My Fave:
15. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
One of the earliest "Monster Rallies" I saw as a kid on a local TV frightfest show called "Creature Features". I remember my older brother telling me right before the program started that just because this is called "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" the truth was that all three of the Universal Monsters Top Trio of Terror, Franky, Dracky & Wolfy, would be making an appearance throughout this film.
To which I couldn't help but inquire "All three of 'em? Cool. Who's on first?"
14. From Dusk Till Dawn
It's bad enough when an innocent family finds themselves in the midst of the carnage & blood of a hidden coven of cravenous, murderous vampires,
but then on top of that, they also have to face the snake-cradling Selma Hayek & her absolutely formidable & absolutely perfect puppies.
Dracula can only
wish that his eyes were
this hypnotic.
13. The Night Stalker
Ah, I have a real soft spot in my heart for horror movies that were made for the TV back during the seventies.
But because of the countless batch that were spawned during this decade, most were crafted from writers who seemed to have gotten their "writer's license" right out of the seventh grade,
only three are worthy enough to include on any of my lists of favorite fright flicks.
Two of 'em, Dead Of Night & Tilogy Of Terror belong on a list of Favorite Demon films. The third one, The Night-Stalker, which eventually would become a TV series, belongs right here.
Never too over the top, but just enough of a touch of camp, a few dabs of bad monster make-up & a pinch of seventies kitsch,
this movie is a recipe that crosses the side of a fine line to make it into my personal cache of warm happy childhood memories.
12. Dracula (1992)
Directed by the man responsible for the Godfather, F.F. Coppola, & starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, not to mention that one guy from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (a role, in my eyes, that he will never be able to escape from...heheheheh....), Keanu Reeves.
In a most epic flick depicting the "real life" adventures of that most excellent of all vampires,
Dracula, d00d.
11. Near Dark
Half the cast that portrayed the soldiers in Aliens reunite as a gang of vegabonding vampires..
This biker band of bloodsuckers (count how many times I use the term bloodsuckers on this list) (get it...? ......"count"?....) are hardcore.
Unlike many of the wimpy vamps of today, these guys lived up to the descriptions "bloodthirsty", "throat-ripping", "stonecold" & whatever other adjectives were originally attached to their kind since the time of their folkloric ancestors.
10. The Addiction
The subject of addiction has been the theme to many movies. And so has the subject of vampires.
This one tackles both.
In lovely black & white with a few interludes into philosophy....
which, at certain points, kind of left me screaming for blood.
But in the end, the climax resolved itself in manner that found this story back into the genre of horror, with a dash of "brains" added into the mix.
Which was quite nice.
And when I say "nice",
I mean nice by vampire standards.
9. Shadow of the Vampire
Back when the world of cinema was still in it's infancy, how could a director make a film about a vampire at a time when the first CGI special effects won't make an appearance for yet another 70 years?
Easy.
Instead of an actor, hire a real-life vampire for the lead role.
*Insert your own "Hollywood-is-nuthin'-but-a-buncha-bloodsuckers-anyway" type of wisecracking analogy here*
8. Stake Land
Is it my imagination, but doesn't "Stake Land" sound like it could be the name of a franchised beef restaurant?
Anyways,
take the 2009 zombie flick "Zombieland", remove the humor, replace the zombies with mindless vampires, & of course, replace the word "zombie" in the title with the word "Stake", & what you end up with, is this movie.
A bloodsucking apocalypse that I found myself enjoying a bit more than the comparable & much more popular "I Am Legend".
7. Nosferatu the Vampyre
I gotta tell you guys, I hate most remakes.
Or, more specifically, I hate remakes of quality classic films.
There's a reason why a classic is a "classic". If a film is considered a classic, there's very little reason to remake it. Because, most of the time, the remake will never be able to make the kinda mark that the first one did.
I don't even like watching remakes that are generally considered good. Because, even if they're good, for me, they're still not as great as the original. I always felt why should I settle for watching something "good" when I can watch something "great". (I guess that's why you don't see Let Me In on this list....)
As I said at the beginning, I hate most remakes.
Obviously, since this movie is on this list, I'm sure that you've figured out by now that Nosferatu the Vampyre is an example of one of the rare few that I like.
Directed by the stylishly cinematic talents of Werner Herzog, it's no wonder that the updated Nos pays homage to the original quite faithfully, yet with just enough distinction to stand on it's own.
6. Blade
A very insignificant character in the Marvel universe of comicbooks is transformed on the big-screen into a sword-welding, bad-@ss with the fighting skillz that Batman only wishes he possessed. The fight scenes in this movie are a true stand-out for any kind of action movie. Yo, and the story & visuals supercede any comicbook that Blade was ever involved in.
Now this is how all comicbook superhero film adaptations should be approached.
(BTW, even tho as a comicbook movie, I have Blade ranked at #4 ,
as a vampire character, Blade definitely rates as #1.
So, for any vampires out there reading this, I don't care what your position is in the bloodsuckers' heiarchy, Blade would still kick all yo' asses.
Suckas.)
5. Nosferatu
Before there was Lestat, Blade, Eli, that whimpy, waspy whitey, Edward Cullen, or even Dracula* hisself,
there was this guy.
The first vampire ever to be captured on screen & still is, by far, the creepiest looking bloodsucker of all time.
* For all you nick-pickers out there,
yeah, I realize that this film is based off the classic novel of Dracula, but as a film, I'm sure you get the the gist of what I'm saying.
4. Drácula
At the time of this posting, this is a movie that I had just recently watched for the first time.
As I posted in some of my earlier entries, the Universal Movie Monster Trio, Dracula, Frankenstein & The Wolfman are perennial favorites on my TV set every Halloween. I had meant to watch this Spanish version of Dracky for awhile now, especially since TCM tends to show it every once in a while, back to back with it's American counterpart.
Filmed at the same time (literally) as the Bela Lugosi version, this one features the same energy & enthusiasm as it's originator, seems even crisper in appearance (at least, to my eyes), & has more creative camera work than was allowed to the original version. Yet the best part of it all, is that this one is longer in length, but without any sacrfice to it's story quality.
Though, the actor playing Dracula doesn't seem to have the "weight" in his presence that Bela Lugosi did,
over-all, this is still a version of the "rey de los vampiros" that, after finally watching it, makes me feel like I just struck some big time cinema gold.
3. Lost Boys
Okay, let's just forget the vampires in this movie for a second.....
Any movie that can feature a Corey in it, let alone two, & still come off as cool,
well, that would be a movie that surely had to have been touched by the hand of God.
I wouldn't be surprised if the director, Joel Schumacher was actually the Christ in his Second Coming ( I mean seriously.... Jesus did rise from the dead after 3 days, often spoke of drinking his blood, & simple logic would dictate that he would have developed an aversion to wooden crosses....
so, you'know.... it all fits....)
2. Let The Right One In
Good horror movies come so rarely into my life. The same with good vampire movies. And the same also goes for good love stories (I refrain from using the term "romance movies" since I find Hollywood's idea of romance is always so impossibly & ridiculously fairy-tale-like). This movie is 2 outta 3 (Though there is some, it's very light on the horror).
Told more in an adult manner, yet still with enough of an escapist sensibilty that is respective to the genre, this is a soft, beautiful & beguiling story (which is really saying something since I don't know what that word means) of two 12 year olds finding love for the first time thru the flaws of each of their separate (& sometimes desperate) life situations.
The lead actors for this movie portray their characters with a true down to earth awkwardness that is usually found with kids at this age, along with a longing that is both sincere & convincing.
As far as vampire love stories go, I find myself agreeing with those who compare this one with another human-falls-for-bloodfeeder film that was released around the same time :
the 15 year old girls can have their Twilight. I'll take LTROI.
1. Dracula (1931)
Okay, so in the film world, even though Nosferatu came first,
it's well known that it was the tale of the original Count Dracula that Count Orlok was modeled after.
Therefore, when it comes to the big screen, this is 1931 movie is the one that finally brought the one true Master Of The Dead to life.
And I don't care what any of the younger viewers of today might think of the old Count,
as far as I'm concerned, he's still the O.G. of bloodsucking bloodsuckers, suckas.
Sure, maybe his accent & royal sash have been spoofed, satirized & caricaturized to the point some may feel desensitized to his presence on the screen. But there can be no denying that his contributions to the iconography of horror and to pop culture in general, is and will always be "countless".
For instance, we should never forget that if it weren't for him, instead of Count Chocula, that brand of cereal would just be called something like Chocolate Flavored Cereal Wit' Chocolate Flavored Marshmellows In It.
So y'know....
pay 'em his due propers.
Suckas.
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