Starring: Aaliyah, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Lena Olin
Director: Michael Rymer
The film: Sadly, what made the general public sit up and take notice of The Queen Of The Damned was that its star, pop singer Aaliyah (right), died in a plane crash before the film had been finished. There is obviously a morbid fascination for some in seeing her last piece of work. The film is based on the book of the same name by vamp queen Anne Rice (Interview With The Vampire), which aroused interest as well.
Unfortunately, the whole production is a bit of a mess. It is a classic case of style over substance as the costumes, sets and general feel of the film impress, but beneath the surface, there's not much going on. Director Michael Rymer seems content to let everyone camp it up and, although this proves amusing for the first half-hour or so, it soon starts to drag.
The plot centres around the vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend), who is making his way in the world as a rock star, spreading his evil messages to the masses through music. Those tunes eventually reach the ears of the slumbering Akasha (Aaliyah) - the world's first vampire - and she decides it's time for her and Lestat to rule the world. Cue lots of blood and gore and scantily clad vixens bounding all over the place.
It all become a bit of a bore but the cinematography, led by Paul Goldman, is stunning. Goldman, who was also in charge of the cameras on the remarkable prison drama Ghosts ... Of The Civil Dead (1988), helps create a truly gothic feel that goes some (small) way towards covering the script's cracks.
