Queen of the Damned
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: February 22, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
30
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
15
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
67
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Nothing near a modern vampire classic. Still, "Queen" is a great dose of vamp camp Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
Aaliyah rules as the undead Queen of the Damned, even if she has scarcely half an hour of screen time in this campy Anne Rice vampire tale. Read full review
60
New Times (L.A.)Gregory Weinkauf
Since the movie arrives and succeeds as entertaining B-movie fare, we may as well appreciate all of its howls, beastly or unintentional. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneRobert K. Elder
Leaves us puzzled as to why the term "damned" applies at all, when vampirism is depicted as so cool, fashion-savvy and glamorous. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
At its best, Queen is campy fun like the Vincent Price horror classics of the '60s. At its worst, it implodes in a series of very bad special effects. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldCharles Savage
The original rock songs on the soundtrack, which are supposed to make Lestat ''bigger than Elvis,'' are terrible -- a common challenge for movies about fictional musicians. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
It is happy to be goofy. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeJay Carr
Degenerates into a lot of dull declaiming and attitudinizing, despite a sly tongue-in-cheek quality brought by a preening Stuart Townsend to the Lestat role he inherited from the utterly humorless Tom Cruise.
50
USA TodayMike Clark
If you're going because you want to see an entertaining horror movie, good luck. Read full review
50
VarietyScott Foundas
Handsomely mounted, this direly conventional bit of vampire business is enlivened by flashes of humor and game performances. It isn't great entertainment or camp, but pic sets its ambitions so low, it can't help partially delivering on them. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
When Queen of the Damned knows it's ridiculous, it's moderately entertaining fun; when it tries to be serious, it's truly ridiculous. Read full review
42
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Is Queen of the Damned worthy of its hype or should it have a stake driven through its dark heart? The answer lies somewhere in between. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Maybe in a few years the incoherent gaudiness of this underperforming sequel to ''Interview With A Vampire'' -- will have transmuted into a kind of appreciable camp. Until that time, however, we're stuck with this damned production Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderLisa Alspector
The result is an exploitation movie that seems like it's about something -- though what exactly I couldn't say. Read full review
40
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Rymer's film doesn't revitalize vampire clichés in any significant way and, frankly, "Velvet Goldmine" is a more seductive movie about sex, death and rock and roll -- and it's not even about vampires. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
The whole film suffers from a serious case of overplotting, perhaps inevitable when trying to cram two largish novels into one smallish film. Read full review
40
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Townsend and Aaliyah are sexy as hell, and clearly willing and able to explore the darker truths of villainy, but they can't compete against the unwieldy script. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The main theme is the loneliness of the social outcast. That, plus a soundtrack to wake the undead, and the morbidly entombed presence of Aaliyah, will attract an audience despite the movie's intrinsic cheesiness.
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Like many genuinely awful movies, Queen of the Damned has the ingredients of a cult film. Read full review
38
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Abbott, Petroni and director Michael Rymer do exploit the visual and aural cliches of vampire movies from the last 20 years: The creatures wear tattoos, shave their heads, listen to blistering rock and dress in black leather. For a band of societal outsiders, they're pathetically conformist. Read full review
30
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Knows that it's junk and tries feebly to rejoice in its junkiness.
30
SalonDamien Cave
Just as the author's characters suffer through their immortality, as they crave closure and a death to their blood-sucking madness, so Queen of the Damned demands an end to its own misery. Read full review
30
Village VoiceJane Dark
Aaliyah fans, as well as fans of charisma, sex, and violence, will be sorely disappointed. Read full review
25
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
This kind of fiasco turns movie critics into so many Night Stalkers. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Self-serious, pointless and silly. Read full review
20
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
"Queen" is a movie that stoops to jokes like calling Lestat's CD "a monster hit"; the movie is just a plain old monster. Read full review
20
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Although the movie is set in the rock world and, therefore, should be a sort of extended music video, it's devoid of even MTV-caliber originality. Read full review
20
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
A surreal piece of silliness. Read full review
20
Washington PostStephen Hunter
What saddened me, however, wasn't the silliness but recognizing the great Swedish actress Lena Olin under a lot of "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" makeup. What a waste. Read full review
10
Film ThreatGareth Von Kallenbach
Audiences should demand this film be buried never to see the light of day again. Read full review
10
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Turns out to be a muddled limp biscuit of a movie, a vampire soap opera that doesn't make much sense even on its own terms. Read full review
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