Queen of the Damned

Year: 2002

Country: USA, Australia

Tagline: The Mother Of All Vampires  »

Plot: Lestat (Stuart Townsend) has slumbered for two ceturies, but the world above his tomb has changed from the colonial pretension of the 18th century to a more free and colourful world of new more revealing fashions, louder music, caring for the world's future and the hungry machine that is the media.He rises from his resting place and feeds upon a victim, feeling more revitalized that ever before. He then proceeds to go and find where the music he hears is coming from, delighted to discover that it is from his old house, and soon shows the young mortal band his talents and makes them famous, calling the rock band The Vampire Lestat. He is controversial, over the top and utterly sesuous, portraying all the sins of the world in his lyrics and his over all demour. But unaware to him a young member of secret vampire expert society, is in fact obsessed with him and reads the thoughts that he put in his diary that her boss, David (Paul McGann), found. She learns of his maker the talented painter Marius (Vincent Perez), who kidnapped him from his homeland and made him immortal to have an outside link to the everchanging world. Lestat proves to be more trouble than he's worth, wanting to be seen and heard by mortal, and not be in the shadows waiting to feed upon them. He learns to play the violin like an angel, but kills a Gypsy girl and her father after revealing his supernatural attributes while hunting with Marius.He then discovers the secret room that Queen Akasha [(link=nm0004691]) and her King slumber. He plays the violin for her, and falls into her trap of drinking her blood. But he is chained to the bed by Marius and discovers that Akasha and her King are the makers of all vampires, brutal and bloodthirsty, they had drank the ancient world dry and finally lost their will to drink. Later Lestat awakens alone, to find Marius is gone and so are Akasha and her mate, showing Lestat that after all is said and done, we are all alone.Even more intrigued by this nocturnal hearthrob, Jesse (Marguerite Moreau) sets out to a vampire club in the old section of London, only to be nearly devoured by a pack of yuppy vampires and be rescued by Lestat. She tells him of her reading his diary and asks him about his violin, telling him he can't have forgotten about it. He returns home and once again plays the treasured instrument. The next day he has a press conference with his band and stirs up trouble with both humans and vampires, saying that the immortals must come and find him at his one and only concert in the valley.Soon after he recieves a visit from Marius and hears that Akasha has awoken and drank her King to death. Now she is after Lestat, as is Jesse, but for different reasons, Akasha seeks to make him her new King and Jesse wants to learn more about immortality from him. The night before the concert Jesse's wish is almost answered, as Lestat very nearly turns her, but he disappears claiming that she doesn't truly want the dark gift. At the concert the vampires gather and try to kill Lestat, but Marius helps him fight them off. When Akasha arrives she promptly flies Lestat off to an island resort where she's killed the entire populous and makes love to him in a mixture of mortal love making, mental and also drinking from him and having him drink from her.Jesse wakes in the house where she lived as a child, in awe at the sight of her Aunt Maharet (Lena Olin), who hasn't aged, and is a vampire.Back on the island Lestat is able to walk in the sun, and is told by Akasha that they will rule all once more. He asks if their kingdom will include only corpses and she replies with a blissful affirmation of his theory.Finally Marius, Maharet and all the other vampire elders gather to make a plan against Akasha and Lestat. But they are interrupted by the queens arrival with her new king. She tells Lestat to kill Jesse, and mocks the girl when she says that it is what she desires. Jesse collapses and Akasha says that Lestat is most obediant, he drinks from her once more, but does not stop and she throws him off. The other vampires try to also kill her, some turn to dust and others survive. But it is Maharet who drinks the last drop from Akasha. Maharet turns to stone, to slumber forever for drinking the last drop of the vampire queen's blood. Akasha turns to ashes, blowing away into nothingness.Jesse and Lestat pay a visit to a very nervous David, returning the diary she took. She offers him the gift, but he says he is too old.The couple walk off into a haze of lights and flashing by figures who carry on with their normal lives.Marius enters David's office, well aware that David has obsessed over him for many years, and greets David with a polite tone.This ends the film with the question whether Marius will infact turn David, and if Lestat and Jesse will truly be lovers until the ending of the the universe.Stuart Townsend is the vampire Lestat, who has awakened from a century-long slumber and turned his considerable energy to rock music. His vampirism identity mistaken for a gothic hard rock publicity stunt along the lines of Kiss or Marilyn Manson, he quickly becomes a pop music sensation. He gathers a following and becomes a rock star only to find that his music awakens the ancient Queen Akasha and she wants him to become her king...

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