Vampire movie’s plot really bites
■ Queen of the Damned, based
on Anne Rice’s novel, has a great
soundtrack, but the plot leaves
audiences wanting more
MOVIE REVIEW
‘Queen of the Damned’
By Lori Musicer
for the Emerald
“Queen of the Damned,” the
long-awaited sequel to Anne Rice’s
“Interview with a Vampire,” man
aged to suck $23.8 million out of
moviegoers’ wallets in its first two
weeks — and it sucked hard.
The horror movie genre has be
come a casualty of corporate con
trol, and this high-budget Warner
Brothers release reeks of it. Without
much of a pulse, “Queen” lacked
character development, plot coher
ence, stand-out acting and original
ity. Much of this movie’s audience
comes from two groups: vampire
genre-junkie Rice fans, and those
who want to see late R&B singer
Aaliyah in her final role. Both
groups will be disappointed. Rice
fans will be disgusted at how cliche
and inaccurate the movie is com
pared to her 1988 novel. Director
Michael Rymer and screenwriters
Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni
took it upon themselves to re
arrange, condense and basically
hack the book. As for Aaliyah, she
has the title role as Queen Akasha,
the 6,000-year-old Egyptian mother
of all vampires, but she doesn’t
show up until nearly an hour into
the movie and only has about 15
minutes on screen.
This convoluted film, like so
many before it, falls victim to the
“we tried to pack a long, complicat
ed novel into two hours on screen”
trap. Since “Interview” in 1994,
Tom Cruise managed to morph into
Irish actor Stuart Townsend, who
stars as 18th-century French noble
man-turned-vampire Lestat de Li
oncourt. Lestat wakes from a centu
ry-long nap and decides to reveal
his identity to humans by becom
ing a rock star. This angers the
world’s vampires, who have sworn
Courtesy photo
Late R&B singer Aaliyah plays the mother of all vampires in “Queen of the Damned”
alongside Stuart Townsend, who stars as vampire-turned-rock-star Lestat. In a honeymoon
ritual, they suck each other’s blood in a marble bath filled with rose petals.
to hide their identities from mor
tals. Lestat intentionally baits his
fellow undead to attend his one
and only Death Valley concert.
Meanwhile, young mortal Jesse
Reeves, played by Marguerite
Moreau (from “The Mighty
Ducks”), is a member of a dark
forces record-keeping group who
becomes a vampire groupie after
discovering Lestat’s diary.
After an ages-long slumber,
blood-crazed Akasha decides it’s
time to reclaim her throne and to
make Lestat her king — she likes
his style. Aaliyah’s super-hyped
role provides the real tragedy of the
film. The 22-year-old, who made
her film debut in 20Q0’s “Romeo
Must Die,” was killed in an August
2001 plane crash in the Bahamas.
In “Queen,” her metal breastplate,
elaborate headdress and bronze
body paint are pleasant on the eyes,
and her immense power is impres
sive. With a smooth hand motion,
she charbroils other vampires, and
she can even venture into the day
light. But the script is mediocre.
Akasha has drab lines such as “Kill
her,” “See how he obeys,” and
“You are bold, like your music,” all
spoken in an electronic, supernatu
ral voice with an eerie, yet cheesy
Transylvanian accent. If people re
ally want to honor Aaliyah’s ac
complishments, they should focus
on her original medium.
The cinematography has its ups
at times, including some interest
ing “Matrix”-style effects, beauti
ful goth scenery and combusting
vampires. But the movie was un
necessarily gory in a Hollywood
marketed way. The highlight of
“Queen” definitely lies in the mu
sic, written by Richard Gibbs and
Korn frontman Jonathan Davis.
Davis sings Lestat’s songs for him
in the movie. However, Davis
does not appear on the sound
track, but other big names in the
hard rock/metal scene play his
songs on it. Some contributors in
clude Static-X, Disturbed,
Deftones and Marilyn Manson .
The music, dark and pain-filled,
is a perfect fit for a modern vam
pire flick.
However, it’s still not enough to
save the movie from damnation.
Lori Musicer is a freelance
reporter for the Emerald.
entertainment calendar
■Thursday, March 7
7:30 p.m. — Ralph Nader, (lecture
and discussion), McDonald Theatre,
1010 Willamette St., seated — $10
general public, $5 students, standing
room — $7 general public, $3
students.
8 p.m. — “Reckless” (theater),
'University Theatre, Villard Hall, $6,
I346-4363.
8:30 p.m.—Tempest, Wild Duck
Music Hall, 169 W. Sixth Ave., $10.
9 p.m. — Darryl Cherney, Robert
Hoyt (radical folk), Sam Bond’s
Garage, 407 Blair Blvd., $5.
9:30 p.m. — All-star Jazz Jam, Jo
Federigo’s, 259 E. Fifth Ave. $2,343
8488.
10 p.m. — Bindaas, WalkerT
Ryan, Irene Ferrera, Barbara
Healey (benefit party for Lane
County Pacific Greens), Cafe
Paradiso, $8 general admission, $5
with ticket stub from Ralph Nader
discussion at McDonald Theatre.
iFriday, March 8
8 p.m. — “Reckless” (theater),
University Theatre, Villard Hall, $6,
346-4363.
9:30 p.m. — Syrius Jones, Mosaic,
What Yo Mama Warned You About
(funky rock), Wild Duck, $6,485
3825.
9:30 p.m. — Dana Lyons, Danny
Dolinger, (radical folk), Sam Bond’s,
$5,431-6603.
■Saturday, March 9
6 p.m.— Ken Zimmerman leads a
discussion of the making of the
collaborative novel “Caverns” with
six members of Ken Kesey’s
University of Oregon Creative
Writing class that took part in the
writing of the book (as “O.U.
Levon”), Tsunami Books, free.
8 p.m. — “Reckless” (theater),
University Theatre, $6,346-4363.
9 p.m. — Michael D. Memorial,
(reggae), WOW Hall, $5.
9 p.m. — Spiritfarm, (acoustic),
Cafe Paradiso, $7.
9:30 p.m. — Hot Club Sandwich,
Jon Dee Graham (jazz and rock),
Sam Bond's, $5.
■Sunday, March 10
7:30 p.m. — Caran Casey and Band
(Irish), Cafe Paradiso, $17.50
advance, $20
at the door.
8:30 p.m. — Project/Object, Ike
Willis, Napoleon Murphy Brock
(tribute to Frank Zappa), WOW
Hall, $14 advance, $16 at the
door.
9 p.m. — Mark Alan (acoustic
“guitar and vocals), Jo Federigo’s, $3.
9 p.m. — Stark Raving Naked,
Wallace, Mosaic, John Henry’s, $2.
■Tuesday, March 12
7 p.m. — “Happy Together”
(international film), Pacific Hall
Keithan Student Lounge, free.
8 p.m. — Arditti String Quartet
(chamber music), Beall Concert Hall,
$10-$25.
8 p.m. — Le Tigre, Chicks on
Speed, Tami Hart (punk rock), $12
advance, $14 door.
10 p.m. — What Yo Momma
Warned You About (jazz/blues),
Taylor’s Bar and Grill, 894 E. 13th,
$4.
■Wednesday, March 13
7 p.m. — “Dance Quarterly”
(student dance concert), Gerlinger
Annex Dougherty Dance Theatre,
free.
8 p.m. — University Campus Band
(ensemble concert), Beall Concert j
Hall, free.
8:30 p.m.—Justin King (acoustic |
guitar), Cafe Paradiso, $5.
9 p.m. —The Reputation (w/
Elizabeth Elmore of Sarge), Captain
vs. Crew, The Velvet Teen (rock n’
roll), EMU Fir Room, $3 students, $4
general.
look into the
OPE Classifieds
346-4343®©
492 E 13th 686 2458
For the week of Friday, March 8thll
www.bijou-cinemae.coin
Naw Movie Guide around town NOW!!
[DARK BLUE WORLD
A old-fashioned classic
war movie romance!! •
Nightly 8:30pm - Sun Mat 3:35pm
ONE WEEK ONLY! I (subtitles)
_ spike & mike’s 2002
# sick S twisted
“ festival of animation
11:00pm - $7.00 Thura-Sat II $6.00 Sun-WM
WAXING UFE“ST
NIGHTLY 10:30pm - Sat Mat 2:45pm
7 OSCAR NOMINATIONS!!
Gosford Park n
5 00 and 7 45pm -- Sun Mat 2 15pm
Soon: THE BUSINESS OF STRANGERS "
also, THE ENDURANCE
FINAL
WEEK!!
/iwietie
5 OSCAR NOMINATIONS!!
6:06pm - Sat Mat 3:36pm (sutottMea)
MARCH SPECIAL
Delica Reads
25% Off
Japanese Delica beads are
extremely uniform in
shape & size-ideal for
amulet bags, peyote
stitching and loomwork.
10% off
with student I.D.
Harlequin
Beads & Jewelry
1016 Willamette ♦ 683-5903
Arena Theatre
March 6-9 + 14-16
8 PM
theaisc
UO Ticket Office: 346-4363
Hult Center: 682-5000
UT Box Office: 346-4191
Day* of Performance On'y
6 weeks, 6 credits, as low as $2,690 (based on typical costs
of tuition, room & board, books, and estimated airfare)
Term 1: May 28-July 5 - Term 2: July 8-August 15
www.summer.hawaii.edu • toll-free 1 (800) 862-6628
University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, Summer Sessions