So, if i take into account all that has been said, would it technically be accurate to say that if Lestat had rose in the early 2000, he would have instead emulated.... Lady Gaga? I mean, its all there, the campy style, the instantaneous fame, weirdly deep lyrics, yeah he'd totally be a Lady Gaga.
nah because gaga didn't really exist in the public eye until 2011. Nu metal was just right for the genre that was presently shown as futuristic and "tortured"
I was 18 when this movie came out and I was already a fan of bands like Korn and Disturbed thus can't deny that the music was a big selling point for me.
I was 15 at that time and the same happened to me. I was already a big fan of Anne Rice's books as well and now, after seeing this review, I can see the point presented as very valid. Nonetheless, I still love the bands and this soundtrack today. Not the movie though...
@@realwatchfreak Ive owned it twice! best soundtrack in any movie released imo.... this movie made me a metalhead...it was already there but this was kerosene to the bushfire that is my lifestyle of music
I was born when queen of damned came out. I watched the movie when I was seven years old and watched a lot of classic vampire films around that age I became hooked .
@@general_ghosty Nah not really. He's aging pretty good still and he starred in The Last Samurai the following year and still looked relatively young. If Cruise would've reprised his role as Lestat during the filimg of QOTD then it wouldn't have been nothing that a little bit of cosmetics couldn't handle in regards to his age.
What made Dracula timeless was the fact that he fit naturally in the time he lived in. Dracula wasn't written as a historical piece, it was modern for its time. I'm actually ok with modern ideas with vampires, it's just that in pop culture, they're all gothy because of Dracula's influence. They don't have to be. Vampires are already freaky as shit.
not all are "gothy". Think of 30 days of night, Salem's lot, The Hunger (While the movie was goth, the vampires themself aren't), Let the right one in and so on. The only "goth" like movie I can think of (as a long time member of the scene) may be Interview with the vampire or Bram Stoker's Dracula. Maybe - just maybe - The Lost Boys as well.
This Lestat always reminded me of a mix of Reznor, who was touring with Bowie💝 around this time, and Michael Hutchence of INXS who was often compared to Morrison and would've had a Birthday 15 days from now.💝
For all this movie's crimes, Aaliyah was perfectly cast, I loved her Akasha. I hope the reboot they are planning takes more from the books, I am horrified at the thought of rebooting Interview, but quite titillated at the idea of an extended franchise.
Hit the nail on the head. I wish they wouldn't reboot Inteview either, wanting them to actually move forward and give us a proper Lestat and so forth, but the extended franchise, hopefully well written and acted...yes please!
The newest information that I could find, as of this morning, said that Hulu is developing a series starting with the book The Vampire Lestat. Guess that means they will leave Interview alone, which I seriously hope is true.
Considering this comment is 3 years old idk if this is still happening, but if it is, interview was perfect and they need to leave it alone. Claudia is my favorite.
Metal and Goth are two very different distinct musical genres and subcultures though. The latter not being in the movie, except maybe for some of the extras.
There is an intersection of both, commonly dubbed goth metal as a shorthand (sometimes referred by various other names like symphonic black metal, etc) which I absolutelty adore. But I guess bands like Type-O Negative and Cradle of Filth might've been way too left field for a mainstream movie.
@@aswaney7449 it's called gothIC metal normally. Cause it didn't evolve from goth music or out of goth subculture. It's simply metal that takes themes from gothic literature. It evolved from doom metal, was named after a Paradise Lost album.
As much as I liked the music from the soundtrack - finding out that the story was supposed to be set in the 80s made it clear that Anne Rice probably intended for a more goth vibe, and goth is a subculture that still exists [and existed at the time of the movies, obviously]... but the director[/s] didn't care enough about the subcultures to figure the shit out and get some actual goth artist involved in the project and just got the most famous edgy musician they could get, and that lack of care/attention to the actual subcultures really shows, thinking back on it... makes me hate the movie even more.
no love for stuart townsend? loved his portrayal in this film. the gypsy violin scene is probably my favorite in the film, though the film itself does not do the book justice.
Yess I love the gypsy violin scene, even if it's a complete slap in the face to the source material since none of him becoming a vampire happened that way
I admit it, I love this movie even though I know it's really bad. Why do I love it? Stuart Townsend, that's why. He was so hot. Did anyone else see "Resurrection Men"? Stuart plays a total psychopath who I find extremely hot. I will admit that I have always loved bad boys who did more than pose as "Bad Boys" which is probably why I am single and, at age 58, not looking for a mate. But my point is that I'm happy to find someone who also appreciates Stuart regardless of the poor quality of this movie as a whole.
Hmmm. When I was a kid I always thought that they were going for Marilyn Manson, with movie Lestat. Where people like the music, but it was really Lestat's stage presence and eccentrism that really made his career and made him so very big. Of course even then the movie does a bad job of pushing Lestat as this massive personality that just draws moths to his flame.
The thing about vampires, (and to a similar degree werewolves and zombies) that makes them scary on a social level is that they represent the fear that can come with a questioning of the life you live, and the world around you, sometimes through force. Zombies can represent the enemy within, mindless consumerism, overpopulation, the questioning of the qualifications of life and humanity, and so on. Werewolves have represented brutal primal urges, a lack of self control, being forced to meet an agenda not of your own, fearing the destruction that a mere man can cause, et cetera. And vampires are often the most dramatically complex, representing a fear of foreign immigration and illness, rampant debauchery, homosexuality, and so forth. But unlike zombies and werewolves, when it comes to the horrible things that vampires do, vampires are always in control. They are the usually the most sentient, sophisticated, and rational. Thus, the most human, and the most complex.
Another aspect of it is that Vampires are cruel, but with the same apperance as us( for the most parst and depending on the source), so seeing a "Human" doing such vile acts, is even more terrifying and blood chilling. Cause a Werewolves, is a pretty darn big Beast, even if its scary as fuck, in the departement of big scary beast, nature as provided us with a few, so its not as alien to us, is terrifying sure, but not as "questionable" shall i say. Same For Zombies, while they kinda look Human, their behavior and physical appareances are dramatically changed, so its easier to discociate us from them, there something that looks Human, but is not. Vampires are the worst of the lot, since they appear Human, speak like an Human and behave like one for the most part, the cruelty and horror they're capable off is even more tentalizing then anything else. Its something really basic, when you see something that looks like a Monster behave like a Monster, you are scared, but not suprised. When you see a person, that is a Monster, its chilling and terrifying, thats why Serial Killers, send us such chills down our backs.
Zen-RPG Yeah. Vampires are at their best when they’re just people who’ve been granted an abundance of power by circumstance and use it to abuse everyone around them. Y’know, like real people do.
Aaliyah was only beautiful. That's it. Her acting was... what? lol She was doing a Lagosi-esque accent wasn't she? But she's(Akasha) Eqyptian though right?
@@leahmacdonald5122 I haven't read that yet, I've been trying to borrow a copy. Lestat just comes through the window like, "Hey, if you ever want to be a vampire, just let me know. But that doesn't mean I make you one." And David just says "No thanks, good night to you sir and get out of my office." He's not the least bit interested. The whole thing made Lestat look incredibly immature.
I just think Tom cruise did such an excellent job in interview that Stewart Townsend had zero chances in hell to even match a toenail of Tom cruises performance
This made me want a proper Queen of the Damned movie made as an 80s period piece, we're already having 90s period pieces so it's about time. I'm only sad Tom Cruise can't play Lestat anymore. Watching this also made me really really want to see you do episodes on the other (movie-less) books in the series. I'd be immensely happy if that ever happens.
Interesting Fact: Stuart Townsend met Anne Rice in New Orleans. They chatted for about six hours. He called her just amazing. But after about 10 minutes, she gave him the book The Witching Hour, and she said he was on page 46. When Stuart turned to page 46, and there was the life of Stuart Townsend. And he was like, "Aw, Anne. ... You've [written] me as a character in your new book. Is this your new novel?" And she said, "No, I wrote this 11 years ago." DUN, DUN, DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
This movie is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine, as is the soundtrack. As for making the books into movies... they would have worked for making GOOD movies, but they wouldn't have been successful for making the money back. I mean, telling the origin of the vampires as a demon cloud in ancient Egypt, while legitimately original and interesting, would have been very difficult to pull off. Particularly when you take into account 2001's special effects which would have DRAINED this movie's thrifty budget. The Vampire Lestat book should have EASILY been made into a movie, however... especially since he teases his own origin on two separate occasions in Interview with the Vampire by saying to Louie and then Daniel, "I will give you the choice that I never had." Hell, seeing the story that made Lestat the gleefully villainous monster that he portrays and is in Interview would have been amazing... but instead we get Industrial and Nu Metal concerts, overtly sexual charisma from onscreen characters, and just a mess of silly special effects.
This movie can be easily explained. Doctor Who is in the movie. The Doctor is the lord of mischief, and he accidentally messed up history and the Tardis sent Lestat 20 years into the future so he skipped over the 80s and 90s, and The Doctor had to hide the Tardis, read up on Vampires, and pretend to be someone named "David". How do you think he got all those painting and Lestat's journal? It's all Timey-Whimey stuff.
Yay for using London After Midnight in this video! Y'know, actual goth rock. If they wanted to attract goths, they should have used that in the soundtrack instead of nu-metal (which is not goth music.) I mean, there are plenty of goths who were already fans of the Vampire Chronicles and still are. How do you screw up that badly when your target audience is right there? They could have had it both ways should they have done their research too! Goth rock originated in the '80s, so they could have kept the time period in which Lestat became a rockstar, and attract goths at the same time! Again, how do you screw up that badly? Hollywood execs trying to be hip with the youths and attract a subculture they know nothing about. As for who would best sound/look like rockstar Lestat? I think Dave Vanian of the Damned would be a good one to model after.
I was 19 in '84. I remember reading the Vampire Lestat when it came out and waiting desperately for Queen of the Damned. One thing I really remember is how MTV powered the music industry at that time. I remember people organizing parties for music video releases, and how much MTV drove us. I can see Lestat using powerful and unique videos to drive his stardom with no problem.
I was watching Dominic's Lost in adaptation and he told we watch your videos. So I started and this was so familiar, your voice, the narrative. And then I realized you appeared with Lindsay. I don't know you have your own videos. I'm so happy!
If you can, do a review of the TV show Forever Knight. I basically started the vampire as detective genre. Also, it tells from the point of view of the vampire. Nick picks up Barnabas' (Dark Shadows--THE inventor of the good guy vamp) brooding and basically runs with it.
It was a good show. Nick was such an interesting character. And Schanke was such a fun partner to team him with. I would love to see the Maven's take on the show
I loved LaCroix, to be honest. He was a great evil vampire for Nick to try and break free from (with LaCroix being his sire, it wasn't easy, of course).
If I remember correctly, Forever Knight's first two seasons aired on Tuesdays at 1 am or 2 am on CBS. It seemed like nobody knew anything about the show until it got picked up for USA Network (same as La Femme Nikita). My girl Jeannette stole every scene.
Oh my god. The Jessie and Lestat romance pissed me off so much in the movie. She was so much more interesting than that and her preoccupation with Lestat was more about the belief that he was a real vampire, unlike the rest of the world who assumed it was just a gimmick. I remember her being able to rush the stage while he was performing and licking the blood/sweat off his chest. She laughed then because her suspicions were confirmed. And of course, she had that sort-of romance with Mael. So many characters in this movie who were left with a handful of lines whereas they were so rich and rounded in the books. It made me so sad. The origin story on screen.
Coming back to this after watching Dominic Noble's Lost In Adaptation episode, I'm surprised you didn't mention more about how hard the filmmakers tried to make Lestat heterosexual (cutting out Nikki and Louis, changing the backstory of his violin, having him fall in love with Jessie, a character he doesn't have so much as a conversation with in the book...)
i saw you on the nostalgia chick videos years back, love to have found you here since i visit chnnel awesome regularly but never knew you were putting up content, subscribed for sure
I love the Vampire Chronicles, and I know this movie really messes with the story in the books, but the movie as its own is a good vampire movie to me. I enjoy it. I also really like Townsend's look and acting. And wow, the soundtrack!
I throughly enjoyed the soundtrack of QOTD... it felt accurate to me. (I was of that era though so I’m bias) I did want more depth to lestat and less of the love story nonsense. This you’re absolutely right about xx
Obligatory "still a better lovestory than twilight." Shit: This movie in parts almost looks like a Twilight- yet-not-as-sparkly. Hell: Lestat and Jessie almost look like Edward and Bella stand ins in every scene they are in together. Example: The scene where suck-boy tries to scare away his love interest by showing he is a monster (was somehow just as goofy and still was, way better then sparkly boy. )
Lestat in the books and even in Interview's film adaptation, provided true depth of a fleshed out character. QOTD film adaptation tossed us a heteronormative one dimensional cardboard cutout with a fog machine. Aliyah and the music is the only worthy footnote in this abortion.
This movie seriously hurt my soul! I love the VC that Anne Rice created. And I feel bad that she had this story ripped out from under her for this movie. This fell victim to the horror that was the late 90s early 2000s movie industry that thought everyone was a metal loving, rave going, drug addicted, sex fiends. It's like they wanted to bring back the original Crow but just couldn't make it work (much like the horrible Crow sequels).
I hear they're going reboot The Crow although I wish they didn't had they rebooted done this years ago Stewart Townsend would've been perfect to cast as Eric Draven.
Jonathan Davis is literally the voice of Lestat in my mind. That whole film made my black little heart sing, and I'm an Anne Rice fangirl who has read the entire Vampire Chronicles, as well as the Mayfair Witch saga and the new Werewolf books. I'll fight all o' y'all.
The points made in this video are so interesting because when I read the book I immediately thought that it would have made much more sense for Lestat to have had a post-punk/darkwave band like The Cure or even Joy Division, but made even more excentric. But the sound/band that would suit Lestat the best, in my opinion, would have been And Also The Trees.
And Also The Trees has good stuff~~ I can't remember names of songs off the top of my head, but there was one I really liked, and I checked out an album or two of them and really liked them as well~ O wOb good stuff.
I liked Nu Metal. I think there's a reason why their music still remains in everyone's minds after all these years. The songs were kick-ass. But I agree it made Lestat look cheesy/cringe a bit. 😁
This movie holds a special place in my heart. I saw it when I was young, long before knowing anything about the books. As a bullied gay pre-teen in his emo phase, I loved the music and the fashion. All the guys were so attractive and really woke me into my sexuality. To this day, even though it's a mockery of the book, I watch Queen of The Damned and enjoy it immensely. I may be biased but I really don't think it's a bad movie, it just depends on your perspective.
The music and fashion is not emo, it's numetal music and goth fashion - numetal, goth and emo are separate genres and belong to separate subcultures, please don't mash them together. Also happy pride, hope you have a good one~
Can we all give Aaliyah, Lena Ohlin (Maharet) and the guy who played Marius some love for giving amazing performances in this lackluster production? I did love the small details in it though, the blood tears and Marius’ self portraits, etc. 👌
I loved the books, the movies, the scores and soundtracks. Listen to the DVD commentary on QOTD and it becomes clear how restricted the production was for the creators. So glad to know we could potentially get a decent TV series of all Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles and Mayfair Witches. I envisioned Lestat as The Damned meets Bon Jovi/Bruce Springsteen
I think even 80s rock was too trite to have been the powerful stream of rebellion that dragged Lestat out of his grave. Interview with the Vampire was published in '76 and Anne Rice's identification with Jim Morrison as her inspiration for Lestat gels with this. Books take several years from inspiration to publication so the rock music that raised Lestat was probably that of the late 60s to early 70s. Even by '76 Rock had become clichéd; that was the excuse that the music business put forward for unleashing Punk on the world. I suppose he could have linked in with the more talented end of Punk, which finally morphed into new age. Proto-Goth wouldn't have suited him but I could see him stepping in Late 70s as the Rice-verse's David Bowie, using vampire instead of alien as his stage persona.
*Stumbles back into my lame cave* Am I the only one who loves this movie and the soundtrack? And yes I read the books, and I actually discovered all these bands through this soundtrack.
Omg. You're smart af. Yes, Lastat would be a rapper or a Kardashian now and it made sense in a time where Def Leopard had the number 1 album for Lastat to come on the scene as a rock god. So many people including Hollywood got it wrong but you explained how it could have worked the right way. Take your freakin bow my lady for making the best video I've seen on Anne Rice and any of her books. I honesty hope Anne herself has seen some of your videos. I discovered you today and you're the best channel covering work, period.
Maven, what if you dipped your toe into a new media of vampirism? Namely, anime, like hellsing, Tokyo ghoul of even the first 3 parts of JoJo's bizarre adventures
While Jim Morrison was the rock star model Rice was shooting for here, I think Michael Hutchence of INXS would have been a good 80s analog for Lestat; dude had the same kind of poet / sex appeal / magnetism that Morrison had while being more period-appropriate. Shame the producers chose to go all numetal instead :(
Hold up! The music in this movie was awesome! It was the only redeeming quality this movie had. Hell I only remember this movie because of the music. Great soundtrack. Horrible movie.
@@mojoarmstretch7261 It's really the Jonathan Davis covers that got me. When this movie came out, Jonathan hadn't done the "solo" shit yet. And it really resonated with me. So nostalgia got me hooked 😅
There are SO many things I hate about this movie I wouldn't know where to begin. The script was garbage. It was apocalyptically miscast. But THANK YOU for pointing out the burning bag of dog poo in the middle of this already dumpster fire of a movie: The modernization of the music. What attracted Lestat about 80s rock, enough to wake him up from beneath the earth, was the GLAM of it. Like the scene in the book where he's in the drugstore, mesmerized by the fluorescent lighting reflecting off the brightly colored shampoo bottles. The way he wandered the streets rhapsodizing about how clean everyone was, how effortlessly joyful, how much they publicly reveled in their youth and sexuality. In other words, the exact freakin' opposite of bands like Korn. Lestat's band would have been a 'hair band.' A big, loud one. He would've been a scarier version of Sebastian Bach maybe. On stage they might've looked like Ratt, Motley Crue or Cinderella. They wouldn't have been moping around on the stage in goth--wear, singing about angst and misery. If Lestat heard Korn from his grave, he would've been bored back to sleep by the self indulgent banality of it. This isn't just a book-purist gripe. It's important to his character. He became that glam rock superstar because it was perfectly suited to his personality. He was the Brat Prince. He reveled in his own beauty. He wanted to be larger than life. He wanted to be the shiniest shampoo bottle in that drug store, and triumphantly expose himself, and his ego, in all it's glamour and glory. The glam aesthetic of the 80s was irresistible to him. Because it WAS him. A Lestat singing numetal is just NOT Lestat. But hey, who am I to single out this ONE betrayal of his character in a movie that was a string of betrayals from beginning to end? I don't know who that was on screen, but it was NOT Lestat.
Oh my God, "apocalyptically miscast", that's so hilarious! It's a perfect description, I absolutely love your comment! I really enjoyed reading it. The description of Lestat as wanting to be the shiniest shampoo bottle actually takes away a little of the horrible trauma this movie caused me. Thank you! Said the book purist...😁
Absolutely lovely comment! I was in agony watching that movie (that's just my personal view, so please forgive me, anyone who likes it)...only my masochist side kept me going 'til the end. What a liberating experience reading your comment...😁
I always loved that scene in this movie when Jessie is trying to get to the stage, and she bumps into one of the ancient vampires, and she realizes he's one, but they both have this shared moment of looking to the stage as Akasha is showing up of, "oh....SHIT."
Anne Rice Said Lestat is Bisexual, and he Loves Louis, and its in her Novels, but in the movie Queen of the damn they made Lestat had a Relationship with Jessie Reeves and the fact is Lestat didn't have a Relation with Jess he had a relationship with Louis still.
Aaliyah was Accurate Actress of Akasha bad didn't give the material of real book the only thing that good to the movie but Tom Cruise is still always lestat too bad they didn't act together ,sad to say
Whether is follows the canon or not, and regardless of its lack of popularity in the Lestat fanbase, its an undeniable that the soundtrack was probably one of the best soundtracks in any vampire movie. To me, the music carried it thanks to the brilliant work of Jonathan Davis (better than anything Korn ever put out)). If Lestat was a vampire rock star in 2002, the choice made sense. I was in the 80s metal scene and I was in the 2002 metal scene and Im afraid your boyfriend is making stuff up as he goes along and by mentioning u2 and Bruce Springsteen proves he wasn't a part of the EITHER metal scene and probably listening to TNKOTB in 2002. And... if I am to be honest, ANY movie that doesn't include Tom Cruise is going to better than any movie that includes him. (BTW, love your vids!)
Anne Rice had no idea what the music of the time would actually sound like, and neither would Lestat. It mostly works in a novel, but the only person who could've translated Lestats rock music might've been David Bowie. I think Lestats hit music was meant to be imagined in the readers mind, never heard in the modern era. An 80s Lestat might've been like the Cure or the Smiths. In the 90s....I don't even know
Lol technically Goths typically lisen to dark wave like Bauhaus , siouxie and the banshees, sisters of mercy. Metal isnt as comment is goth culture as most think. Not to say they cant ,like anyone can like metal.
this December 11 will mark one year since the death of Anne Rice, funny that i guessed they made the movie at the last minute because that is exactly what i thought the first time i watched it. and the only part of the movie i like is the concert and when Lestat plays the violin for Akasha
I had at the time mixed feelings for this movie. - As an adaptation of the book, was a disappointment. They mixed the "Vampire Lestat" and "Queen of the Damned" books for this movie, which was kinda of a mess, and left out key elements and characters (Magnus, Gabrielle, Maharat and Mekare, etc...) - As simply a vampire movie, it's ok. I liked it, specially Akasha and the soundtrack. While Stuart Townsed look nothing like Lestat (he looked more like Nicholas), he was a very sexy vampire (but I'm able to like him, if I forget he was supposed to be Lestat) Hope the remake (tv shows) that Anne Rice is going to make is better. Excited to see the rest of the "Vampire Chronicles" being adapted 'cinematographically' finallly
"Complex" paranormal origin story. Kind of a shame Maven didn't go into how Lestat was a completely different character in the original novel from how he was portrayed from "The Vampire Lestat" on. Or did she do it in the "Interview" review? ...Damn it, I have work to do!
I think Lestat in a The Cult type band would work well. I wonder if David from the Lost Boys hard on for Morrison was Lestat inspired and of course Buffy gave us the vampire punk. Lestat might have worked better as a glam rock with goth overtones like The Darkness with less camp.
Your thoughts on the movie as compared to the book are very interesting. I saw and loved the movie when it came out and it is still one of my favorite vampire movies. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I have the hots for Lestat played by Stewart Townsend :). That being said, I am only just now reading the book; so I am totally unaware (other than what you have said), about the differences in the movie from the book. I am quite curious to see how I will feel when I finish the book. :)
I mean, they mostly got clothes right (I'm pretty sure mostly because they just put out extras calls for local goths), but yeah it's an excellent example of numetal. It's really weird the filmmakers seem convinced this is goth they're playing.
