Vampire Thoughts

Bob on Vampires in film.

In the last few years there has been a rising fascination with the vampire, and the (for lack of a better term) nature of the beast has changed greatly since I was a youngster viewing Dracula for the first time. Movies like Twilight, and shows like True Blood and Vampire Diaries have basically made it cool and sexy to be a creature of the night; and when I say sexy, I don’t mean in a forbidden way, but more in a GQ kinda way.
I remember a day and age not too long ago where the vampire was a monster and not a model. They were sometimes beautiful and alluring (and you could say sexy, I guess) but there was a darkness about them that was chilling and frightful, and you risked your own soul becoming involved with their kind.
Today’s vampires have nothing of that mystery or gothic beauty to them. Edward Cullen and Bill Compton have absolutely no darkness to them whatsoever. I’m not saying it is wrong to enjoy these works of vampire fiction. I just think that today’s audience would do well to remember the Eastern European Strigoi, the true vampire, who will damn you to the living Hell they have to endure.

Here’s a short list of vampire movies that I think stand out:

Nosferatu (1922) The first true vampire film loosely based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Silent and beautiful yet showing the vampire as a hideous monster.

Dracula (1931) Bela Lugosi could hardly speak English when he virtually created the visage of the vampire in his landmark film, so he had to deliver his lines phonetically, which many would agree helped to create his character as much as his chilling expressions of blood lust.

Vampyr (1932) This is one of the first sound-movies from Carl Dreyer, was a well-known silent movie director in Germany. So even though this movie about a traveler who comes across a vampire in an old inn has a sound track, it still has the feel of a silent film, which is a good thing for the movie.

The Lost Boys (1987) Okay, everyone likely knows this one, and it is one of my personal favorites too. It did spawn a couple of horrible sequels, though.

Subspecies (1991) This movie has both the hideous Nosferatu type vampire and the dashing Eastern European vampire-good guy in a battle over the lives of three American tourists. This, and it’s 3 sequels, and spinoff movie Vampire Journals are all worth watching.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) This is the best one of the series, in my opinion.

South Park Episode 12:14 - The Ungroundable. The Twilight movie inspires the popular kids of South Park to go “vampire” which royally ticks off the resident goth kids. In his attempt to understand them, Butters becomes enamored with their nature and becomes one of them (of course he thinks he’s a real vampire.) I put this on this on the list because I think the episode is absolutely hilarious.

Those are just a few. There are lots of good ones out there. Expand your
horizons.