Review of Queen of the Damned (2002) by Joe M — 03 Jul 2015

To begin, I'm a big fan of Anne Rice. I have avoided watching any of these movies because I am so captivated by the lore and characters in the books, I figured the movies would just be disappointing. I was not disappointed in my disappointment.

The good points: it's pretty, costuming was fun, cameos from Robert Downey Jr and Peter Steele and the music wasn't too bad.

Now, for the harshness: This story they were working with really played out in three novels and were told from various character's POVs. I am sure the screenwriters gave it a great try, but so much of the narrative was omitted that it just didn't make sense. There were pivotal characters at the climax of the film and we didn't even know their names, much less their connection to the lead. This might have been more coherent as two films. Trying to blend some stories together to save time is forgivable, but editing to such a point where we cannot understand why Lestat turned on Akasha was really a bad choice. Sure, she seemed a bit harsh, but they never showed her as the genocidal maniac she was.

This entire series of novels deserves to have a series of good, true to the story films. These stylized vanity films suck and not in a sexy way.