(2/11/02, 5 p.m. ET) -- Late singer-actress Aaliyah's performance in the upcoming film Queen Of The Damned is being praised by author Anne Rice, who wrote the novel upon which the movie was based. Rice recently saw the completed film and provided glowing reviews of it on her home answering machine, according to the New York Post (February 11). Rice was quoted as saying, "Fans of Aaliyah, who died so tragically in a plane crash, will probably be more than delighted with her remarkable performance."

  Others who have seen Aaliyah's portrayal of a 6,000-year-old vampire in Queen Of The Damned include Christopher John Farley, the Time magazine writer who penned the new book Aaliyah: More Than A Woman. Farley told LAUNCH, "The first scene she shot for the movie was a scene in which she shows up into a bar and kills a bunch of people and including, like, ripping someone's heart out, and Aaliyah is laughing about it. Not the Aaliyah people knew in life, but this was an Aaliyah for this movie: She was willing to show that angrier, evil side of herself on screen. She was willing to sort of delve into those areas and that sort of takes bravery for an actor."

Queen Of The Damned is due in theaters on February 22.

-- Anna Maria Gibson, New York