It's not just the vampires that are damned in Queen of the Damned -- the viewers will feel they suffer the same fate.

This is a very bargain-basement version of Anne Rice's story of Vampire Lestat and his desire for fame and humanity.

Stuart Townsend plays Lestat, a vampire who rises from a long sleep and embarks on a life of sex, blood and rock 'n' roll as the lead singer of a band. Though he openly declares himself a vampire, most just accept it as a cheap publicity stunt.

Almost everything about this flick is cheap.

With the exception of the costumes worn by Queen Akasha (played by the late Aaliyah), the cast appears to have been dressed from racks at Value Village. The wardrobe is mismatched and ill-fitting, but thankfully, much of it is hidden by the poor lighting.

Sure, mood can be created with dark sets and long shadows, but in this case, its main purpose seems to be hiding flaws, including the cheesy sets and the equally unbelievable acting.

Vincent Perez, who plays Marius the vampire who brought Lestat into the world of the undead, is one of the worst offenders. He chews up more scenery than he does necks.

As Jesse, the woman who falls in love with Lestat, Marguerite Moreau fares only slightly better. Her less-than-stellar contribution, can be, in part, blamed on the scriptwriters who failed to give her the character development needed to make the viewer understand her motivation.

Hopefully, Aaliyah fans will turn to her music and not this film as her legacy. The late singer-actress is not bad, but this role mostly asks her to slither and look good, rather than act.

She doesn't even appear in the film until the 50-minute mark and then disappears for another 20 minutes.

Aaliyah's brother Rashad provided some voice-overs after she was killed in a plane crash last year. The result gives an echo to everything she says -- again, it's distracting rather than mood-enhancing.

Townsend is the only one who rises above the circumstances. He has both the needed charisma and sex appeal to be convincing as Vampire Lestat.

Despite his talents, he can't make the very low-budget special effects look good. While Townsend looks fine as he descends to the stage with the help of a cable for what's supposed to be the climactic concert, he looks silly singing to the Goth crowd that is so obviously computer enlarged.

The amateur Matrix-esque fight scenes are passable, but when the vampires disappear using a Six Million Dollar Man-like run, it's difficult not to burst out laughing.

As with most vampire tales, there are no real plot twists or surprises -- it's all predictable and even cliched at times. Queen Akasha pulls out a man's heart and then holds up the beating organ.

If Queen of the Damned didn't take itself so seriously, it could have had a chance of becoming a cult favourite. It's not bad enough to be funny, or good enough to be truly entertaining. (More on: Queen of the Damned).

(This film is rated AA)

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