Vampire movies that don't suck

Twilight is killing at the box office, and True Blood just ended its first season on HBO: it's never been cooler to be among the undead. What are your favorite vampire movies and TV shows?  Here are a few others that spring to mind.  --David

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Joss Whedon's seven-season series that had Sarah Michelle Gellar battling fearsome enemies and teen angst at the same time.
• Dark Shadows: Long-running series (it started in the '60s) starring Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins.
• Dracula (1931): iconic horror film starring Bela Lugosi as the title character.
• Bram Stoker's Dracula: Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 version is a little uneven (and has Keanu Reeves in it), but it' s a compelling watch.
• Moonlight: CBS's series starring Alex O'Laughlin made its mark on fans during its single-season run. 
• The Lost Boys: 1987 modern classic starring a young Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric.  Anyone see the recent sequel, Lost Boys: The Tribe?
• Interview with the Vampire: 1994 adaptation of Anne Rice's popular novel starring Tom Cruise and with a pre-teen Kirsten Dunst turning heads as Claudia.
• Nosferatu: F.W. Murnau's silent classic.

Comments

[Al on November 30, 2008 at 01:29 PM]

I vote for "Innocent Blood". It is a comedy and a vampire spoof.

[TiagoDF on November 30, 2008 at 01:45 PM]

Near Dark is also a great one. And one of my favourites is The Addiction (technically about vampires, metaphorically about drug adicts). What about Shadow of the Vampire?

[Paul G. Bens, Jr. on November 30, 2008 at 01:45 PM]

Hands down, Poppy Z. Brite's "Lost Souls" falls into that category for me. And G.R.R. Martin's "Fevre Dream." And Lewis Gannett's "The Living One," while flawed, was a nice homage to Stoker.

[Jim S. on November 30, 2008 at 02:02 PM]

I completely agree with the "Near Dark." Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Adrian Pasdar were all great. I would add "The Hunger" with Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young and Dan Hedaya for the cast alone, but the movie is very stylish and well done.

[KristiC on December 01, 2008 at 05:13 PM]

Another vote for Near Dark. I also *loved* Let the Right One In, a mysterious, funny, and lyrical vampire movie that's in theaters now. Even if Swedish coming-of-age vampire movies are not usually your thing, you should give this one a try.

[Grantaire of Jc on December 01, 2008 at 05:22 PM]

I loved "The Hunger." Then it was a modern, sleek re-interpretation of the vampire saga done artfully.

[Jeff on December 02, 2008 at 12:14 PM]

oh come now, made for TV's Salem's Lot was a classic ...

[Mgmax, le Corbeau on December 02, 2008 at 12:31 PM]

Um, I hate to tell you but MOST of that list sucks, and as usual it's nearly all from the last 20 years or so, like most of these Amazon lists. I mean, Coppola's Dracula, is there a better looking worse movie ever made? The Lost Boys, or as I called it then, St. Elmo's Vampire? I suppose we should be grateful Underworld didn't make the list.

A list that actually, truly did not suck would be: 1) The Horror of Dracula, Christopher Lee as a feral, uncharming Dracula; 2) The Fearless Vampire Killers, Polanski's chilly spoof; 3) I'll go with the crowd, Near Dark's tribe of white trash vampires was novel and the movie was stylish; 4) Ultraviolet, not the Milla Jovovich thing but a very smart and spooky BBC miniseries; 5) The Addiction, a bleakly arty black and white tale which captures the damnation of vampirism better than any other movie; and 6) to my surprise, 30 Days of Night, a very decent, badass and no BS vampire movie for Hollywood.

[Paul A'Barge on December 02, 2008 at 12:31 PM]

Blade.

Dude. You left out Blade? WTF?

[tim maguire on December 02, 2008 at 12:33 PM]

Wow, the pickings for vampire movies that don't suck must be really slim if you had to include Lost Boys and still couldn't get the list to 10. I second The Hunger. It has the advantage both of getting your list to that magic number "10" AND greatly raising the non-suck average of the group as a whole.

[Mark Reitz on December 02, 2008 at 12:39 PM]

What? How could you miss Leslie Nielson's Dracula: Dead and Loving It. It was on TV last week and once again had me rolling on the floor with laughter. A great comedy that also includes Harvey Korman and Mel Brooks.

[John in Seattle on December 02, 2008 at 12:42 PM]

Blade (all three!)

Underworld 1 & 2

w00t!

[Mark B on December 02, 2008 at 12:48 PM]

How about George Hamilton as Dracula in "Love at First Bite"? I was a kid when I saw it, but I remember liking it and casting George Hamilton as a spoof Dracula certainly makes sense.

I can't remember much about the movie, but wouldn't George Hamilton's tanning fetish be good for at least one great gag in the movie? Couldn't you imagine him getting into a pitch black tanning bed and coming out with his famous tan? Not to mention his shallow hedonistic reputation would be the perfect foil to the ultra-serious portrayal Dracula usually gets.

I'm looking at Netflix and it get's fairly good reviews from members who reviewed as a lite, funny, yet dated, 70's era spoof of the story. Dracula, George Hamilton, disco...Seriously, how could it NOT work?

Anyone remember the movie?

[blo on December 02, 2008 at 12:51 PM]

Blade owns all the above. As does Blood: The Last Vampire.

[Ben on December 02, 2008 at 12:58 PM]

The Buffy movie blew, only the TV show rocked.

[Michael on December 02, 2008 at 12:59 PM]

We used to watch a Canadian series on TV called Forever Knight that ran for I think 3 seasons. We don't watch much TV but this was pretty good stuff.

[Scottie on December 02, 2008 at 01:07 PM]

What? Nobody has listed "Fright Night" yet? (Oh Brewster, you're so cooooool! - Evil)

In addition to "Fright Night" I agree with these additional choices:

- "Innocent Blood"
- "Near Dark" (Tied for #1 on my list!)
- "Blade" (but only the first one)
- "Lost Boys" (the sequel sucks, the original was kicka$$)
- "Underworld" (first one was pretty good, but the only thing worthy in the sequel was Kate Beckingsale and her quasi-nude scene)
- "Love at First Bite" (ok, it's a comedy people - but think where she left the bite marks!)

As for the rest, meh, keep em. They are either incredibly boring or so esoteric that most people have never heard of them before.

[Dave S. on December 02, 2008 at 01:15 PM]

One of the cool things about Near Dark is that I don't believe the word "vampire" is ever spoken. It's been years since I saw it, but I believe the closest is the Dad asking his son what happened to him, and the son saying "I got bit!"

And am I recalling correctly that Lance Henrickson's "wife" in the flick was also his co-star in Aliens (as Vasquez?) I'm resisting an IMDB cheat.

[Mark B on December 02, 2008 at 01:15 PM]

Blade sucked.
Blade II sucked harder.
Blade III sucked and was beyond unwatchable.

Don't forget the title of the thread, people. "Vampire Movies that don't suck."

[on December 02, 2008 at 01:18 PM]

How about Kolchak - the Night Stalker? Darren McGavin was a pretty entertaining TV actor.

[BlackOrchid on December 02, 2008 at 01:30 PM]

Sadly, these all kind of do suck. The only good vampire films are Near Dark and Habit.

[TakeFive on December 02, 2008 at 01:41 PM]

John Carpenter's "Vampires" with James Woods.

"From Dusk Till Dawn"

[Funeral Guy on December 02, 2008 at 01:46 PM]

30 Days of Night had very creepy vampires.

[Frank Martin on December 02, 2008 at 01:48 PM]

What? No 'Shadow of a Vampire'? Im tellin ya, Willem Dafoe literally kills in that movie! I mean, come on man get with it...

[ginaswo on December 02, 2008 at 01:49 PM]

the Frank Langella Dracula was tres sexy, and the Abbot and Costello meet the Monsters vamps with Lugosi were kewl....