A Bloodsucker By Any Other Name: 10 Great Non-Traditional Movie Vampires
Though they have been portrayed in world folklore as inhuman creatures, Hollywood seems to prefer to depict vampires on the well-groomed side. A long list of aesthetically appealing performers, from Bela Lugosi to Gary Oldman and Robert Pattinson (not to mention Ingrid Pitt, Soledad Miranda and Anne Parillaud)* have cemented the vampire as a sepulchral matinee idol, burdened equally by good looks and an unquenchable thirst for blood.
(* The exception to this rule was Christopher Lee, whose portrayal of the Count for Hammer Films embraced both the seductive and monstrous sides of the cinematic vampire).
But the October 1 release of Let Me In, director Matt (Cloverfield) Reeves' adaptation of Swedish author Jon Ajvide Lindqvist's 2004 novel Let the Right One In (later adapted into a 2008 film by his countryman, Tomas Alfredson), about the relationship between a tormented boy and his new neighbor, a young girl who may be a centuries-old vampire, reminds us that not every movie bloodsucker fits the Tall, Dark and Gruesome bill. Following are some notable examples of vampires who bite outside the box:
Nosferatu (1922), director F. W. Murnau's uncredited adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula starred German actor Max Schreck as the cadaverous Count Orlock, whose ratlike visage remains one of the most iconic in horror film history. Werner Herzog later helmed a 1979 remake/tribute with Klaus Kinski under layers of Orlock makeup as a tormented Dracula, while Shadow of the Vampire (2000) hinged on the conceit that Schreck (Willem Dafoe) was, in fact, a real vampire moonlighting on Murnau's set. Reggie Nalder also donned Schreck-like prosthetics as the animalistic Barlow in Tobe Hooper's TV-movie take on Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot (1979).
Vampyr (1933), Carl Theodor Dreyer's hypnotic, ambiguous fever dream featured Henriette Gerard as an elderly vampiress -- or was she? -- who held sway over a pair of sisters,, and in turn, the film's hero (David Gray, also the film's financier). Other memorable silver vampires include Martita Hunt as the mother of David Peel's demonic Baron Meinster, who repays her loyalty by turning her into the undead in Hammer's Brides of Dracula (1960) and Boris Karloff as a wurdulak - the Russian equivalent of the vampire - who preys upon his family in a segment of Mario Bava's stylish Black Sabbath (1963).
Blood of Dracula (1957) Shortly before making pop culture history with I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1958), producer Herman Cohen released this lurid potboiler about a discontented schoolgirl (Sandra Harrison) who is transformed into a fiend by her mad chemistry teacher. No blood - or Dracula, for that matter - is involved in changing Harrison from bobbysoxer to blood drinker, but her vampiric state - elongated fangs, arched eyebrows, pale face and a colossal widow's peak - is admirably outrageous. Amanda Bearse would undergo a similar transition from beauty to beast, complete with a crocodile's maw, in Fright Night (1985).
Ganja and Hess (1972) Though William Marshall's elegant Blacula (1972) remains the definitive African-American vampire, Duane Jones (Night of the Living Dead) gave an equally memorable performance as an anthropology professor possessed by a craving for blood after being stabbed by an ancient dagger. This thoughtful effort from actor-director Bill Gunn was available only in a severely edited form until its restoration for DVD in 1998. Other black vampires of note include Grace Jones in Vamp (1986) and Cynthia Bond's vengeful seductress in Def by Temptation (1990); the less said about Eddie Murphy in Wes Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn (1995), the better.
Martin (1978) George A. Romero explored the concept of the vampire as the ultimate outsider with this unsettling drama about a disturbed young man (John Amplas) whose romantic fantasies of Victorian vampirism stand in stark contrast to his reality as a serial murderer who drugs and drains the blood of his victims with a syringe. Issues of belief, superstition and their role in a decaying society are at the heart of this dark and thoughtful film, one of the lesser known but most impressive of the zombie auteur's c.v.
Mr. Vampire (1985) Though ghosts and yokai (monsters) seem to be the creatures of choice in Asian culture, both China and Japan have their variation on the vampire in the hopping jiang shi or kyonshi, both of which were popular on screen in the 1980s and 1990s. Actor star Sammo Hung produced a near-franchise of jiang shi films, beginning with Encounters of the Spooky Kind in 1980; the slapstick Mr. Vampire, which starred Lam Ching Yin as a unibrowed Taoist priest charged with putting down an animated corpse, was a worldwide hit that spawned five sequels and countless knockoffs. Japanese cinema also has its share of vampires, ranging from the Gothic-influenced Lake of Dracula (1971) to the live action anime adaptation Blood: The Last Vampire (2009), while the Korean Thirst (2009) was a blend of vampires and science from Oldboy's Park Chan-wook. More traditional vampires were also recurring figures in Filipino horror like The Blood Drinkers (1966) and Curse of the Vampires (1971).
Near Dark (1987) Before she won the Oscar for The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow helmed this imaginative low-budget thriller about a young Oklahoman (Heroes' Adrian Pasdar) who encounters a roving family of vampires, former Civil War vets who prey on the backwaters of the Southwest. An energetic blend of Western, horror, grindhouse chills and dark romance, its chief assets are its gorgeous cinematography by Adam Greenberg and the no-holds-barred performances by Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen and Jeannette Goldstein -- all of whom starred in Aliens (1986) for Bigelow's then-husband, James Cameron -- and Joshua Miller as the vampire clan. Near Dark's influence on the vampire subgenre can be felt in such alt-minded films as Nadja (1994), The Addiction (1995) and the Twilight Saga.
30 Days of Night (2007) Speaking of Twilight, David Slade, who directed the third installment of the franchise, first got his hands red via this pitch-black adaptation of Steve Niles' acclaimed, Eisner-nominated graphic novel (itself originally a film pitch) about an Alaskan town under attack by vampires during a month of polar night. The film's undead, led by Marlowe (Danny Huston), are a savage and visually arresting lot, combining the fashion sense of European club goers with a facial structure that suggests a hideous hybrid of human and bat. Also eye-catching is its re-intepretation of Dracula's Renfield in the deranged Stranger, played to the mangy hilt by Ben Foster. A direct-to-DVD sequel, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days, debuts on October 5.
Grace (2009) Let Me In's Abby (Chloe Moretz) isn't the first child vampire to grace the screen; Kirsten Dunst gave a memorable turn as the predatory, eternally adolescent Claudia in Interview with the Vampire (1994), while both versions of 'Salem's Lot, the anime Blood + and 30 Days of Night all feature underage monsters (and Mackenzie Foy appears ready to join the coven as Renesmee Cullen in the final Twilight films, the two-part Breaking Dawn). However, the most jarring movie vampire child must be the eponymous baby in Paul Solet's 2009 feature Grace, who dies in utero during a car accident, only to emerge from the womb days later, quite alive - but not entirely human. What follows can only be described as every new parent's worst nightmare, with Grace's mother (Jordan Ladd) succumbing to her daughter's diet of blood while defending her from outsiders with a maternal fury gone terribly awry. Audience members reportedly fainted during screenings, so be forewarned. -- Paul Gaita
Richard Harland Smith on October 01, 2010 at 12:49 PM
I was just thinking of Mr. Vampire today and how my kids really need to see that, bad!
Paul Gaita on October 01, 2010 at 03:36 PM
They'll love it!
augustr on October 02, 2010 at 12:26 PM
"Love at First Bite" doesn't count?
Rand1956 on October 02, 2010 at 12:47 PM
No list of elegant vampires is complete without Catherine Deneuve in "The Hunger."
Phillyjim on October 02, 2010 at 12:49 PM
Vampiros Lesbos
Joel on October 02, 2010 at 02:19 PM
I would have to second "Love at First Bite." It has some great lines!
"Children of the night: shut up!"
"What do you think of THIS, Count?"
"I think you should leave cindy alone, and find yourself a nice Jewish woman."
"Damn. It's the other one, isn't it?"
Justin Levine on October 02, 2010 at 02:46 PM
Abel Ferrara's "The Addiction".
A great vampire film that has gotten lost in the discussion since it never made it to DVD.
Mgmax, le Corbeau on October 02, 2010 at 03:53 PM
I was going to mention The Addiction.
I'd also mention the British miniseries Ultraviolet (no relation to the Milla Jovovich one), which has a very chilling enviro-fascist vampire in the form of Corin Redgrave, among others.
Dave Schuler on October 02, 2010 at 05:47 PM
Check out William Smith's James Eastman in the (IMO) under-rated Grave of the Vampire. Many disturbing elements. Blade before Blade.
Paul Gaita on October 02, 2010 at 05:57 PM
Grave of the Vampire is a terrific movie - at one point, available on several DVDs through Retromedia.
Hyman Roth on October 03, 2010 at 10:37 AM
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
Lifeforce
sensations on October 14, 2010 at 11:42 PM
But that Woodman and that Farmer, though they work unceasingly, work silently and no one heard them as they went about with muffled tread: the rather, forasmuch as to entertain any suspicion that they were awake, was to be atheistical and traitorous.
xiao on November 10, 2010 at 11:35 PM
work silently and no one heard them as they went about with muffled tread