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Lestat de Lioncourt (Stuart Tounsend) a vampire, decides to come out into the light for he
finds living in the shadows for centuries, unbearable. He reinvents himself as a famous rock star and achieves his ambition of being a "god", object of the adulation of fans.
By sucking the blood of Akasha (Aaliyah) queen of all vampires, he gets some of her power and awakens her from her slumber of several centuries. Jesse Reeves (Marguerite
Moreau), a researcher-librarian at the London Center of Paranormal Studies is fascinated by Lestat's diary and his dark world. Her curiosity aroused, she wishes to experience
being a vampire and asks Lestat to make her one but he refuses. Akasha offers the kingship of her realm to Lestat but he is reluctant to be king of "corpses." Akasha
demonstrates her power by destroying other vampires who do not want to join her. Will Lestat succumb to her pressure? Jesse keeps following Lestat around. Will Lestat who
feels kindly toward her, eventually make her one of the "undead"?
Based on the bestseller series, "The Vampire Chronicles" by well known writer Ann Rice, the film
continues to unfold the story of Lestat who was first introduced to the screen in "Interview with a Vampire" starring Tom Cruise. This present movie succeeds in "humanizing"
the vampires, especially Lestat, who shows some feelings, ambition, obsession for glory, power and life in the light. All of these are foreign to vampires whose existence we
have associated with just blood sucking. However, in spite of their "humanness," the viewer does not empathize with them, not even with Lestat who looks impressive with his
pale mask like complexion and eerie dark eyes. Some effective visuals consist of the quick flashing of a kaleidoscope of colors, shapes, images and light. These with startling
sound effects put us in a state of anticipation. The authentic rock music provides a contemporary atmosphere. The rock singer Aaliyah's tragic death may arouse more interest
in this movie, her last public performance but she does not sing. She hardly acts.
As in most vampire movies, there is much violence. What is even more dismaying is the way evil is
no longer kept but flaunted, yet seemingly accepted. When Lestat is interviewed by the media, he openly declares himself to be a vampire but that doesn't seem to bother
anyone. There are times when we pass off evil or wrongdoing lightly and think of it as funny. We have abominable deeds presented as comedy or spoof or just entertainment.
Another point shown by the movie is how easily we accord adulation or admiration to public icons. Perhaps, since most of us are easily impressed with glitter, we should be
more discerning and discriminating in choosing our models.
(Date reviewed: March 15, 2002)
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