This adaptation of the third novel in Anne Rice's genre-redefining VAMPIRE CHRONICLES is widely and not unfairly lambasted as squandering the source novel's rich material, as it alters and/or dumbs down what was my favorite in the series after the superlative INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE. Seriously, the novel is a superb and highly entertaining sequel with multiple subplots and a legion of fascinating characters, some introduced in this novel and who return in subsequent installments and spinoff series, so there was no way to cram so much into a film with a run time of less than two hours, so a lot was sacrificed, and I do mean a lot. The end result is pretty much just a hollow shell of Rice's story that I have to admit I did not hate. Having loved the book and also being fully cognizant of everything that was excised for the screen, I was entertained by seeing familiar characters, but at the end I was saddened to think of what it could have been if it had been split up into two or three films to tell the fully fleshed-out tale. It also didn't help that the second book in the series — and also arguably the most wildly popular entry — THE VAMPIRE LESTAT, was never adapted. That's a problem, because that book retcons the events of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE and sets up everything going forward. In other words, with this film it's like being dropped into a detail-rich serial that's already in progress and we missed the important second chapter. And, perhaps most egregiously for longtime fans of the books, the film goes out of its way to pull a massive "no homo" when it comes to Lestat and his romantic entanglements. One of the key selling points of the novels is their in-your-face homoerotic content, and there is no trace whatsoever of that here. Anyway, here's more or less what you get with the film:
Lestat (Stuart Townsend), the self-absorbed vampire hero of the chronicles, rises from a long slumber, awakened by the intriguing sounds of 20th Century rock music, installs himself as the front man for the band that awakened him, and re-crafts their content to reveal the ancient secrets of the vampire species in song. In short order, Lestat and his band have taken the world by storm, and when. they announce a massive outdoor concert, vampires from all over the world plan on converging there with plans to assassinate Lestat foremost in their minds. Vampires thrive on humans not believing they are real, so Lestat flaunting what he is on an international scale simply cannot be allowed. Meanwhile, Lestat is being pursued by a fascinated member of an international society of observers of the supernatural, but what is her agenda? And let us not forget that at one point Lestat finds himself in the tomb/throne room of Akasha (Aliyah) and Enkil, an ancient Egyptian queen and king who have existed as living, unmoving statues for millennia, and Akasha is awakened by Lestat's violin playing in the throne room. The pair were the world's first vampires, and their very involved back story is pretty much completely ignored, along with the stories of some other important characters in the novel, and more's the pity, but once revived, Akasha seeks Lestat with a mind to make him her new king. Everything comes to a head at the big concert and much mayhem ensues. By the end, Lestat has gained godlike levels of vampiric power, after which he wanders off with the paranormal observer, who is now a newly-minted vampire.
When it comes to adaptations of Anne Rice's works, I greatly enjoyed the film of INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, even with the odd casting choice of Tom Cruise as Lestat, but I must say that I prefer Stuart Townsend as Lestat. He looks pretty much like I pictured the character when reading him, and his look and performance in the part didn't take me out of the movie like Tom Cruise did. (I got used to Cruise in the role, but Townsend is better.)
Like I said, I did not hate it and I was entertained, but so much was lost in translation to the screen, including a sub-plot involving a young vampire named baby Jenks, and a detailed and utterly savage origin of vampirism, an explanation I never knew I wanted, but what the novel gave me in that department was riveting and memorable, and its loss is a goddamned shame. If anything, sitting through the movie makes me want to dig out my first edition hardcover of the novel (I bought and read it when it first came out) and reread it. I urge you to do likewise.
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