Queen of the Damned (2002)

I agree with others that the soundtrack pumping out the tunes (blasting in my car CD-to-CD in the 2000s) for the film is delicious candy to the ears as the model callsheet of casting. There was very little casting for anyone not a 10 on the attractive scale. Lestat through Townsend felt like somebody cosplaying a vampire version of Ville Vallo, mostly with his shirt off. Lena Olin is sadly barely in the film much as the motherly vampire to mortal (for most of the film) Marguerite Moreau -- I know her from "Wet Hot American Summer" (1998) -- and is Queen Aaliyah's greatest rival. I had forgotten about just how little Aaliyah is in the movie. I think my lust for Aaliyah admittedly might interfere with an objectionable view of her performance (or lack thereof), but how she moves in confidence is similar to Townsend...they are both very comfortable wearing hardly anything and rightfully so, I guess.

While I found Townsend to be a bore as Lestat, I could see how women would throw themselves at him to feed his hunger and hope to fuck him. The same for us who can't take our eyes off Aaliyah, who opens her scene evocatively and seductively walking in a vampire bar before their attempted attack on her leads to them burning alive just by her mere hand out and mental suggestion. 

To be honest, I can't recall very many of the special effects not being visual CGI (dated 2002 burn effects as the vampires mostly burn to a crisp). Vincent Perez (of "The Crow: City of the Angels") as the vampire who turned Lestat was similar to Townsend for me...more or less a cosplay vampire with makeup and fangs wearing the best wardrobe Hollywood could buy.

Aaliyah's wardrobe was very strategic in showing as much flesh as possible without her being naked...being "regally scantily clad", she got to be sensual and (very) sexy without forgoing all of her wardrobe. I loved that "crown" and her jewelry. Look, I will admit weakness...a lot of my time wasn't spent on how Aaliyah captured my attention through some acting showcase. She wasn't an acting powerhouse that had me thinking about the existential plight of the vampire race among humankind. I wasn't absorbed into the Queen Akasha contemplating her new place in the world...I watched her lips and eyes, how she walked across the room, luring Lestat (for a time) to her.

Nothing against Moreau -- she's also very photographically lovely -- but in comparison to the limited screen time of Aaliyah, she seems like a fly in the ointment. Her being a fly was important, as was Olin, Perez, and the vampires looking to stifle Akasha before she were to just move among the mortals looking to use them as cattle. 

I can see why Rice wasn't fond of this film. I think she felt resentment towards how the film didn't want that much input from her, and her name even attached to this empty shell of attractive people and setpieces could be understandably seen as undesired. This comes and goes, and I'll forget about it besides Aaliyah. She isn't so easy to forget about. God, it has been 20 years since this film was released! Crazy! 

I watched this since it is on Shudder's "Leaving soon" list.