Top 5 Underrated Vampire Movies
Five Essential Vampire Flicks To Sink Your Teeth Into
Filmmakers have been cranking out movies about vampires for nearly as long as filmmakers have been cranking out movies. In fact, Dracula has been the subject of more films than any other fictional character—with the exception of Sherlock Holmes. Over the years, the silver screen has seen vampire films make billions of dollars. But for every blockbuster vampire film, there are scores of films that fell through the cracks—or have fallen out of favor with modern movie audiences. Monster Complex friend Van Barnett offer five vampire movies that deserve a second look.
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1.Dracula (1931)
Van says: “This is not a joke. Often considered a weak link in the original Universal Monster films, this movie has become very underrated. Sure Lugosi can be one-note, but in the context of this moody, creepy movie, it's the only note you need.”
Although there have been numerous screen versions of Bram Stoker's classic tale, none is more enduring than the 1931 original.
The era of the Universal Classic Monsters started with the iconic Dracula—portrayed in an the equally iconic performance by Bela Lugosi. The film was an adaptation of the 1924 stage play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston—itself adapted from the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker.
The film details the Count’s arrival from Transylvania to England, where he can prey upon the blood of his victims. When he meets Mina Seward, he plans to turn her into his Bride—unless Professor Abraham Van Helsing can stop him.
Although not the first horror movie from Universal, the success of Dracula paved the way for the rest of the Universal monster movies, including such staples as Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932), The Invisible Man (1933), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and The Wolf Man (1941). In 2000, Dracula was selected by the United States Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
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2.Blacula (1972)
Van says: “The title is jokey, but the movie is a solid modern-day vampire story with a great lead performance.”
The 1972 blaxploitation horror film Blacula, directed by William Crain, starred William Marshall in the title role. “Although the title may seem overly simplistic and obvious…Blacula itself is no joke and is, in fact, a legitimate and even dignified horror film with terrifying scenes and enduring moral questions.” (Pop Matters)
In 1780, African Prince Mamuwalde (Marshall) pays a visit to Count Dracula in Transylvania, seeking his support in ending the slave trade. Instead, the vampire curses his noble guest and transforms him into a vampire! Released from his coffin nearly two centuries later by a pair of luckless interior decorators, Mamuwalde emerges as “Blacula.”
“William Crain’s sharp direction, along with the funky music score by Gene Page, and of course the late William Marshall's memorable lead performance make this film a classic of the Blaxploitation genre.”—The Grindhouse Cinema Database
One of the top-grossing films of the year, Blacula was the first film to receive an award for Best Horror Film at the Saturn Awards. Blacula was followed by the sequel Scream Blacula Scream in 1973.
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3.Evil of Dracula (1974, Japan)
Van says: “A Hammer-style Dracula film set at a private girls' school in the Japanese countryside. The third of a trilogy.”
Featured in The Bloodthirsty Trilogy.
Hoping to capture the success of British and American horror films of the period, in the 1970s Japanese film studio Toho brought their own style to the vampire legend with their Bloodthirsty Trilogy, which included The Vampire Doll, Lake of Dracula and Evil of Dracula. There was no story connection to the films—what they had in common were the same vampire theme, the same cast, and and the same crew.
In Evil of Dracula, a professor takes up a new post at an all-girls school only to discover the school’s principle conceals a dark secret and the pupils are in grave danger. “Abounding with images of dark thunderous nights, ghostly mansions and bloody fangs, Michio Yamamoto’s trilogy emphasizes atmosphere and style and is sure to please both fans of classic gothic horror and Japanese genre cinema.”
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4.Near Dark (1987)
Van says: “The scuzzy desert-rat cousin of The Lost Boys.”
Director Kathryn Bigelow’s horror film Near Dark follows a young man in a small American town who becomes involved with a family of nomadic vampires. The film stars Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Jenette Goldstein. Although it wasn’t a hit in theaters, the film garnered strong reviews—and over the years has developed a cult following. In the film’s commentary, Bigelow remarked that the film’s cross-genre appeal was a product of her and co-writer Eric Red starting out to write a Western. However, they realized they needed to include more “salable” elements to their script. She also spoke to the film’s avoidance of traditional vampire lore: “We eliminated the crosses, the garlic, the stakes, the silver bullets, and tried to keep it understandable, as accessible as possible.”
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5.The Addiction (1995)
Van says: “A New York philosophy student gets bitten by a vampire and ponders the nature of good and evil.”
Director Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction is a vampire film that plays out as an allegory about drug addiction and sin. The film, which stars Lili Taylor, Christopher Walken, and Annabella Sciorra, follows a philosophy grad student who’s bitten by a vampire and begins to develop an addiction for human blood. However, as a philosopher preoccupied with justice and the value of human life, she struggles with the moral and philosophical implications—and justifications—as her hunger grows. As SYFY Wire puts it, “Ferrara, a fiercely independent director whose work is frequently hailed as simultaneously brilliant and deeply controversial, decided to be blunt with The Addiction. The word ‘vampire’ is never mentioned throughout the film’s scant 82-minute running time. The hunt for blood is referred to as getting a fix or a hit. In some scenes, biting is exchanged for injecting blood straight into one’s arm. This is a form of vampirism wholly stripped of glamour and allure.”
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Originally published July 2020
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