Queen of the Damned

Stuart Townsend replaces Tom Cruise as the neck-nibbler Lestat in this sometimes coagulated sequel to the film version of Anne Rice’s Interview With a Vampire. Lestat awakens from a 200-year slumber to heavy metal music and decides to reinvent himself as rock star. Much to the chagrin of his undead peers, Lestat publicizes and flaunts his netherworld heritage and power as the story staggers and stumbles to a massive concert in Death Valley where his detractors plan to silence the smirking, upstart music god and media darling as he explores his inner-celebrity self. Aaliyah makes a brief but memorable posthumous appearance about an hour into the nearly incoherent proceedings, which are riddled with unintentional guffaws. Directed by Australian Michael Rymer (Angel Baby).