Vampires are an old creature steeped in folklore and mythology. Since Bram Stoker wrote the ground breaking Dracula, the vampire genre has mystified millions of fans. Early vampire movies retold Bram Stoker's tale, but as the film industry movies forward and technology takes hold of society, vampire movies grow increasingly complex and creative. For vampire fans, there's simply no substitute for a fresh perspective on this old cult favorite.
Daybreakers (2009)
Unconventional from the start, Daybreakers is the story of a society where Vampires rule and humans are harvested for food. Unfortunately for this vampire culture, they're running out of life giving human blood due to over-harvesting. Vampire scientist Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke) is looking for a substitute, a cure to the rampant hunger, but no answer is presenting itself. No chemically produced answer, that is. Enter Elvis (Willem Dafoe), a former vampire with an unconventional cure. Together, they test the cure and look for a way to bring the cure to the world before time runs out.
Daybreakers is a must see for all vampire fans and while it is certainly unconventional, the ingenuity of the plot is a breath of fresh air in a genre filled with repetitive mediocrity.
Blade (1998, 2002, 2004)
Blade is a comic book-esque half-vampire hero on a mission to rid the world of vampires. With the help of a human named Whistler (Kris Kristofferson), Blade (Wesley Snipes) sets out over and over to prove that he's more than the sum of his vampire and human parts. This hero gets around those pesky urges to drink the life blood of humans with a serum that suppresses his vampire nature while he's on a mad rampage in the name of humanity, whether they like him or not.
The Blade trilogy consists of three movies: Blade (1998), Blade II (2002) and Blade: Trinity (2004).
Underworld (2003) & Underworld: Evolution (2006)
Underworld and Underworld: Evolution are the Romeo and Juliette of vampire movies. Starring Kate Beckinsale as Selene, child of the powerful vampire elder Vikor (Bill Nighy), who falls in love with soon to be lycan-vampire hybrid, Michael Corvin (Scott Speedman). Entrenched in a war between vampire and lycan kind, she must choose between her loyalty to her kind and the love she feels for the dangerous, if unwitting, Corvin. Evolution picks up where Underworld left off with the war between the lycan and the vampires, provoked by Viktor's untimely awakening in Underworld.
A third Underworld movie, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans was made in 2009, but changes the story's focus and scope, focusing on the Lycans.
Van Helsing (2004)
The story of Gabriel Van Helsing and his mission to eradicate the worlds evil, Van Helsing stars Hugh Jackman, with Kate Beckinsale as Princess Anna Valerious. On a mission that leaves him wanted for murder the world over, Van Helsing is set out to kill the powerful and mysterious Count Vladislaus Dracula (Richard Roxburgh). The catch? Van Helsing can't remember who he is or exactly why he's on this mission, all he knows is that he is driven toward his goal to kill the world of evil and Dracula with it.
Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
A fictionalized retelling of the creation of F. W. Murnau’s silent horror classic Nosferatu (1922). The movie purports that the vampire in Nosferatu was a real, live vampire, accounting for the director's obsession with authenticity in the film. Murnau is portrayed by John Malkovich, while Willem Dafoe portrays the inhuman Max Schreck. More a movie, about a movie, about a vampire than a vampire movie, this movie is filmed with cult status in mind.
Whatever your fancy, these vampire movies are sure to please vampire film fans of all ages.
Kristyn Hammond - A freelance professional since 2007, Kristyn Hammond has both her BA & MA in English from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, TX.
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