Movie Review : Queen of the Damned

As i was writing this, the damned firefox went to another page and i lost everything. Dammnit.

Ahem.

I went to watch this movie cuz of the awesome soundtrack i've seen around in the internet.
Many of you may know that the protagonist is Lestat, however you do not need any prior knowledge of him, wether it be books or movies, to understand the movie (more on understanding later)

No spoiler, so it's safe:

The atmosphere really sucks you in. The lightning, the clothing, the furniture, the soundtrack, all of it makes for a great trip to a vampire world, even if the true machine of vampiric society is barely mentioned.

The story, sometimes, makes it hard to understand. But i believe this to be because i didn't read the book, rather than a director's mistake.

The action scenes are good enough (and quite frankly much better than the "action-packed, 0.3 frame punch, 30 explosions" kind of scene that we see these days). The special efects are roungh in the edges, however understandable since the movie is like 10 years old( Is it just me, or movies from 10/8 years ago were better than this commercial crap we see today? and i'm not even much of a movie watcher myself)

Overall : 3.75 / 5
Good for the vampire fan, good for the casual viewer. If you have 2 hours spare then i'd totally recommend. But considering that the people in this forum is much more vampire savvy than I, I think i'm a few years late to recommend it, ha!

There's one thing that i do not know if it bugs me or pleases me, and that's te idea of "Powerful vampires can resist sunlight". While it's better than the alternative these days (aka Sparkling or Sunblock Ring). The VTM official rule, and VTM is perhaps the most detailed vampiric world out there, is that the stronger/older the vampire, the more connected to Caine he is, and henceforth, more affected by the curse. It just seems logical, however, in a world were there's no such thing as generation, that powerful vampires can just tell the sun to go fuck himself while they go wearing nothing but a speedo to the hottest beach in existence, and many fiction works use this rule. What's your thought about it?

Between this and Interview With A Vampire, I prefer this one. I'm not entirely sure why, though I do like how Townshend played Lestat better than Cruise's performance(even if he might've fit the part).

About the sunlight thing: It depends on exactly how it is done. If it is a single Vampire(i.e such as Blade), then it is interesting, or if it is only a certain group of Vampires(i.e because of who sired them, etc). But if the gimmick is that Vampires only sparkle, that they wear a ring, or even that they can bear it if they've fed, it becomes less interesting, since it is no longer a problem for them to be outside when the sun is out.

Never seen Queen of the Damned, although I've seen Interview With the Vampire, and it wasn't bad (for a movie with all Toreador vampires, hehe).

In VtM, your age has nothing to do with your ability to withstand sunlight... it's whether or not you have Fortitude, and at what level. High levels of Fortitude give you a very good chance to soak indirect or weak sunlight, but noontime in the Mojave is bad, bad, bad, even for Antediluvians. Even Fortitude 10 doesn't make you immune. Plus, the slightest sunlight on your retinas and they are burned out. Good luck finding your way into the shade when you're blind.

Now, it's possible that you could have a special suit made, which allows absolutely no sunlight through, and a closed helmet with cameras feeding you a picture of the outside world, so you're not seeing by sunlight at all -- and you would still have trouble keeping the Beast in check, because the mere sight of daylight can cause you to be overcome with Rotschreck, and run screaming like a little girl for the shadows.

I know that even Dracula could walk around in the cloudy London daylight, and other vampires in movies/TV/books can do the same. But I like the fact that VtM vamps sizzle like bacon in the sunlight.

nice review, might even watch it(don't watch alot of movies/TV)

in the day vampiers shud ether be sleeping(from the curse/disease/what ever you want to call it), walking around like normal people or hiding in some shadowy place. My favorite way is as in Anita Blake series(vampires fall asleep at dawn when their "souls" go away, and the older/stronger they are the earlier they wake up)

PGM1961 wrote:

In VtM, your age has nothing to do with your ability to withstand sunlight... it's whether or not you have Fortitude, and at what level.

Ah forgive me. I never read much about VTM rules, i simply thought it was the reverse of what it is to thinbloods (You know, those with very thin blood can withstand sunlight, so i thought those with lower generation would receive more damage of it.)

Thanks for clearing that one out

Townsend was indeed epic. This movie made him one of my favorite actors, its a real shame I haven't seen much of him over the years. I love the movie. It reminds me of better times. And it's soundtrack is simply unforgettable. Many parts of which are constantly in rotation in my playlist.

Clan can also affect how damaged by sunlight you are.

Lasombra are more than a bit screwed in this aspect. Setites as well, if memory serves.

Feral wrote:

Lasombra are more than a bit screwed in this aspect. Setites as well, if memory serves.

True. Even Fortitude is less effective for them, since they take an extra health level (Lasombra) or two (Setites) from sunlight.

I forgot about Thin Bloods, though. In the 'Time of Thin Blood' game supplement, they talked about 15th Gen having resistance to sunlight, and that they can even heal it like normal damage. But being a thin blood would be such a sad existence anyway... it's like prolonging your suffering. Although still slightly better than being a vamp in the Twilight mythos... lol Which is worse... being a weakling, or having to attend high school forever?

PGM1961 wrote:

Although still slightly better than being a vamp in the Twilight mythos... lol Which is worse... being a weakling, or having to attend high school forever?

Weakling easy

FallenRaven wrote:

PGM1961 wrote:

Although still slightly better than being a vamp in the Twilight mythos... lol Which is worse... being a weakling, or having to attend high school forever?

Weakling easy

Weakling attending high school forever?

8people wrote:

Clan can also affect how damaged by sunlight you are.

You can also walk in the sun temporarily if you drink Sookies blood, LOL.

Having to attend High school forever? Isn't that outlawed as "cruel and unusual punishment"

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Childe of Malkav wrote:

Having to attend High school forever? Isn't that outlawed as "cruel and unusual punishment"

I think they gave some of the Guantanamo prisoners that choice, and they preferred imprisonment and woater-boarding over eternal high school. lol

Seriously, I don't think what they're doing in GULAGtanamo is something you should use in a joke.

The self proclaimed "country of freedom" using barbaric torture on prisioners is now a joke? Great! when can we start making fun of the holocaust victims?!

You don't understand, in Texas they use water-boarding during random pull overs and traffic stops, lol.

ThePhilosopher wrote:

The self proclaimed "country of freedom" using barbaric torture on prisioners is now a joke? Great! when can we start making fun of the holocaust victims?!

I'll pass. And while I am against the so-called 'Patriot Act', which allows spying on Americans without due process; and I abhor the travesty which allowed prisoners to be held indefinitely in Guantanamo without a trial, I make NO apology for comparing eternal high school to a form of torture. If you misunderstand my meaning... well, I'll attempt to explain the context, as I just did, but if you insist on taking offense, I can't control how you perceive things. And frankly, I have no desire to try. Excess political correctness is merely another form of bigotry.

Let's make a deal... you try not to be offended by one casual remark, and I'll try not to be offended by you painting my entire country as the villain, for acts which most of its citizens disagreed with... and which we are trying to correct.

PGM1961 wrote:

ThePhilosopher wrote:

The self proclaimed "country of freedom" using barbaric torture on prisioners is now a joke? Great! when can we start making fun of the holocaust victims?!

I'll pass. And while I am against the so-called 'Patriot Act', which allows spying on Americans without due process; and I abhor the travesty which allowed prisoners to be held indefinitely in Guantanamo without a trial, I make NO apology for comparing eternal high school to a form of torture. If you misunderstand my meaning... well, I'll attempt to explain the context, as I just did, but if you insist on taking offense, I can't control how you perceive things. And frankly, I have no desire to try. Excess political correctness is merely another form of bigotry.

Let's make a deal... you try not to be offended by one casual remark, and I'll try not to be offended by you painting my entire country as the villain, for acts which most of its citizens disagreed with... and which we are trying to correct.

Heh. PGM1961, you just got heckled in the middle of your routine. Who'd a thunk you were such an effective insult comic?

Remember, you are all "holding all the cards" so to speak.

You all have not been deprived of any power whatsoever.

You all have the power of silence and the responsibility to teach.

If a statement offends you so, then feel free to condemn it, but do not stop at condemning - you must also offer a statement which provides the offender with perspective, so that he won't make the same mistake again. Otherwise, we waste our energy crossing verbal swords and nothing changes for the better.

"Forgive and forget" doesn't work. Forgetting leaves the offender to wander into the same pitfall. Instead, we must, "forgive and effect change" always. Remember, not every statement needs to be dignified with an answer.

And with that, I would like to say I'm sorry 8people and simison for having offended you. I knew full well my comments to you were a veiled criticism designed to evoke a response. Please forgive me.

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Queen of the Damned did a wonderful job of maintaining a consistent tone from beginning to end. The best part was when Akasha was effortlessly annihilating everyone in the bar. Her walking through the fire unscathed was such a gimme, but I didn't mind seeing it, not one little bit.

PGM1961 wrote:

Let's make a deal... you try not to be offended by one casual remark, and I'll try not to be offended by you painting my entire country as the villain, for acts which most of its citizens disagreed with... and which we are trying to correct.

Interesting, because i remeber hell and heaven beign ofended at my point of view back at that Tzmisce fiasco. Excess political correctness, me? Oh please.

I understood the context. I just don't see torture as beign something to be joked about, and if for you that is "insisting on taking offense" well then, maybe you should understand that willingly inflicting pain on another human beign for years is not something normal people often tend laugh about.

I'm not responsible for the acts of your country, but just notice that, even i who, according to you, "painted your entire country as the villain" am not making jokes about americans dieing in the war, or 9/11 victims.

I don't remember any Tzimisce fiasco. I suppose I couldn't have been too upset, whatever it was.

I have never liked the idea that some subjects are 'too sensitive' to ever be joked about. It depends upon the context. Many Jewish comics have made jokes about the Holocaust, mostly to poke fun at the morons who believe it never happened. What's that old saying, "If I didn't laugh, I'd cry." Humor is the way some people insure that the darkness in this world doesn't overtake their whole lives.

That's okay, though. We'll just drop it. In the future, I will try to alter my material, in regard for the sensitivity of one member of the audience. But if I screw up and touch on another topic you deem 'too serious'... well, I guess I'll just have to live with the shame.

Because i don't have your sense of humor, you call me sensitive
Because i can see the darkness without having to hide behind jokes like a coward, you call me bigot

You say you're dropping, then proceed the next two sentences to attack me.

Man, I'd never expect this from a mature person, like most of the people in this forum.
But okay. You hide in your jokes. Don't expect any sensitivity from me when i start making fun of inbred texans, since you would not be offended.

zoo and zero, what you guys think about sunwalking vampires?

(Sigh) Back on topic it is.

I have liked several stories where the vampire could walk around during the day (The Dracula series, by Fred Saberhagen; Moonlight, the TV series which was pretty much killed by the Writers' Strike; etc.). However, I have always preferred stories where vampires are essentially human, but forever denied the daylight world. If there is no loss, no sacrifice, in becoming what they are, then where's the story? The drama?

One problem with the Twilight vampires (there are plenty, but I'll stick to the daylight issue) is that they don't really have to give much up to become a vampire. They can walk in daylight. They live forever, young and beautiful (because apparently there are no ugly vampires in the Twilight world). Not only do they have phenomenal strength and speed, but they gain unique and wondrous new powers upon becoming a vampire -- the main character, Edward, can read minds; his sister, Alice, has precognitive visions; etc.. So, they gain all of these powers, and the only down side is that they have to keep their existence secret. Oh, the horror.

Vampires in fiction have always had erotic overtones. But Twilight has taken this and amplified the 'emo romance' angle until it is no more than a teen sex fantasy. That's not a story I want to read, or watch on the movie screen. I prefer something a bit more gritty... forever denied the daylight world, the vampire must forever struggle with his inner Beast, and fight tooth and claw to retain what Humanity he has left, while surviving in vampire society. That's why I like Vampire: the Masquerade.

PGM1961 wrote:

Vampires in fiction have always had erotic overtones. But Twilight has taken this and amplified the 'emo romance' angle until it is no more than a teen sex fantasy. That's not a story I want to read, or watch on the movie screen. I prefer something a bit more gritty... forever denied the daylight world, the vampire must forever struggle with his inner Beast, and fight tooth and claw to retain what Humanity he has left, while surviving in vampire society. That's why I like Vampire: the Masquerade.

I agree with everything here. If the uber powerful vampires are all benefit and no flaws, they might as well be common super heroes. I think when one achieves great power, a great sacrifice must be made to keep the balance.

Edit: Oh yeah, and get a room you two... all of this sexual badgering is making the rest of us jealous!

PGM1961 wrote:

One problem with the Twilight vampires (there are plenty, but I'll stick to the daylight issue) is that they don't really have to give much up to become a vampire. They can walk in daylight. They live forever, young and beautiful (because apparently there are no ugly vampires in the Twilight world). Not only do they have phenomenal strength and speed, but they gain unique and wondrous new powers upon becoming a vampire -- the main character, Edward, can read minds; his sister, Alice, has precognitive visions; etc.. So, they gain all of these powers, and the only down side is that they have to keep their existence secret. Oh, the horror.

Well, they do have to give something up, and I think it only applies to the fact that they can't eat regular food(so why in the hell do they bother with even going to the cafeteria? Oh right, "Blending in"), they can't sleep, and they can barely control themselves when just turned(which is, I think, going way past the "Inner Beast" concept, and making them almost raging monsters from the start with no other penalty than the Volturi's judgment). Also, aside from their eyes, do they have to hide fangs or charm humans to forget they saw them? No, as apparently their teeth are very sharp without being pointed or fanged.