THE MOST BLOOD-CURDLING, SHADOW-FEARING VAMPIRE FLICKS EVER!
November 19th 2009 22:34
Have I actually seen Twilight (2008)? No, of course I haven’t, it’s not my cup of adolescent, melodramatic romantic twaddle; I call a spade a spade, and Twilight needs burying. Of course by the middle of next week New Moon will probably have broken some kind of box office record, and that’s sweet irony.
My criterion for vamp selection excludes most of the obvious spoofs, satires or broad comedies. Don’t get me wrong; there are many excellent vampire comedies from across the spectrum, such as Vampire’s Kiss (1989) and The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). But I decided I wanted to concentrate on the scary ones, the atmospheric ones drenched in dread and foreboding, the ones most likely to stop your heart, the blood draining from your face.
Innocent Blood (A French Vampire in America) (1992)
John Landis does for vamps what he did for werewolves; dark comedy streaked with blood. Anne Parillaud is a most strikingly sexual and contemptuous vampire indeed!
Near Dark (1987)
Nomadic clan drift from small town to small town, hungry and squabbling, then one of their own falls for a mortal, it can only get sticky.
The Addiction (1995)
Vampirism as metaphor for drug addiction, as portrayed by Lily Taylor through the dark shadowy morals of New Yorker Abel Ferrara, this is vamp anxiety with serious intellectual bloodletting.
30 Days of Night (2007)
Savage, primal, hellbent; this was the most exciting and violent vampire movie in years. These are the hideous undead you certainly don’t want to play silly buggers with. Rather curiously director David Slade is directing the Eclipse installment of the Twilight Saga.
Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
German Expression at its most unnerving. Max Schreck is Graf Orlok. Director Murnau freely plays with Bram Stoker’s novel creating probably the most nightmarish adaptation of Dracula ever committed to celluloid.
Another Bavarian countryman, Werner Herzog, delivers a rarity; a remake as compelling as the original, that is oh so different, yet bewitchingly similar in atmosphere. Klaus Kinski inhabits the vampyre Count with unctuous ease.
Let the Right One In (2008)
This turned out to be the most satisfying and rewarding mainstream vampire movie in years. Whilst being poetic, it didn’t shy from its darker framework (although nowhere near as dark as the original novel).
Daughters of Darkness (1971)
Another German production, echoing with sensual abandon from modern horror’s most provocative decade. This dares not to play by the rules, feels perverse, but chaste, and lingers like a bewitching dream.
One of the best Stephen King adaptations, Tobe Hooper’s made-for-television two-parter was re-edited into a much creepier and more violent feature. The floating kid scratching at the window still makes my skin crawl.
Cronos (1993)
Guillermo Del Toro’s debut feature kicks arty ass! Vampirism plucked from the ancient past and the projected into the future via the present. Creepy-crawly ingenuity that gleams in the night.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Forget Keanu Reeves dire portrayal of Harker, Francis Coppola’s reasonably faithful, and dramatically stylized telling of the legendary novel is a sumptuous display of bravura cinematic storytelling.
Martin (1977)
George Romero strays from the zombie path to delve effectively into one man’s delusion and paranoia, a desperate thirst for sanguine in a world oh so cynical and real.
From Dusk Till Dawn (1995)
Wild and wicked, lewd and lascivious, director Robert Rodriguez with both stakes blazing, writer Quentin Tarantino playing sub-genres to the hilt and then some. Salma Hayek steals the show.
Now for the lycanthropes! Scary, sweaty werewolf movies are a rare breed indeed! Much to my dismay, I was hard-pressed to think of more than five that possess a serious bite. Perhaps that’s why I’ve started co-writing my own werewolf feature …
The Most Hair-Raising, Howl-Inducing Werewolf Flicks Ever! (well, five of them at this stage)
This is the seminal comedy classic from director John Landis that stars Rick Baker’s truly astonishing special effects make-up (years before CGI). Griffin Dunne and Jenny Agutter have a ball.
The Howling (1981)
Made at the same time as American Werewolf, Joe Dante’s movie features the equally impressive special effects makeup work from Baker’s protégé Rob Bottin (only 21 at the time). This is another bona fide fright-chuckle classic.
Lycanthropy as metaphor for the menstruation cycle, this was the most original and freshest flick sprouting lupine hair since Landis and Dante butted heads. Emily Perkins and Katherine Isabelle are superb.
Dog Soldiers (2002)
Neil Marshal delivers a masterful exercise in macho cowboy shenanigans pitted against huge monstrous wolfmen in the woods. It’s every man - and the odd woman - for themselves, it’s gonna get hairy!
The Company of Wolves (1985)
The fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood gets a makeover courtesy of contemporary mythmaking author Angela Carter and is directed with consummate style and wit by Neil Jordan.
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Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Catherine Stebbins
Cinema Enthusiast
Thoughts from a Cinephile
Thoughts from a TV Watcher
I too am anxiously waiting for Jack & Diane! It was announced so long ago and I've been waiting since then but it seems to be at a halt for now.
I think it is really interesting that David Slade is directing the next Twilight. Not that I give a shit, but since I absolutely love Hard Candy, It is hard not to take notice of that particular director/film match up.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I also love Hard Candy (very hard to watch at one point!!!) I'm a great fan of both Page and Patrick Wilson. I hope Slade injects some of the intensity he used in 30 Days of Night for Eclipse, but he'll be battling the producers and the MPAA on that one!
Comment by Earl Leonard
Cook Focus
Earlsthoughts
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
No Nadja? In the world of vamp films I love how this one toyed with convention.
And you know my soft spot for Eric Red's Bad Moon, that was a fun night of werewolf action seeing that one with you just before leaving.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Bad Moon? Disappointing, but I think you hyped it too much for me
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Comment by Earl Leonard
Cook Focus
Earlsthoughts
Anyway, horror films...
I loved Ginger Snaps, did you see either of the sequels (prequel)? Worth checking?
Loved Dog Soliders too and think its a pity the planned sequel to that fell through.
Heard they're gona make a bunch more 30 Days of Night based on the other GNs of the series. Onyl problem with that movie was my brain comparing the effects unfavourably with Templesmiths awesome artwork. Then again, he's one of my fav illustrators in gen.
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Yeah, I reviewed both Ginger Snaps II: Unleashed and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning
I have a particular fondness for 30 Days of Night, a) because my father has a small part in it (the old man who gets his head severed near the beginning) and b) I met Josh Hartnett in Brooklyn recently ...
Comment by sethtg
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Comment by Xstine
Comment by sethtg
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I really wanna see Subspecies, but it's not available on DVD and it's hard to find on VHS. A Goth girl recommended it to me a wee while back.
Comment by sethtg
If subspecies is as good a movie I hear now, I just may have to see it now. Boy that was a mouthful, but to sum it up. No I havent seen them really. And subspecies is starting to sound pretty interesting the more I hear about it, and look up, H ave you heard of "Species" I think it is still in the making, but I saw a picture from it and it grabbed my attention, seems interesting enough. Chimera chick with wings killing people. Very interesting, at least I think that thought is right. I know it is about a human chimera that evolves through her lifetime and bad stuff happens. I tent to rant, srry.
Comment by sethtg
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
Species? You mean the alien flick with Natasha Hendridge?
So you've seen the first Ginger Snaps movie? That's easily the best.
You must watch The Howling and An American Werewolf in London and Dog Soldiers.
Check the links in the post for my reviews of all movies (cept Uwe Boll)
Comment by sethtg
K I'll check those out, also since I found this site, I just realized I still havent seen "The Shining." I just love thos old classics. Nothing better than introducing an original idea.
I am such a big fan of the Halloween movies, I love those old John Carpenter films.
By the way, I saw Stephen King's "It" I'm 18, I used to thing clowns were a little odd. Now that movie probly just pushed me past the line, haha, but seriously, most disturbing clown ever
Sometime, for the movies I havent seen, I should be taken out back, instead of Uwe Boll.
Comment by sethtg