How Queen Of The Damned Made Allan Menzies Snap

Warner Bros.Menzies believed murdering his friend would grant him eternal life.

Loosely based on the Anne Rice book series The Vampire Chronicles, Queen of the Damned (2002) was a critical failure following its acclaimed predecessor, Interview With The Vampire (1994). But for 22-year-old Allan Menzies of West Lothian, Scotland, the horror film had a deadly impact.

Menzies would claim in court that he had seen the film more than 100 times and had regular hallucinations of Akasha, the film’s vampire queen as portrayed by the late singer Aaliyah. The character had purportedly promised Menzies that he could become an immortal vampire if he murdered somebody as a sacrifice.

“At the end of the day I knew I would have to murder somebody anyway,” said Menzies. “It was the only way you could do it. If you don’t murder somebody you couldn’t become a vampire.”

West Lothan Police ScotlandMenzies drank his friend’s blood and ate part of his skull.

And on Dec. 11, 2002, Menzies got what he believed was his opportunity for immortality. When his friend, Thomas McKendrick, made a disparaging remark about Queen of the Damned, Menzies claimed to have seen Akasha in his home demanding blood.

Menzies said that he “snapped” and beat his 21-year-old friend over the head 10 times with a hammer. He then stabbed McKendrick a total of 42 times — before drinking his blood and eating part of his skull. Burying the body in a makeshift grave nearby, his crime was discovered weeks later and preceded Menzies’ arrest.

While three psychiatrists agreed Menzies had been suffering from a psychopathic disorder, they concluded it wasn’t a mental illness and thus couldn’t reduce the murder charge based on diminished responsibility. In the end, Menzies was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison — where he took his own life in November 2004.

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