)

[@kramermariav]

Yeeesssss

[@C1ouDN1n3]

nah because gaga didn't really exist in the public eye until 2011. Nu metal was just right for the genre that was presently shown as futuristic and "tortured"

[@leonlopez5704]

What made Dracula timeless was the fact that he fit naturally in the time he lived in. Dracula wasn't written as a historical piece, it was modern for its time. I'm actually ok with modern ideas with vampires, it's just that in pop culture, they're all gothy because of Dracula's influence. They don't have to be. Vampires are already freaky as shit.

[@ranzigerkaefer]

not all are "gothy". Think of 30 days of night, Salem's lot, The Hunger (While the movie was goth, the vampires themself aren't), Let the right one in and so on. The only "goth" like movie I can think of (as a long time member of the scene) may be Interview with the vampire or Bram Stoker's Dracula. Maybe - just maybe - The Lost Boys as well.

[@mojoarmstretch7261]

@@ranzigerkaefer Hey, you have Good taste! Have you seen R.Polanskis. "The fearless vampire killers" !?

[@ranzigerkaefer]

@@mojoarmstretch7261 Thank you! Of course, I have! :-D

[@mojoarmstretch7261]

@@ranzigerkaefer Ur welcome. I had the feeling you migth have! 😊 A Good vampire film can be hard to find though!

[@ranzigerkaefer]

@@mojoarmstretch7261 yeah, hard times for those who're really into good movies...

[@java_bean]

"Disgraceful insult to the source material with tiny nuggets of guilty pleasure at its best" Exactly how id describe it.

[@Diamonddusted68]

Akasha and Tom Cruize's Lestate would have been a perfect power couple. That would have been worth my $.

[@bradwolf07]

Now that would have been worth watching. Too bad

[@Pric3less1]

@@general_ghosty Nah not really. He's aging pretty good still and he starred in The Last Samurai the following year and still looked relatively young. If Cruise would've reprised his role as Lestat during the filimg of QOTD then it wouldn't have been nothing that a little bit of cosmetics couldn't handle in regards to his age.

[@thomasmccullough7233]

Diamonddusted68 Exactly

[@raymonenorwood7296]

Aaliyah and Tom cruise mastered their characters

[@kaylaclarkyall]

Cruise*

[@thiskittyhasthumbs]

The Queen of the damned soundtrack is absolutely epic. Y'all trippin.

[@whereswesker]

Agree

[@RenVicious69]

I especially loved the soundtrack. The movie not so much, though xD

[@muddygirl8819]

Ironically my 2 favorite soundtracks are The Lost Boys and Queen of the Damned.

[@thiskittyhasthumbs]

@@muddygirl8819 I still haven't see Lost Boys. I like my vampires pretty, and I will not be shamed! 😅

[@thiskittyhasthumbs]

@@muddygirl8819 But Imma checkout the soundtrack, thanks❤️

[@seanmorgan2356]

I was 18 when this movie came out and I was already a fan of bands like Korn and Disturbed thus can't deny that the music was a big selling point for me.

[@Thevictorgg92]

The soundtrack is amazing even by today standards

[@Aanironlossetari]

I was 15 at that time and the same happened to me. I was already a big fan of Anne Rice's books as well and now, after seeing this review, I can see the point presented as very valid. Nonetheless, I still love the bands and this soundtrack today. Not the movie though...

[@MiniJeepers]

@@Thevictorgg92 Ive owned it twice! best soundtrack in any movie released imo.... this movie made me a metalhead...it was already there but this was kerosene to the bushfire that is my lifestyle of music

[@TheKarret]

Bruh I was like 11, but same - the music was the selling point of the music and that's it; the actual plot was trash.

[@lesliecartagena1292]

I was born when queen of damned came out. I watched the movie when I was seven years old and watched a lot of classic vampire films around that age I became hooked .

[@ashleighcalvert8937]

I always find Lestat's love interests pale in comparison to his connection with Louis, especially any human

[@kittyunderwood8918]

Louie was a love interest lol. I also really enjoy Lestat's mom as a vampire.

[@corbeau909]

"...like The Cure, except sexier and not as fat." As a longtime fan of The Cure I actually busted out laughing at this. Thanks Todd! I needed that.

[@alysiamerdavid-wasser9165]

This Lestat always reminded me of a mix of Reznor, who was touring with Bowie💝 around this time, and Michael Hutchence of INXS who was often compared to Morrison and would've had a Birthday 15 days from now.💝

[@AlexMalkavian]

Metal and Goth are two very different distinct musical genres and subcultures though. The latter not being in the movie, except maybe for some of the extras.

[@aswaney7449]

There is an intersection of both, commonly dubbed goth metal as a shorthand (sometimes referred by various other names like symphonic black metal, etc) which I absolutelty adore. But I guess bands like Type-O Negative and Cradle of Filth might've been way too left field for a mainstream movie.

[@AlexMalkavian]

@@aswaney7449 it's called gothIC metal normally. Cause it didn't evolve from goth music or out of goth subculture. It's simply metal that takes themes from gothic literature. It evolved from doom metal, was named after a Paradise Lost album.

[@TheKarret]

As much as I liked the music from the soundtrack - finding out that the story was supposed to be set in the 80s made it clear that Anne Rice probably intended for a more goth vibe, and goth is a subculture that still exists [and existed at the time of the movies, obviously]... but the director[/s] didn't care enough about the subcultures to figure the shit out and get some actual goth artist involved in the project and just got the most famous edgy musician they could get, and that lack of care/attention to the actual subcultures really shows, thinking back on it... makes me hate the movie even more.

[@SamuelBlondahl]

For all this movie's crimes, Aaliyah was perfectly cast, I loved her Akasha. I hope the reboot they are planning takes more from the books, I am horrified at the thought of rebooting Interview, but quite titillated at the idea of an extended franchise.

[@TerryFedora]

Hit the nail on the head. I wish they wouldn't reboot Inteview either, wanting them to actually move forward and give us a proper Lestat and so forth, but the extended franchise, hopefully well written and acted...yes please!

[@chavamara]

They're doing a reboot? Is Tom Cruise trying to be recast as Lestat? It wouldn't surprise me.

[@wakingribbons]

The newest information that I could find, as of this morning, said that Hulu is developing a series starting with the book The Vampire Lestat. Guess that means they will leave Interview alone, which I seriously hope is true.

[@kittyunderwood8918]

Considering this comment is 3 years old idk if this is still happening, but if it is, interview was perfect and they need to leave it alone. Claudia is my favorite.

[@RubenRyb66]

@@kittyunderwood8918 Amc bought the rights in 2020 for around $30-$40 mill. So it'll definitely happen sooner or later.

[@lonerChise]

as utterly garbage fire as this movie was... Aaliyah was perfection!! like.. goddamn!!

[@LittleRedTeaCake]

And the soundtrack. I love the soundtrack.

[@cyruscooper4356]

Totally agree! The soundtrack and her acting were the only highlights. As an Anne Rice fan this movie pisses me off.

[@Indiegirl007]

The acting was horrible. But she was beautiful as the Queen of the damned.

[@commentcopbadge6665]

Aaliyah was only beautiful. That's it. Her acting was... what? lol She was doing a Lagosi-esque accent wasn't she? But she's(Akasha) Eqyptian though right?

[@rhaenyralikesyoutube6289]

@@cyruscooper4356 Me too! The first movie was sooo much better by far. I mean, Lestat and Marius weren't even blondes.

[@maggyfrog]

no love for stuart townsend? loved his portrayal in this film. the gypsy violin scene is probably my favorite in the film, though the film itself does not do the book justice.

[@kittyunderwood8918]

Yess I love the gypsy violin scene, even if it's a complete slap in the face to the source material since none of him becoming a vampire happened that way

[@valerienagy8764]

I admit it, I love this movie even though I know it's really bad. Why do I love it? Stuart Townsend, that's why. He was so hot. Did anyone else see "Resurrection Men"? Stuart plays a total psychopath who I find extremely hot. I will admit that I have always loved bad boys who did more than pose as "Bad Boys" which is probably why I am single and, at age 58, not looking for a mate. But my point is that I'm happy to find someone who also appreciates Stuart regardless of the poor quality of this movie as a whole.

[@alexblainelayter7703]

No, he was the worst Lestat and I never got why he had a career on that level because he's not that great an actor, in my view.

[@leahmacdonald5122]

Also, the only Talamasca agent that Lestat develops a quasi romantic relationship in the books is David Talbot.

[@CrowsofAcheron]

That scene in the book was incredibly weird. David really cut him down to size.

[@leahmacdonald5122]

@@CrowsofAcheron it's expanded on more in Tale of the Body Thief iirc, but yeah

[@CrowsofAcheron]

@@leahmacdonald5122 I haven't read that yet, I've been trying to borrow a copy. Lestat just comes through the window like, "Hey, if you ever want to be a vampire, just let me know. But that doesn't mean I make you one." And David just says "No thanks, good night to you sir and get out of my office." He's not the least bit interested. The whole thing made Lestat look incredibly immature.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

The thing about vampires, (and to a similar degree werewolves and zombies) that makes them scary on a social level is that they represent the fear that can come with a questioning of the life you live, and the world around you, sometimes through force. Zombies can represent the enemy within, mindless consumerism, overpopulation, the questioning of the qualifications of life and humanity, and so on. Werewolves have represented brutal primal urges, a lack of self control, being forced to meet an agenda not of your own, fearing the destruction that a mere man can cause, et cetera. And vampires are often the most dramatically complex, representing a fear of foreign immigration and illness, rampant debauchery, homosexuality, and so forth. But unlike zombies and werewolves, when it comes to the horrible things that vampires do, vampires are always in control. They are the usually the most sentient, sophisticated, and rational. Thus, the most human, and the most complex.

[@sobeidalagrange7129]

Agree.

[@Mugthraka]

Another aspect of it is that Vampires are cruel, but with the same apperance as us( for the most parst and depending on the source), so seeing a "Human" doing such vile acts, is even more terrifying and blood chilling. Cause a Werewolves, is a pretty darn big Beast, even if its scary as fuck, in the departement of big scary beast, nature as provided us with a few, so its not as alien to us, is terrifying sure, but not as "questionable" shall i say. Same For Zombies, while they kinda look Human, their behavior and physical appareances are dramatically changed, so its easier to discociate us from them, there something that looks Human, but is not. Vampires are the worst of the lot, since they appear Human, speak like an Human and behave like one for the most part, the cruelty and horror they're capable off is even more tentalizing then anything else. Its something really basic, when you see something that looks like a Monster behave like a Monster, you are scared, but not suprised. When you see a person, that is a Monster, its chilling and terrifying, thats why Serial Killers, send us such chills down our backs.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Zen-RPG Yeah. Vampires are at their best when they’re just people who’ve been granted an abundance of power by circumstance and use it to abuse everyone around them. Y’know, like real people do.

[@danielhoffman4741]

How do Vampires represent fear of immigration?

[@danielhoffman4741]

Biggest problem about this movie is that it should have been called The Vampire Lestat, since that’s what 90% of the movie is based on

[@LupineShadowOmega]

Hmmm. When I was a kid I always thought that they were going for Marilyn Manson, with movie Lestat. Where people like the music, but it was really Lestat's stage presence and eccentrism that really made his career and made him so very big. Of course even then the movie does a bad job of pushing Lestat as this massive personality that just draws moths to his flame.

[@darthstarkiller6605]

I just think Tom cruise did such an excellent job in interview that Stewart Townsend had zero chances in hell to even match a toenail of Tom cruises performance

[@whoisyouranime]

Interesting Fact: Stuart Townsend met Anne Rice in New Orleans. They chatted for about six hours. He called her just amazing. But after about 10 minutes, she gave him the book The Witching Hour, and she said he was on page 46. When Stuart turned to page 46, and there was the life of Stuart Townsend. And he was like, "Aw, Anne. ... You've [written] me as a character in your new book. Is this your new novel?" And she said, "No, I wrote this 11 years ago." DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

[@matthewmann8969]

I like the movie as its own concept and Nu Metal bands like Korn, Deftones, Disturbed, System Of A Down, Godsmack, And Drowning Pool where pretty good

[@barbedwireproxy]

This soundtrack got me into Kidneythieves and Tricky, so I will always love the camp of the movie adaptation and cultural timeline it keeps.

[@oliviawilliams6204]

Bad adaptation... awesome music

[@marieallore9018]

They pretty much put Marius and Magnus in a blender for the Marius of that movie.

[@schwann145]

And managed to leave out all of the Magnus part? lol

[@ZephyrinSkies]

This made me want a proper Queen of the Damned movie made as an 80s period piece, we're already having 90s period pieces so it's about time. I'm only sad Tom Cruise can't play Lestat anymore. Watching this also made me really really want to see you do episodes on the other (movie-less) books in the series. I'd be immensely happy if that ever happens.

[@Bruna65091]

ZephyrinSkies why tom can't play lestat? XD makeup can do wonders

[@mademoisellel.728]

bruna de lioncourt and Tom still looks young

[@catspawgardner3213]

They have to do a movie about the origin of Marharet, her sister & Akasha.

[@raymonenorwood7296]

Exactly

[@moonbox2546]

Aaliyah's part is amazing

[@NoOneReallySpecial]

Dude, the soundtrack was amazing! I saw Jonathan Davis perform it live and we all got chills!

[@chaospoet]

This movie can be easily explained. Doctor Who is in the movie. The Doctor is the lord of mischief, and he accidentally messed up history and the Tardis sent Lestat 20 years into the future so he skipped over the 80s and 90s, and The Doctor had to hide the Tardis, read up on Vampires, and pretend to be someone named "David". How do you think he got all those painting and Lestat's journal? It's all Timey-Whimey stuff.

[@BELLA-mf6hb]

I can dig it...

[@calebwheeler8143]

Or maybe Lestat is a Time Lord, and regenerated from Tom Cruise into Stewart Townsend.

[@stefanfilipovits9221]

If really love her take on Bram Stoker's Dracula some day

[@1987MartinT]

Oh that would be so cool! I'd love to hear her opinion on that. I'd also like to hear what she thinks about Near Dark.

[@stefanfilipovits9221]

+1987MartinT id love to see a Near Dark review by maven too!

[@fioregrimaldi4120]

Or maybe do a Review on Hellsing

[@andrewlyon4495]

Or Jojo's Bizzarre Adventure 1-3.

[@leadingblind1629]

Me too. Gary oldman is MY Dracula!!!!!!

[@lamaface]

One thing they did get right is Armand. He doesn't get any lines, but he's the only Armand so far who doesn't look old enough to have three kids and a mortgage so they get a point for that 🤷‍♀️

[@KnowledgeSeeker78491]

Thanks for playing “Vampire Love Song” haven’t heard that in a long time

[@dankester5607]

This movie is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine, as is the soundtrack. As for making the books into movies... they would have worked for making GOOD movies, but they wouldn't have been successful for making the money back. I mean, telling the origin of the vampires as a demon cloud in ancient Egypt, while legitimately original and interesting, would have been very difficult to pull off. Particularly when you take into account 2001's special effects which would have DRAINED this movie's thrifty budget. The Vampire Lestat book should have EASILY been made into a movie, however... especially since he teases his own origin on two separate occasions in Interview with the Vampire by saying to Louie and then Daniel, "I will give you the choice that I never had." Hell, seeing the story that made Lestat the gleefully villainous monster that he portrays and is in Interview would have been amazing... but instead we get Industrial and Nu Metal concerts, overtly sexual charisma from onscreen characters, and just a mess of silly special effects.

[@nitara38]

Dan Kester I love the soundtrack

[@nitromagilou597]

The best part of the movie, in my opinion, is the soundtrack. It has some of my favorite bands/artists.

[@bernieburton6520]

I Love the sound track, but I Really wish it was in a much better movie.

[@taziotasi9424]

if i awoke after 6k years because someone was blasting korn id kill everything too.

[@StewardofAutumn]

To be fair they had to cut around the Akasha part a bit because the actress that played her died before fully finishing the movie.

[@BELLA-mf6hb]

And her brother had to voice blend to finish the movie for her. X

[@Ariel_is_a_dreamer]

1:11 Ooh, Love you to death by London after midnight on the background 🖤

[@Amber_xo_133]

Aaliyah died in a plane crash shortly after principal photography was completed but had not yet actually performed any ADR redubbing for her character. Michael Rymer called in Aaliyah's brother, Rashad Haughton, to help with overdubbing her voice following her death due to their similar voices, special vocal technology was also used to make his voice sound more feminine. Aaliyah was the first actor to be cast for the film. She was enthusiastic about taking the role due to her fascination with Egyptian mythology and also being a huge fan of vampire horror fiction. For the scenes of Lestat's concert in Death Valley, over 3,000 goths were recruited from Melbourne nightclubs and on the internet, then driven on a fleet of buses to a quarry in Werribee to act as extras. The singing voice of Lestat was supplied by Jonathan Davis of Korn. However due to contractual difficulties, Davis could not sing on the soundtrack album release. The five songs written by he and Richard Gibbs for the movie were then performed on the album by Marilyn Manson, Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, David Draiman of Disturbed, Wayne Static of Static-X and Jay Gordon of Orgy. Davis was still allowed to play several instruments on the album. Stuart Townsend took the role of Lestat after originally being cast as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) but was recast with Viggo Mortensen after four days of shooting because the filmmakers realized he was too young for the role. Stuart Townsend shares his name with a character from another Anne Rice novel, "The Witching Hour". Upon meeting Townsend, Rice handed him a copy of the book and instructed him to turn to a certain page number, whereupon was written "The Life of Stuart Townsend". Townsend was flattered that she had written him into her new book, until she told him that she had written it eleven years prior. The architecture of Aunt Maharet's house is based upon Angkor Wat, the stone temple located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. On the casting of Stuart Townsend as Lestat, Anne Rice stated "Everything I hear about the movie is good. Warner Bros. is extremely enthusiastic. They are working very hard to make it perfect. I have no real news. Let me repeat what I mentioned in a recent message. I met Stuart Townsend, the young man who is playing Lestat and he was absolutely charming. He had Lestat's excellent speaking voice and his feline grace. I cannot wait to see him in the film". Author of the novel Anne Rice considers this to be a terrible disappointment for her and for many of the readers as she believed it mutilated her own work. According to director Michael Rymer, all of the dialogue said by Jonathan Davis in his cameo as the ticket scalper who Jesse ( Marguerite Moreau ) runs into was all improvised on the spot and the amused reaction by Moreau is noticeably genuine. The film was posthumously released only 6 months after Aaliyah's death. The film is dedicated to her memory According to the time line from this film, Lestat was turned into a vampire in 1788. Louis states at the beginning of Interview with the Vampire (1994), that Lestat turned him in 1791, meaning Lestat had only been a vampire around three years before creating his new companion. Josh Hartnett, Heath Ledger, and Wes Bentley were all considered to replace Tom Cruise as Lestat after he declined to reprise his role. The concert scenes are set in Death Valley, California, but were actually filmed in Werribee, Australia. According to the director's commentary, the scene in which Marius ( Vincent Perez ) confronts David ( Paul McGann ) at the concert (at 1:05:30) saying, "Hello David," and then vanishing behind two passing people wasn't a special effect and was in fact Perez ducking out of the way. Aaliyah's second (and last) feature film following her role in Romeo Must Die (2000). The blood that Akasha has in her mouth is really cherry juice. The moment during the concert in Death Valley where the audience sings along with Lestat in ""Slept so long" was the extras' natural reaction and had not been planned by the filmmakers. While shooting the sequence, the extras had memorized the lyrics during the takes and had excitedly contributed by singing along, which pleasantly surprised director Michael Rymer who kept the improvisation in the film. The film was a subject of controversy due to inspiring a real life murder shortly after the film's theatrical release. In December 2002, Allan Menzies from West Lothian in Scotland murdered one of his friends. He claimed in court that it was Aaliyah's character "Queen Akasha" from the film that told him to do it. Akasha never actually attacks anyone by biting their neck. She either sets them on fire, rips their heart out, or bites another area of their body. Tom Cruise was initially asked to return in the role of Lestat, but he declined. Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett Smith, Samantha Mumba, Jenna Dewan, Rosario Dawson, Vivica A. Fox and Vanessa Williams were rumored to be taking the role of Queen Akasha before Aaliyah was cast. No actors from the previous film Interview with the Vampire (1994) return to reprise their roles (not even archive footage is used). The fact that the night club "The Admiral's Arms" was a vampire bar "in the meat packing district" of London is an homage to the night club "Mother" which was a vampyre bar located in the meat packing district of New York City. The lyrics which Jesse quotes to the Talamasca concerning "The Admiral's Arms" are not in the actual song "Redeemer." This is because Jonathan Davis was adamant the song be able to stand on its own and not be tied only as a device for the movie. Singer Aimee Nash of The Black Ryder duo had a cameo as a vampire singer in the "Admiral's Arms" vampire nightclub although the majority of her footage was deleted (she is still visible in the background of the nightclub scene). Wes Bentley was originally cast as Lestat, but he dropped out. The song playing during the infamous rose petal sequence is "Change" by the rock band, Deftones, the first single off their third album. Deftones had previously appeared in and played music for The Crow: City of Angels (1996) before releasing their first album, which starred Vincent Perez in his first lead role in an American theatrical film. Aaliyah read texts by Oscar Wilde in a thick Egyptian accent during her audition which helped convince the producers to cast her. Anne Rice has stated that she has only seen the film once and does not intend to watch it again effectively meaning she has disowned the film. A scene was filmed in which Akasha takes Lestat around the world and has him bathed by two young women to show him the benefits of living like a ruler instead of hiding as a vampire which greatly affected him emotionally. However, the director considered this scene to be "too long-winded" and deleted it. Aaliyah described her character as "a bit evil but very regal." She prepared for two months to perfect her character and described it as "there was a lot to bring Akasha to life, but it was really a lot of fun." Cher auditioned for the role of Akasha. (at around 38 mins) When Jesse goes to the vampire club, the song "Excess" by Tricky can be heard playing. The song was previously used in another horror thriller called Thir13en Ghosts (2001). Actress Pia Miranda played the part of Jesse's roommate in a short scene although it was deleted during post-production (it is included on the DVD and Blu-ray release). Despite this her name still appears in the credits. Michael Petroni's first film screenplay. He would later screen-write The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), The Rite (2011), The Book Thief (2013), and The Pope's Exorcist (2023) as well as write/create the series, Messiah (2020). The fight scene between Lestat and the vampires at the concert was originally more gruesome with footage being filmed of Lestat decapitating a vampire, showing its head rolling across the stage with blood dripping from its mouth. (at around 1h 35 mins) David (Paul McGann) says to Jesse, declining her offer, that he is too old to live forever. McGann plays another character that effectively lives forever in some fashion, the 8th Doctor on Doctor Who (2005). The image in the slideshow that Jesse shows the Talamusca which shows a human-like figure messily devouring an infant is "Saturn devouring his son," painted in 1820-23 by Spanish painter Francisco Goya, and is ironically unrelated to vampires. One of only a handful of Australian horror feature films which are vampire movies. These titles are: Thirst (1979), Bloodlust (1992), The Wicked (1987), Queen of the Damned (2002) and Daybreakers (2009). What We Do in the Shadows (2014) was from neighbouring nation New Zealand. Aaliyah gets top billing as the title character despite not appearing in the film until the 51 minute mark and having a total of 26 minutes of screen time. The moment where Lestat sternly tells David, "I think you wanted this back" while giving him his journal is Lestat reminding David that he is still alive and therefore still owns it but is allowing David to safeguard it for him since he can trust him to keep it safe in his collection. The line, "I'm much too old to live forever," that David tells Jesse at the ending is a reference to the fact that in the books, David eventually does become a vampire but only after he is magically restored to his youth. Jonathan Davis, Korn: (at around 56 mins) the composer appears as a ticket scalper trying to peddle tickets outside the concert.

[@jamessafarik5036]

greatest guilty pleasure, I even catch myself singing "I'm over it" when I'm just trying to say it

[@TheKarret]

The soundtrack was great! The best thing about that movie.

[@boobookittifukk]

Oh my god. The Jessie and Lestat romance pissed me off so much in the movie. She was so much more interesting than that and her preoccupation with Lestat was more about the belief that he was a real vampire, unlike the rest of the world who assumed it was just a gimmick. I remember her being able to rush the stage while he was performing and licking the blood/sweat off his chest. She laughed then because her suspicions were confirmed. And of course, she had that sort-of romance with Mael. So many characters in this movie who were left with a handful of lines whereas they were so rich and rounded in the books. It made me so sad. The origin story on screen.

[@azureascendant994]

That whole Jessie and Lestat romance reminds me too much of Bella and Edward. 😂

[@danhelsting6308]

Obligatory "still a better lovestory than twilight." Shit: This movie in parts almost looks like a Twilight- yet-not-as-sparkly. Hell: Lestat and Jessie almost look like Edward and Bella stand ins in every scene they are in together. Example: The scene where suck-boy tries to scare away his love interest by showing he is a monster (was somehow just as goofy and still was, way better then sparkly boy. )

[@kittyunderwood8918]

Did he and Jesse even meet in the books? I think they were in the same room once...

[@calebwheeler8143]

Coming back to this after watching Dominic Noble's Lost In Adaptation episode, I'm surprised you didn't mention more about how hard the filmmakers tried to make Lestat heterosexual (cutting out Nikki and Louis, changing the backstory of his violin, having him fall in love with Jessie, a character he doesn't have so much as a conversation with in the book...)

[@JoshSidus]

why todd drinks his rum with ketchup???!!!!!

[@Xxx_EvilSmurf_xxX]

Jo Potato a bad Bloody Mary?

[@smalltowngoth9591]

Yay for using London After Midnight in this video! Y'know, actual goth rock. If they wanted to attract goths, they should have used that in the soundtrack instead of nu-metal (which is not goth music.) I mean, there are plenty of goths who were already fans of the Vampire Chronicles and still are. How do you screw up that badly when your target audience is right there? They could have had it both ways should they have done their research too! Goth rock originated in the '80s, so they could have kept the time period in which Lestat became a rockstar, and attract goths at the same time! Again, how do you screw up that badly? Hollywood execs trying to be hip with the youths and attract a subculture they know nothing about. As for who would best sound/look like rockstar Lestat? I think Dave Vanian of the Damned would be a good one to model after.

[@jackwells8107]

I was 19 in '84. I remember reading the Vampire Lestat when it came out and waiting desperately for Queen of the Damned. One thing I really remember is how MTV powered the music industry at that time. I remember people organizing parties for music video releases, and how much MTV drove us. I can see Lestat using powerful and unique videos to drive his stardom with no problem.

[@baldbookgeek]

its so bad its good and do love the music but its nothing like the books and it feels very tv movie

[@kaylaclarkyall]

Anne Rice Said Lestat is Bisexual, and he Loves Louis, and its in her Novels, but in the movie Queen of the damn they made Lestat had a Relationship with Jessie Reeves and the fact is Lestat didn't have a Relation with Jess he had a relationship with Louis still.

[@raymonenorwood7296]

Aaliyah was Accurate Actress of Akasha bad didn't give the material of real book the only thing that good to the movie but Tom Cruise is still always lestat too bad they didn't act together ,sad to say

[@TheKaylaGayle]

If you can, do a review of the TV show Forever Knight. I basically started the vampire as detective genre. Also, it tells from the point of view of the vampire. Nick picks up Barnabas' (Dark Shadows--THE inventor of the good guy vamp) brooding and basically runs with it.

[@bradwolf07]

It was a good show. Nick was such an interesting character. And Schanke was such a fun partner to team him with. I would love to see the Maven's take on the show

[@cyruscooper4356]

Loved that series as a kid

[@cayreet5992]

I loved LaCroix, to be honest. He was a great evil vampire for Nick to try and break free from (with LaCroix being his sire, it wasn't easy, of course).

[@darkangel15221]

If I remember correctly, Forever Knight's first two seasons aired on Tuesdays at 1 am or 2 am on CBS. It seemed like nobody knew anything about the show until it got picked up for USA Network (same as La Femme Nikita). My girl Jeannette stole every scene.

[@TheKaylaGayle]

@@darkangel15221 Ah, so you are an Immortal Beloved, to use an old school FK list serve term

[@nitromagilou597]

I always thought Nu-Metal as a guilty pleasure of mine.

[@EmoBearRights]

I hated it and this is from the person who loved Grunge.

[@ThierryRocksTV]

I love nu metal

[@DefaultName-du3kr]

I still listen to Korn from time to time. I never heard of the hatred for it until I delved into metal forums in my late teens.

[@alanaldana7928]

I only like this movie for the soundtrack and Aaliyah... worth it on Blu Ray..

[@jayhlovelady]

The cadence and emotiveness of your dialogue makes your videos so engaging and entertaining! Definitely subscribing 👍

[@jocelynlopez9556]

I was watching Dominic's Lost in adaptation and he told we watch your videos. So I started and this was so familiar, your voice, the narrative. And then I realized you appeared with Lindsay. I don't know you have your own videos. I'm so happy!

[@katethegreat91]

Not gonna lie, i want one of those Vampire Lestat band shirts at 25:30

[@TManningSirenSong25]

Lestat in the books and even in Interview's film adaptation, provided true depth of a fleshed out character. QOTD film adaptation tossed us a heteronormative one dimensional cardboard cutout with a fog machine. Aliyah and the music is the only worthy footnote in this abortion.

[@legacy7ds]

Hold up! The music in this movie was awesome! It was the only redeeming quality this movie had. Hell I only remember this movie because of the music. Great soundtrack. Horrible movie.

[@thiskittyhasthumbs]

Yasssss

[@mojoarmstretch7261]

Music sucked like all American take on "GOTH". The movie's a C-

[@thiskittyhasthumbs]

And I give that reply a D-

[@mojoarmstretch7261]

@@thiskittyhasthumbs Hey I guess I diserve that, if you like Chester Bennington thats tour right!

[@thiskittyhasthumbs]

@@mojoarmstretch7261 It's really the Jonathan Davis covers that got me. When this movie came out, Jonathan hadn't done the "solo" shit yet. And it really resonated with me. So nostalgia got me hooked 😅

[@TheReTurnersFlips]

This movie seriously hurt my soul! I love the VC that Anne Rice created. And I feel bad that she had this story ripped out from under her for this movie. This fell victim to the horror that was the late 90s early 2000s movie industry that thought everyone was a metal loving, rave going, drug addicted, sex fiends. It's like they wanted to bring back the original Crow but just couldn't make it work (much like the horrible Crow sequels).

[@milmil5350]

I liked Nu Metal. I think there's a reason why their music still remains in everyone's minds after all these years. The songs were kick-ass. But I agree it made Lestat look cheesy/cringe a bit. 😁

[@krazy00jeff]

6:18 Is that Jonathan Davis???I never noticed until now lol

[@Autumn-pr8ve]

Making Lestat a new metal star would be like making the crow about an emo rap 2020s hot topic looking.... oh

[@enfant00x]

Can we all give Aaliyah, Lena Ohlin (Maharet) and the guy who played Marius some love for giving amazing performances in this lackluster production? I did love the small details in it though, the blood tears and Marius’ self portraits, etc. 👌

[@healmeimhurt-.-]

Love that you’re playing HIM in the background!

[@kalel311superman9]

this December 11 will mark one year since the death of Anne Rice, funny that i guessed they made the movie at the last minute because that is exactly what i thought the first time i watched it. and the only part of the movie i like is the concert and when Lestat plays the violin for Akasha

[@catspaw3092]

I hear they're going reboot The Crow although I wish they didn't had they rebooted done this years ago Stewart Townsend would've been perfect to cast as Eric Draven.

[@XDeathColdSleepXD]

*Stumbles back into my lame cave* Am I the only one who loves this movie and the soundtrack? And yes I read the books, and I actually discovered all these bands through this soundtrack.

[@TheKarret]

I like the soundtrack, but don't like the movie. I knew about the bands before the movie though. XP

[@thevirtualjim]

I love the Vampire Chronicles, and I know this movie really messes with the story in the books, but the movie as its own is a good vampire movie to me. I enjoy it. I also really like Townsend's look and acting. And wow, the soundtrack!

[@thevirtualjim]

Yea, the movie isn't deep, but it was enjoyable.

[@thevirtualjim]

Good choice with 'LA Woman' as the background music with Todd :)

[@DarkAngel1985Mike]

The Jonathan Davis soundtrack is awesome and he captured Lestat perfectly in the lyrics and songs

[@kramermariav]

Anyone else come over from Dom's book review?

[@tyrant-den884]

Heyo!

[@Chrisjbennett89]

Lol technically Goths typically lisen to dark wave like Bauhaus , siouxie and the banshees, sisters of mercy. Metal isnt as comment is goth culture as most think. Not to say they cant ,like anyone can like metal.

[@AkanamesMalestrom]

I think Lestat would sound like the Talking Heads mixed with INXS. But, breaking through with that mix would be one tough cookie. 😜😘

[@rosablackwell64]

While Jim Morrison was the rock star model Rice was shooting for here, I think Michael Hutchence of INXS would have been a good 80s analog for Lestat; dude had the same kind of poet / sex appeal / magnetism that Morrison had while being more period-appropriate. Shame the producers chose to go all numetal instead :(

[@ladymanga6575]

Jonathan Davis is literally the voice of Lestat in my mind. That whole film made my black little heart sing, and I'm an Anne Rice fangirl who has read the entire Vampire Chronicles, as well as the Mayfair Witch saga and the new Werewolf books. I'll fight all o' y'all.

[@matthewhines9787]

0:10 "They're black like my..." Stares directly at the one purple rose...which I'm sure looked black before the ring light.

[@zinkheroofyoutube8004]

The god damn straight washing of Lestat and removable of Louis is the greatest crime of this movie

[@caitlinbilancia8697]

I loved the books, the movies, the scores and soundtracks. Listen to the DVD commentary on QOTD and it becomes clear how restricted the production was for the creators. So glad to know we could potentially get a decent TV series of all Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches. I envisioned Lestat as The Damned meets Bon Jovi/Bruce Springsteen

[@FacultyFan]

This movie does do the music correctly with the likes of Disturbed, Linkin Park, Manson, it had a killer soundtrack.

[@NY4Life]

21:09-Oh Hai Eighth Doctor Paul McGann!

[@acropolismauve8496]

Just when I thought this channel was dead.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Buh dum tiss!

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

Buh dum tiss!

[@jonbbaca5580]

Anne Rice had no idea what the music of the time would actually sound like, and neither would Lestat. It mostly works in a novel, but the only person who could've translated Lestats rock music might've been David Bowie. I think Lestats hit music was meant to be imagined in the readers mind, never heard in the modern era. An 80s Lestat might've been like the Cure or the Smiths. In the 90s....I don't even know

[@Trevurr]

This movie holds a special place in my heart. I saw it when I was young, long before knowing anything about the books. As a bullied gay pre-teen in his emo phase, I loved the music and the fashion. All the guys were so attractive and really woke me into my sexuality. To this day, even though it's a mockery of the book, I watch Queen of The Damned and enjoy it immensely. I may be biased but I really don't think it's a bad movie, it just depends on your perspective.

[@TheKarret]

The music and fashion is not emo, it's numetal music and goth fashion - numetal, goth and emo are separate genres and belong to separate subcultures, please don't mash them together. Also happy pride, hope you have a good one~

[@nikoteardrop4904]

I mean, they mostly got clothes right (I'm pretty sure mostly because they just put out extras calls for local goths), but yeah it's an excellent example of numetal. It's really weird the filmmakers seem convinced this is goth they're playing.

[@Gingernat089]

I throughly enjoyed the soundtrack of QOTD... it felt accurate to me. (I was of that era though so I’m bias) I did want more depth to lestat and less of the love story nonsense. This you’re absolutely right about xx

[@eman2863]

Maven, what if you dipped your toe into a new media of vampirism? Namely, anime, like hellsing, Tokyo ghoul of even the first 3 parts of JoJo's bizarre adventures

[@rosalinecapulet]

E Man Tokyo Ghoul...isn’t about vampires. It’s right there in the title

[@crushthyflowerss]

The points made in this video are so interesting because when I read the book I immediately thought that it would have made much more sense for Lestat to have had a post-punk/darkwave band like The Cure or even Joy Division, but made even more excentric. But the sound/band that would suit Lestat the best, in my opinion, would have been And Also The Trees.

[@TheKarret]

And Also The Trees has good stuff~~ I can't remember names of songs off the top of my head, but there was one I really liked, and I checked out an album or two of them and really liked them as well~ O wOb good stuff.

[@Revelwoodie]

There are SO many things I hate about this movie I wouldn't know where to begin. The script was garbage. It was apocalyptically miscast. But THANK YOU for pointing out the burning bag of dog poo in the middle of this already dumpster fire of a movie: The modernization of the music. What attracted Lestat about 80s rock, enough to wake him up from beneath the earth, was the GLAM of it. Like the scene in the book where he's in the drugstore, mesmerized by the fluorescent lighting reflecting off the brightly colored shampoo bottles. The way he wandered the streets rhapsodizing about how clean everyone was, how effortlessly joyful, how much they publicly reveled in their youth and sexuality. In other words, the exact freakin' opposite of bands like Korn. Lestat's band would have been a 'hair band.' A big, loud one. He would've been a scarier version of Sebastian Bach maybe. On stage they might've looked like Ratt, Motley Crue or Cinderella. They wouldn't have been moping around on the stage in goth--wear, singing about angst and misery. If Lestat heard Korn from his grave, he would've been bored back to sleep by the self indulgent banality of it. This isn't just a book-purist gripe. It's important to his character. He became that glam rock superstar because it was perfectly suited to his personality. He was the Brat Prince. He reveled in his own beauty. He wanted to be larger than life. He wanted to be the shiniest shampoo bottle in that drug store, and triumphantly expose himself, and his ego, in all it's glamour and glory. The glam aesthetic of the 80s was irresistible to him. Because it WAS him. A Lestat singing numetal is just NOT Lestat. But hey, who am I to single out this ONE betrayal of his character in a movie that was a string of betrayals from beginning to end? I don't know who that was on screen, but it was NOT Lestat.

[@teslacyberheart]

It was proto-Edward Cullen.

[@cheekclappa69]

i prefer Korn Lestat over Poison Lestat anyday tho lol

[@musicmediator8875]

Oh my God, "apocalyptically miscast", that's so hilarious! It's a perfect description, I absolutely love your comment! I really enjoyed reading it. The description of Lestat as wanting to be the shiniest shampoo bottle actually takes away a little of the horrible trauma this movie caused me. Thank you! Said the book purist...😁

[@musicmediator8875]

Absolutely lovely comment! I was in agony watching that movie (that's just my personal view, so please forgive me, anyone who likes it)...only my masochist side kept me going 'til the end. What a liberating experience reading your comment...😁

[@musicmediator8875]

*whispering* That was one terrible movie...one terrible, terrible, utterly horrifying script...*starts laughing again*

[@mrhypnagogia]

i saw you on the nostalgia chick videos years back, love to have found you here since i visit chnnel awesome regularly but never knew you were putting up content, subscribed for sure

[@sermycahwhent4165]

Omg. You're smart af. Yes, Lastat would be a rapper or a Kardashian now and it made sense in a time where Def Leopard had the number 1 album for Lastat to come on the scene as a rock god. So many people including Hollywood got it wrong but you explained how it could have worked the right way. Take your freakin bow my lady for making the best video I've seen on Anne Rice and any of her books. I honesty hope Anne herself has seen some of your videos. I discovered you today and you're the best channel covering work, period.

[@JaneyJJJ]

Was Tom cruise character in Rock of Ages his answer to this...

[@wolfcrow4822]

I think even 80s rock was too trite to have been the powerful stream of rebellion that dragged Lestat out of his grave. Interview with the Vampire was published in '76 and Anne Rice's identification with Jim Morrison as her inspiration for Lestat gels with this. Books take several years from inspiration to publication so the rock music that raised Lestat was probably that of the late 60s to early 70s. Even by '76 Rock had become clichéd; that was the excuse that the music business put forward for unleashing Punk on the world. I suppose he could have linked in with the more talented end of Punk, which finally morphed into new age. Proto-Goth wouldn't have suited him but I could see him stepping in Late 70s as the Rice-verse's David Bowie, using vampire instead of alien as his stage persona.

[@godlessveteran2431]

I like Queen of the Damned personally. Music was great!

[@suddenlycrows]

ngl though... Queen of the Damned was where my rock music tastes were birthed.

[@Reprodestruxion]

Paul McGann, the harlequin Doctor Who

[@rozstrategy.design3961]

Whether is follows the canon or not, and regardless of its lack of popularity in the Lestat fanbase, its an undeniable that the soundtrack was probably one of the best soundtracks in any vampire movie. To me, the music carried it thanks to the brilliant work of Jonathan Davis (better than anything Korn ever put out)). If Lestat was a vampire rock star in 2002, the choice made sense. I was in the 80s metal scene and I was in the 2002 metal scene and Im afraid your boyfriend is making stuff up as he goes along and by mentioning u2 and Bruce Springsteen proves he wasn't a part of the EITHER metal scene and probably listening to TNKOTB in 2002. And... if I am to be honest, ANY movie that doesn't include Tom Cruise is going to better than any movie that includes him. (BTW, love your vids!)

[@raffaelm6558]

Funny enough, if this movie would be made today, it would totally be set in the 80s and feature 80s rock because now nostalgia is powerful... I wonder if that would have made it better or if they would be more faithful overall today... nah, probably not the latter.

[@desertpeach3393]

I definitely see the cult being the music and aesthetic Lestat would do.

[@GenAqua]

I loved this movie.

[@Kartissa]

16:24 Hey! I bought the soundtrack, and I've moved on to Nightwish, Lordi and Wagner (That's the 19th century composer of the Ring Cycle, not the guy from the X Factor.)

[@stephsmith9911]

I agree with you reluctantly about Tom Cruise's Lestat as I have always disliked Tom Cruise as an actor. That being said, Lestat was a Brat Prince and a Bitch God in the books and TC certainly did his research and portrayed him as such!

[@gwiber]

One of the things I liked from the books? That it comes out that Lestat kills a LOT of bad people. The women he kills in front of Louis? Were murderers, they would seduce men and then kill them once they had them bamboozled and drunk. Not that he always attacked and killed criminals, but that was his primary food source. And of course he was, kinda messed up in the head to begin with, obviously.

[@musicmediator8875]

I dig the expression "primary food source"😁and I agree...

[@tatianaoliveira2191]

I had at the time mixed feelings for this movie. - As an adaptation of the book, was a disappointment. They mixed the "Vampire Lestat" and "Queen of the Damned" books for this movie, which was kinda of a mess, and left out key elements and characters (Magnus, Gabrielle, Maharat and Mekare, etc...) - As simply a vampire movie, it's ok. I liked it, specially Akasha and the soundtrack. While Stuart Townsed look nothing like Lestat (he looked more like Nicholas), he was a very sexy vampire (but I'm able to like him, if I forget he was supposed to be Lestat) Hope the remake (tv shows) that Anne Rice is going to make is better. Excited to see the rest of the "Vampire Chronicles" being adapted 'cinematographically' finallly

[@musicmediator8875]

I missed Gabrielle too! Not to mention Nicholas! And so forth...

[@DCMarvelMultiverse]

Being alive in both 70s and 80s, I would say Rice was wrong about the decade. Lestat would have emerged in the 70s and enjoyed his height in the 80s.

[@madisonwaycaster9832]

WHY IS EVERY FEMALE FROM CHANNEL AWESOME IN LOVE WITH TODD!? Maven have you been reading Lindsay's diary?

[@raulantunez4228]

Akasha made this movie.

[@leadingblind1629]

I still think Lestats most effed up moment (from what I've read) was in Memnoch when he went all hungry on his menstruating human nun friend.