The Kenblog: Great Movie Vampires!

Nosferatu – 1922 –

F.W. Murnau’s silent classic (and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula) is still terrifying one hundred years later due to Murnau’s skill with lighting and atmosphere and a truly mesmerizing performance of Max Schrek as the goblinesque Count Orlock, this film is as entertaining now as the year it was released.

Dracula – 1931 –

The original is still far more effective than you might think. Tod Browning’s classic tale is steeped in atmosphere as well as the iconic performance of Bela Legosi as the legendary Count. It’s not very scary anymore, but it is steeped with an unsettling vibe and kudos goes to an especially creepy Dwight Frye as the psychotic Reinfield.

“The Horror Of Dracula” – 1958 –

This is the first and best of Christopher Lee’s charismatic take on the Count. The first film (other than “Nosferatu”) to feature Dracula with fangs, this atmospheric retelling of the Stoker story gets incredible energy from the dynamic chemistry between Lee and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing. A true classic!

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)- Francis Ford Coppola’s take is more of a gothic romance than horror film, but Gary Oldman’s performance as the Count is one for the ages and the one that comes closest to Stoker’s literary character. Yes, Keanu Reeves is a bit miscast as Harker, but the visuals have an old school charm and the other perfomances are all entertaining, if not a bit campy at times. This is one of the few films that portrays Dracula as a sympathetic figure.

Fright Night – 1985

One of the best examples of combining comedy and horror, Tom Holland’s “Fright Night” is a hoot 37 years later. Roddy McDowell is great as Peter Vincent, but this is Chris Sarandon’s show all the way. His Jerry Dandridge is frightening and funny in equal measure, becoming one of the most iconic cinematic vampires in history in the process!

Fright Night – 2011

This redo, set in Las Vegas, manages to honor the original while adding some original twists to its story. Colin Farrell’s version of Jerry is far more animalistic than Sarandon’s and that difference is huge in making this film work. Despite some dodgy CGI in the finale that keeps this film from being a classic, this version of “Fright Night” is an excellent film!

Blade II -2002

The sequel to Wesley Snipes first go around as the Daywalker takes everything about the first film and improves it in every way. Guillermo Del Toro uses every ounce of his considerable imagination to concoct a thriller tale that gives us some truly terrifying vampires in the Reaper Strain. Though more an action flick than horror film, the creature design is still enough to give one the shivers! Great action!

Near Dark – 1987 –

Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire western is an underrated classic that needs to be seen. Bill Paxton, Jeanette Goldstein, and Lance Henrickson play a group of roving vampires who infect a local and try to convert him to the family. It’s a great genre cross breed that features brilliant performances (Paxton’s a hoot) and an eerie atmosphere of a desolate desert United States. Well worth a look!

Let The Right On In – 2008 –

This Norweigen vampire film ( and the excellent American remake) is one of the best vampire films of all time and a medation on youth and friendship. The quiet moments impress almost as much as the film’s setpieces, and that swimming pool finale. . .hooboy! Don’t be afraid of the subtitles and just let the brilliance of this film wash over you!

30 Days Of Night – 2007 –

David Slade’s adaptation of the popular comic takes the vampire into savage new territory. Alpha predators more akin to piranha than human, the creatures in “30 Days of Night” use the month of darkness in Barrow, Alaska to have there own little buffet. The film loses a little shock value after the halfway point, but it’s still an excellent movie.

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