Within the limitless discourse cycles surrounding the blessings and curses introduced on by the Streaming Wars, there’s one optimistic that completely nobody appears to be upset about — new audiences are consistently discovering films they may not have ever in any other case stumbled upon. This has allowed movies that weren’t field workplace juggernauts to discover and develop a cult following, and even enable forgotten flops to search out the viewers they had been at all times meant to appease. The accessibility of streaming has helped breathe new life into numerous titles, and there is now a brand new pathway for figuring out success: trending on a streaming platform’s Prime 10 record.
For example, the free ad-supported streaming tv (FAST) channel, Tubi, is proving its viewers base is on the suitable facet of historical past by tuning in for the infamous flop, “Queen of the Damned.” A time capsule of the brand new millennium of the very best order, the cinematic adaptation of Anne Rice’s third installment of her “Vampire Chronicles” sequence thrust the sequence right into a world of goth golf equipment, blue-wash lighting, and forged the Princess of R&B, Aaliyah, because the Nice Mom vampire, Akasha. Critics hated it, audiences hated it, and Rice as soon as stated the film had “mutilated” her e book, however time has been sort to the maligned flick now that folks aren’t being such snobs about it.
Is “Queen of the Damned” a “good” film? By all comprehensible metrics … no, it isn’t. The plot is free, Stuart Townsend’s model of the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt has a singing voice that appears like Jonathan Davis from Korn (as a result of Davis truly offered the vocals), and Anne Rice’s whopper of a 480-page novel is condensed to an hour and 45 minutes. Nonetheless, a film being “good” should not have any bearing on whether or not or not you get pleasure from it, and it is clear that Tubi’s trending record is lighting up for precisely that motive.
Aaliyah delivered an all-time nice vampire efficiency
If “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” is a gothic symphony, “Queen of the Damned” is the nu-metal storage band model; louder, sexier, and just a little rougher across the edges. Certain, “Queen of the Damned” is much less prone to be thought-about top-of-the-line vampire films of all time, however Aaliyah unquestionably offers top-of-the-line vampire performances on this scorching mess of a film. Her portrayal of Akasha is transfixing, and she or he slinks by way of scenes like a cobra draped in jewels, chewing surroundings (and males) with equal class. Though it takes practically half an hour for her to seem on display screen, her efficiency leaves a long-lasting influence. It is also not possible to untangle the real-life tragedy that surrounded the movie’s launch, together with her premature demise following manufacturing, imbuing the efficiency with tragic mystique in hindsight, elevating her to mythic standing amongst followers.
The movie’s Scorching Subject aesthetics and edgy soundtrack are sometimes handled like a punching bag, nevertheless it’s additionally what offers the movie such a novel taste in a subgenre of horror that may typically really feel a bit repetitive. “Queen of the Damned” grew to become the cinematic personification of each angsty poem a goth child who spent an excessive amount of time on VampireFreaks.com within the early aughts wrote in research corridor. It could not match the tone of Anne Rice’s lush prose, nevertheless it does seize the emotional melodrama of the story in a method that speaks to the soul of its viewers. Plus, the place else are you able to watch a vampire rock live performance that turns right into a sexy massacre? It takes itself simply severely sufficient to be ridiculous, and in a world of sanitized blockbusters, there’s one thing admirable a couple of movie that goes full diva with out blinking.
Generally, being just a little horrible is what makes one thing unforgettable.
