The soundtrack for this movie, made by Korn's Jonathan Davis, is fantastic! But that's all that's good about this film. From a purely film point of view there are a bunch of under-developed characters, plot holes, and it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. It's not really surprising, since the director (Michael Rymer) has done nothing but 'B' movies, as have the two writers (Scott Abbott and Michael Petroni). I'm truly surprised that Anne Rice supposedly liked this film. If the screenplay had followed the book in any real way, the film would have been EPIC. No matter what the producers say on the official website, it could have been done right, as with The Vampire Lestat, if they had found the right writers and had actually wanted to work at it. But they were more interested in making a money maker, and so ended up with a movie on the threshold of 'B' movie, with a story that makes no sense, and actors that are only so-so. And some may say that the effects are cool, but I say they could have been a hell of a lot better. Especially given the fact that the film was made in 2002.
Now here are my biggest pet peeves about the movie:
1. MAHARET IS A TWIN! In the book she has an identical twin sister, Mekare, and they can both see and speak to ghosts. This is a very important fact as to how Akasha is made into a vampire. The Story of the Twins in the book would have translated fantastically into the movie. They are also very important as to how Akasha is killed. Both of them kill her, not just Maharet. And Maharet does not turn into a statue afterwards. She just goes on living.
2. AKASHA IS NOT African! Don't get me wrong, Aaliyah was very beautiful, was a good singer, and may have become a wonderful actress, but Anne Rice's Akasha was not African. Despite what the producers on the official site say is historical accuracy, it is not. Akasha was a princess from the historic city-state of Uruk, located in what is now Iraq. THIS is historical fact. Akasha would have looked Middle-eastern. Her husband, Enkil (who was sadly under-represented in the movie compared to the book), may have been African, since he himself was from Kemet (very ancient Egypt before it was known as Egypt). But Akasha was not. And I don't understand how in the movie Akasha and Maharet knew each other in the movie, since it is never explained. In the book, they meet in the ancient times, when they are both mortal, along with Maharet's twin sister, Mekare, Enkil, and Khayman, who was Enkil's steward. (Khayman was another destroyed character in the movie. He is also an important part to the creation of vampires.)
3. MARIUS DID NOT CREATE LESTAT! It was a vampire called Magnus, who kidnapped Lestat when he was a young man living in Paris. (This is in The Vampire Lestat.) Magnus then burns himself to death after creating Lestat, leaving Lestat on his own, with no idea what is going on. (Which is why Lestat says what he does in the movie version of Interview with the Vampire.) Marius does play an important role in Lestat's life, and IS the keeper of Akasha and Enkil, but he is not Lestat's maker.
4. JESSE IS NOT A 'COOL, HIP' TWENTY-SOMETHING THAT IS MADE INTO A VAMPIRE BY LESTAT! Yes, she is made into a vampire, but by a vampire called Mael, who lives with Maharet. Yes, she is a member of the Talamasca, because she can see ghosts like Maharet, but she is in her thirties, not twenties. Also, she is a direct descendant of Maharet and Khayman through about thirty generations. Confused? Well, in the movie, Maharet mentions something about the Great Family. Some may have interpreted that to mean the whole human family. Not so. In the book, the Great Family are the descendants of a child that Maharet had right before becoming a vampire, whose father was Khayman. Maharet protects ALL of them, which is why Jesse ends up with her at times when she is a child. Another cool fact about Jesse from the book: She goes to New Orleans and sees the ghost of Claudia from Interview with the Vampire.
5. AKASHA DOES NOT GO AROUND JUST KILLING ALL KINDS OF HUMANS. Yes, she does kill a lot of people, (and just about every vampire), but the humans she kills are MEN. And she doesn't kill them just for their blood. In the book, Akasha, while sitting on her throne like a statue, has come to believe that she is some type of goddess, and wants to rid the world of vampires (who can try to destroy her again as they tried to in the vampire wars of the ancient world), and of men, so that she can rule a peaceful society of women. She believes that all of the worlds problems will be solved that way. She takes Lestat to be her lover, and together they rid a couple of islands of all but a few men (for breeding purposes).
I have a bunch more pet peeves, but I'm running out of room. All in all, if you like the movie, fine. But do not assume that the movie is based on the book in anyway other than title, and the characters names. The actual book by Anne Rice is sooooo much better, and I highly recommend anyone who has seen the movie to read the book. With the book you will NOT be disappointed. (And for those who may have tried to read Interview with the Vampire after seeing the movie, and found it tedious, all the other Vampire Chronicles are a lot more entertaining. They don't read like Interview with the Vampire. Give them a try!)
Now here are my biggest pet peeves about the movie:
1. MAHARET IS A TWIN! In the book she has an identical twin sister, Mekare, and they can both see and speak to ghosts. This is a very important fact as to how Akasha is made into a vampire. The Story of the Twins in the book would have translated fantastically into the movie. They are also very important as to how Akasha is killed. Both of them kill her, not just Maharet. And Maharet does not turn into a statue afterwards. She just goes on living.
2. AKASHA IS NOT African! Don't get me wrong, Aaliyah was very beautiful, was a good singer, and may have become a wonderful actress, but Anne Rice's Akasha was not African. Despite what the producers on the official site say is historical accuracy, it is not. Akasha was a princess from the historic city-state of Uruk, located in what is now Iraq. THIS is historical fact. Akasha would have looked Middle-eastern. Her husband, Enkil (who was sadly under-represented in the movie compared to the book), may have been African, since he himself was from Kemet (very ancient Egypt before it was known as Egypt). But Akasha was not. And I don't understand how in the movie Akasha and Maharet knew each other in the movie, since it is never explained. In the book, they meet in the ancient times, when they are both mortal, along with Maharet's twin sister, Mekare, Enkil, and Khayman, who was Enkil's steward. (Khayman was another destroyed character in the movie. He is also an important part to the creation of vampires.)
3. MARIUS DID NOT CREATE LESTAT! It was a vampire called Magnus, who kidnapped Lestat when he was a young man living in Paris. (This is in The Vampire Lestat.) Magnus then burns himself to death after creating Lestat, leaving Lestat on his own, with no idea what is going on. (Which is why Lestat says what he does in the movie version of Interview with the Vampire.) Marius does play an important role in Lestat's life, and IS the keeper of Akasha and Enkil, but he is not Lestat's maker.
4. JESSE IS NOT A 'COOL, HIP' TWENTY-SOMETHING THAT IS MADE INTO A VAMPIRE BY LESTAT! Yes, she is made into a vampire, but by a vampire called Mael, who lives with Maharet. Yes, she is a member of the Talamasca, because she can see ghosts like Maharet, but she is in her thirties, not twenties. Also, she is a direct descendant of Maharet and Khayman through about thirty generations. Confused? Well, in the movie, Maharet mentions something about the Great Family. Some may have interpreted that to mean the whole human family. Not so. In the book, the Great Family are the descendants of a child that Maharet had right before becoming a vampire, whose father was Khayman. Maharet protects ALL of them, which is why Jesse ends up with her at times when she is a child. Another cool fact about Jesse from the book: She goes to New Orleans and sees the ghost of Claudia from Interview with the Vampire.
5. AKASHA DOES NOT GO AROUND JUST KILLING ALL KINDS OF HUMANS. Yes, she does kill a lot of people, (and just about every vampire), but the humans she kills are MEN. And she doesn't kill them just for their blood. In the book, Akasha, while sitting on her throne like a statue, has come to believe that she is some type of goddess, and wants to rid the world of vampires (who can try to destroy her again as they tried to in the vampire wars of the ancient world), and of men, so that she can rule a peaceful society of women. She believes that all of the worlds problems will be solved that way. She takes Lestat to be her lover, and together they rid a couple of islands of all but a few men (for breeding purposes).
I have a bunch more pet peeves, but I'm running out of room. All in all, if you like the movie, fine. But do not assume that the movie is based on the book in anyway other than title, and the characters names. The actual book by Anne Rice is sooooo much better, and I highly recommend anyone who has seen the movie to read the book. With the book you will NOT be disappointed. (And for those who may have tried to read Interview with the Vampire after seeing the movie, and found it tedious, all the other Vampire Chronicles are a lot more entertaining. They don't read like Interview with the Vampire. Give them a try!)