The Queen of the Damned Vs. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

I was floored when I began watching The Queen of the Damned movie from 2002 and not in the good way. I recently became a fan of The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice so after finishing the book I decided I would watch the movie. This movie completely butchered the book and I found myself screaming at the screen. At first I thought okay just go with it and keep watching...but it just kept getting worse and worse. For those who haven't read the book and are interested possible spoilers will be revealed if you keep warning.

The movie itself had potential to be great and the effects where well done for the most part, but as a movie based on the book it severally shamed it. They couldn't even get little details right such as Lestate has blonde hair or the concert took place in San Francisco-not LA or that Akasha wanted males dead not the whole human race. The movie seemed to focus on the perspective from Lestate and what has happened to him and if that was there point then they should have just did The Vampire Lestate and saved The Queen of the Damned for something separate. One of the unique The Queen of the Damned offered was the story being told from many different perspectives. So, what exactly did the movie mess up? Where should I begin!?

Lestate could not fly as they showed it until he drank from Akasha several times and she showed him how to use this power. He was afraid of it at first as well and clung to her like a helpless child as she flew them around the world. The scene with the hot tub/bed never happened either. Lestate was bathed by several of the women from the village they were at-not Akasha. How about the character of Marius?! Marius did not make Lestate-he made Armand which is a crucial part of the story in some parts. Marius also did not come hunt Lestate down when Akasha awoken-he was trapped and injured under liars of ice which Akasha did to him. Next we have the story of Jessie all messed! They never mention how can see ghosts or how she was completely skeptical of the existence of vampires when she got assigned to a case. Not to mention when she found proof of it she became terrified and only sought Lestate out at the concert to validate her reasons/beliefs where she got attacked. Lestate was not the one who changed her and they did not have the bond that the movie showed, at least not in the first three books I've read thus far.

The one think that really irked me that the whole book focuses around is the story of the red hair twins! I honestly can't see how you could leave that out when everything that happens ties around that story and the history of it! You never see Armand, Daniel, Louis, Gabrielle, Mael, Pandora, Khayman, or Mekret which are important characters that play a role in all of this! At the very lest they should have had Khayman-well maybe they did. At the end of the movie four people show up when they are fighting Akasha but they never mention their names so you don't know who they are.

After watching that movie I feel like throwing the book at them and asking did you honestly read this? There are so many things that were portrayed wrong that it is hard to believe that they ever picked this book up. The book is so thrilling and filled with revelations and anyone who enjoys vampire fantasy will enjoy the read. I mean no disrespect to the actors of this film. If it was shown as a standalone not based on anything it probably would have done very well, but being based on a book you have the stigma that it will be close to the book with subtle changes-not a complete overwrite of what actually happened. I'm just happy that they showed how Akasha can make people burst into flames-at least they got that right! The one good thing that did come from this movie is the soundtrack! There is not one song on the soundtrack that I didn't like.