While the Twilight saga has taken the teeth out of vampires movies somewhat, Hollywood has a great tradition of bloodsucking flicks. I will admit that I haven’t seen any of the really old classics even though I’ve actually read and enjoyed Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Anyway, these are my favourites.
Thirst (2009)
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Ok-bin Kim, Hae-Su Kim
Reluctant or rampant vamps: Both
Blend in or scary: Blend in
Fear factor: 7/10
“Priest Sang-hyeon: I don’t kill anyone, you know. Hoy-sung… He loved helping the hungry. He’d offer me his blood if he wasn’t in a coma. If you only heard the sponge cake story.”
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Reluctant
Blend in or scary: Blend in
Fear factor: 2/10
“Adam: You drank Ian!”
The Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
Starring: Willem Dafoe, John Malkovich, Cary Elwes
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Rampant
Blend in or scary: Scary
Fear factor: 4/10
“Max Schreck: There was a time… when I… fed from golden chalices. But now… Don’t look at me that way!”
Blade (1998)
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Rampant
Blend in or scary: Blend in
Fear factor: 6/10
“Deacon Frost: Maybe it’s time we forgot about discretion. We should be ruling the humans, not running around making back ally treaties with them. For fucks sake, these people are our food, not our allies.”
Stake Land (2010)
Starring: Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Kelly McGillis
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Rampant
Blend in or scary: Scary
Fear factor: 9/10
“Martin: I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe. Things a boy shouldn’t see. I was like any other kid; I didn’t
believe in the boogeyman. Then the world woke up to a nightmare.”
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Starring: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Rampant
Blend in or scary: Able to disguise but ultimately terrifying
Fear factor: 10/10
“Carlos: So, what, were they psychos, or…
Seth: Did they look like psychos? Is that what they looked like? They were vampires. Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don’t give a fuck how crazy they are!”
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Bit of both
Blend in or scary: Blend in
Fear factor: 6/10
“Louis: Her blood coursed through my veins sweeter than life itself. And as it did, Lestat’s words made sense to me. I knew peace only when I killed and when I heard her heart in that terrible rhythm, I knew again what peace could be.”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Starring: Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry, Donald Sutherland
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Rampant
Blend in or scary: Able to blend in but scary when vamped out
Fear factor: 5/10
“Buffy: I can’t believe I’m doing this. I can’t believe I’m in a graveyard with a strange man hunting for vampires on a *school night*.”
Let the right One In (2008)
Starring: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Rampant
Blend in or scary: Blend in as long as she’s dressed
Fear factor: 7/10
“Oskar: Are you a vampire?
Eli: I live off blood… Yes.
Oskar: Are you… dead?
Eli: No. Can’t you tell?
Oskar: But… Are you old?
Eli: I’m twelve. But I’ve been twelve for a long time.”
The Lost Boys (1987)
Starring: Corey Haim, Jason Patric, Keiffer Sutherland
Rampant or reluctant vamps: Pretty rampant
Blend in or scary: Blend in when not vamped out
Fear factor: 3/10
“Sam Emerson: Look at your reflection in the mirror. You’re a creature of the night Michael, just like out of a comic book! You’re a vampire Michael! My own brother, a goddamn, shit-sucking vampire. You wait ’till mom finds out, buddy!”
abbiosbiston 
Great list. Seems like From Dusk Til Dawn gets ignored quite a bit. And while the remake was nice, Let the Right One In is the real classic.
Thanks! I’m a big fan of From Dusk Till Dawn because it’s so incredibly over the top. The remake of Let the Right One In was good but completely unnecessary. It just seemed to be for lazy English speakers who can’t be bothered with subtitles.
Awesome list Abbi, really love it!
Thanks!
I really want to see Only Lovers Left Alive!
I really enjoyed it. It’s very slow paced but the atmosphere it creates is spectacular.
I can deal with that!
And PS: Now you have me wanting to watch Blade again haha!
I really want to rewatch it too!
We should do this haha!
I was worried you weren’t going to include The Lost Boys ha. Great quote for it too, have been tempted to put that one up myself at some point. Loved Blade too.
How could I not? It’s so 80s! Although the scariest thing on it is probably the male crop tops!
Fantastic list. Glad you included Thirst. My list would have Fright Night on it too
Thanks! The orginal Fright Night or the remake?
I actually watched both yesterday! The remake is crap. I love the original, so good
I have to admit that I didn’t love either but the original was definitely better.
Glad I could inspire you! hehe I always love seeing other people’s top vamp lists. Lots of these are really awesome. I haven’t seen Only Lovers Left Alive yet (I know! I know! I’m getting to it! hehe), and Stake Land either, but they’re both high near the top of my (insanely long) to-watch list. Really, they have to stop making cool stuff for a while, just so I can get a chance to catch up!!
I have to admit, though, you’ve got a film in there that I hated. I found Shadow of the Vampire sooo boring. I was amazed that I stayed awake through the whole thing. As for Buffy, I’m not sure it can be considered a “good” film, but man is it ever fun to watch. Especially Lothos’ lackey’s death (which continues in the end credits) makes me laugh myself silly every single time. They don’t make them like this anymore!! hehehe
Thank-YOU for the inspiration! I think a lot of 90s movies are like that. So wrong it’s right. Plus it spawned one of the best TV series ever!
Great list! I really need to get around to seeing Thirst some day…
Thanks! It’s really weird in that way that Korean movies are but also really good.
Great list love it! Where is Interview with the Vampire?! Lost Boys so classic.
Thanks! Interview with the Vampire is in there…. seventh from the top.
Oh Damn!!! I seriously scrolled up and down and thought I didn’t see it. Sorry! I must be going crazy!
Unfortunately, I’ve only see From Dusk To Dawn here. A great list for me to refer for watching horror movies in October for Halloween!
It’s not a bad list to start with. There are some classics here.
I’m not normally a huge fan of vampire films, but I personally enjoyed John Carpenter’s Vampires with James Woods: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120877/?ref_=nv_sr_3
As for the list itself I can say you have an appropriately diverse selection.
Thanks! I don’t think I’ve seen John Carpenter’s vampires so I’m going to add it to my to watch list.
Glad to see Interview with the Vampire get some credit.
It’s the ultimate vampire film.