Queen of the Damned
| Queen of the Damned | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Michael Rymer |
| Produced by | Jorge Saralegui |
| Written by |
Scott Abbott Michael Petroni |
| Based on |
The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice |
| Starring |
Aaliyah Stuart Townsend Marguerite Moreau Paul McGann with Vincent Pérez and Lena Olin |
| Music by |
Richard Gibbs Jonathan Davis |
| Cinematography | Ian Baker |
| Edited by | Dany Cooper |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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101 minutes |
| Country | United States Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million |
| Box office | $45.5 million |
Queen of the Damned is a 2002 horror film, and a loose adaptation of the third novel of Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles series, The Queen of the Damned, although the film contains many plot elements from the latter novel's predecessor, The Vampire Lestat. It stars Aaliyah as the vampire queen Akasha, and Stuart Townsend as the vampire Lestat. Queen of the Damned was released six months after Aaliyah's death and is dedicated to her memory.
Queen of the Damned was released on February 22, 2002 in the US and on April 4, 2002 in Australia. The film received generally negative reviews from critics.
The vampire Lestat is awakened from decades of slumber by the sound of a heavy metal band which he proceeds to take over as the lead singer. Achieving international success and planning a massive live concert, Lestat is approached by Marius, and warned that the vampires of the world will not tolerate his flamboyant public profile.
Jesse Reeves, a researcher for the paranormal studies group Talamasca, is intrigued by Lestat's lyrics and tells the rest of the group her theory that he really is a vampire. Her mentor, David Talbot, takes her aside and tells her they know he is and that a vampire called Marius made him. He also shows her Lestat's journal that he recovered and is now in the Talamasca library. In a flashback to his origins, Lestat recalls how he awoke Akasha, the first vampire, with his music. Jesse tracks him down to a London vampire club where he saves and confronts her. She later goes to Los Angeles for the concert and gives him back his journal. The two spend some time together and Lestat shows her both the horrors and the perks of being a vampire. Showing him that she's not scared of him Jesse stays with Lestat as she sees how lonely and miserable he is. She asks him to turn her as she reveals that it's her dream to be a vampire, but he refuses as he won't do it to her. The more time they spend together, the closer they become and soon Lestat and Jesse start to fall in love. Meanwhile, Akasha is awakened by Lestat's new music. She arrives and torches the club, and all the vampires inside, who want Lestat dead.
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