Vampire Lord

Most horror movies are all flash, action, and plenty of screaming. The Queen of the Damned is no exception to the rule, despite attempts to become something more, but it still manages to deliver a fair bit of vampire fun.

The Queen of the Damned stars Stuart Townsend as the vampire Lestat, a character first made popular in film by Tom Cruise in the engaging Interview With a Vampire. This time around, Lestat has risen from his slumber again, intent on making his mark. Tired of hiding in shadows, he starts a career as a rock star, much to the ire of his maker Marius (Vincent Perez). But the anger of the world's vampire covens is the least of his problems when his music awakens the mother of all Vampires, the all-powerful Queen Akasha (Aaliyah).

While it is true that both Interview With a Vampire and Queen of the Damned are based on Anne Rice's series of popular novels, they really share little else in common. Interview is a thoughtful and intelligent film, punctuated with terror and violence. Queen of the Damned is only a step above your typical horror flick. Its characters are frequently one-dimensional, lacking the sense of power and charisma that Rice's vampires so richly deserve.

Townsend however, is quite capable in his role as the engaging Lestat. He is wholly unable to match the electricity and life that Cruise originally brought to the character, but he does a great job of pumping out a `produced on a budget' second best. Townsend oozes disturbing sexuality, his lines delivered with the lust of Shakespeare and the darkness of Poe. His nipples too perform wonderfully, under the most difficult of circumstances. Normally, the performance of a man's chest is not worth comment, but Townsend goes through so much trouble to continually display them, it's almost impossible not to notice.

Marius too, played by Vincent Perez, really brings life to the screen, though with an admittedly limited performance. Though his motives are frequently puzzling and poorly explained, Marius is instantly likable, perhaps even more so than Lestat. The movie might have been better served had he been used as some sort of wickedly intentioned