Vampire movies part 2
There have been a lot of vampires movies made over the past 100 years. Here is a summary of just some of the vampire films worth watching (though many still need to be included in this list).
A-F | H-O | P-T | U-Z
Higanjima Escape from Vampire Island
Released: 2010
Directed by: Tae-gyun Kim
Starring: Daichi Watanabe, Terri Doty, Asami Mizukawa, Kôji Yamamoto, Miori Takimoto, Hideo Ishiguro, Fumito Moriwaki, Tomohisa Yuge
122 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
Higanjima is an eerie island occupied by vampires, from where none has ever come back alive. When teenager Akira hears that his missing brother has been seen in the island, he decides to investigate with several friends.
House of Dark Shadows
Come see how the vampires do it
Released: 1970
Directed by: Dan Curtis
Starring: Jonathan Frid, Grayson Hall, Joan Bennett, John Karlen, Louis Edmonds
97 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
The story of vampire Barnabas Collins, the possible cure offered by Dr. Julia Hoffman, and his search for love amidst the horror.
I Am Legend
The last man on Earth is not alone
Released: 2007
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Will Smith, Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Willow Smith, Darrell Foster, April Grace, Dash Mihok, Joanna Numata, Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Samuel Glen, James McCauley, Marin Ireland, Pedro Mojica
101 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
Robert Neville is a scientist who was unable to stop the spread of the terrible virus that was incurable and man-made. Immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and perhaps the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone.
I Am Legend is the third version of the classic novel and is available with the original theatrical version and an alternate ending.
I Kissed A Vampire
Released: 2012
Directed by: Chris Nolan
Starring: Lucas Grabeel, Drew Seeley, Adrian Slade, Chris Coppola
110 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
Haunted by bizarre dreams about goth rocker Trey Sylvania (Drew Seeley), with a growing lust for blood, Dylan (Lucas Grabeel) is not your average teenager-he’s transforming into a vampire! It all started when he was bitten by a voracious fanged exchange student, and it’s a process he is desperate to stop-but how? His demented dentist can’t do anything about Dylan’s aching teeth and emerging fangs, and the anti-bloodsucking pills he gets from his para-psychologist just give him a rash. Dylan is terrified and he doesn’t know what to do-especially about his beautiful girlfriend Sara (Adrian Slade). Every time Dylan gets close to Sara his fangs pop out and he gets an overwhelming urge to bite her. He isn’t sure how much longer he can stop himself, so he’s been avoiding her and she has no idea why. Confused and hurt, Sara sings about her frustration. Dylan knows he’s got to explain himself, and vocalizes his torment.
Innocent Blood
The movie that goes straight for the jugular
Released: 1992
Directed by: John Landis
Starring: Anne Parillaud, David Proval, Rocco Sisto, Chazz Palminteri, Anthony LaPaglia, Robert Loggia, Tony Sirico, Tony Lip, Kim Coates, Marshall Bell, Leo Burmester, Angela Bassett, Luis Guzmán, Don Rickles, Rohn Thomas, Tom Savini, Gil Cates Jr., Charlie Gomorra, Frank Oz, David Early, Forrest J Ackerman, Sam Raimi, Dario Argento, Linnea Quigley
112 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
Marie is a vampire living in Pittsburgh. She lives by two cardinal rules: 1) Never play with the food and 2) Always finish the food. By following rule 1, she never gets emotionally involved with anyone off whom she intends to feed. By following rule 2, she creates no new vampires. That is, until she decides one night to eat Italian and gets mixed up with Joey Genaro (Anthony LaPaglia).
Interview with a Vampire
Drink From Me And Live Forever.
Released: 1994
Directed by: Neil Jordan
Starring: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, Antonio Banderas
123 minutes
GMV rating: 4/5
It hadn’t even been a year since a plantation owner named Louis had lost his wife in childbirth. Both his wife and the infant died, and now he has lost his will to live. A vampire named Lestat takes a liking to Louis and offers him the chance to become a creature of the night: a vampire. Louis accepts, and Lestat drains Louis’ mortal blood and then replaces it with his own, turning Louis into a vampire. Louis must learn from Lestat the ways of the vampire.
John Carpenter’s Vampires
Released: 1998
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell
108 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
The church enlists a team of vampire-hunters to hunt down and destroy a group of vampires searching for an ancient relic that will allow them to exist in sunlight.
Kiss of the Damned
Her love will never die
Released: 2013
Directed by: Xan Cassavetes
Starring: Joséphine de La Baume, Roxane Mesquida, Milo Ventimiglia
96 minutes
GMV rating: 4/5
The vampire Djuna tries to resist the advances of Paolo, but she soon gives in to their passion. When her trouble-making sister unexpectedly comes to visit, Djuna’s love is threatened, and the whole vampire community becomes endangered.
Les Dents de la nuit (Vampire Party)
Released: 2008
Directed by: Stephen Cafiero and Vincent Lobelle
Starring: Patrick Mille, Frédérique Bel, Julie Fournier, Vincent Desagnat, Sam Karmann
85 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
Sam, Prune and Alice are three friends from squatter evenings. They unearth the day invitations to the very mysterious Night Medici, they think they have hit the jackpot … déchanteront They quickly discover that their hosts are vampires and all the guests are there to be the BUFFET! Although it was very difficult to get an invitation … it will be nearly impossible to get out! Therefore, our three try to escape by any means, resulting in their flight. (In French, with English subtitles available on DVD)
The film is told in a comedic tone similar Shaun of the Dead, and the horror elements are rendered purposely ineffective through the comic lens. Vampire Party is well done though, and quite amusing with good acting and high production values.
Let Me In
Released: 2010
Directed by: Matt Reeves
Starring: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee
116 minutes
GMV rating: 4/5
This is a remake of the movie “Let The Right One In” which was a movie adaptation of a book. A story of a young boy who is frequently bullied and a young girl that moves in next door with her caretaker. It is established that she is a vampire and, after losing her caretaker, must leave in order to survive. A story of innocent love entangled in murder, mystery, and horror.
Let Me In is a haunting and provocative thriller written and directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield), based on the best-selling Swedish novel “Let The Right One In” and highly acclaimed film of the same name. Chloë Moretz (Kick-ass) stars as Abby, a mysterious 12-year-old who moves in with a man who appears to be her father (Oscar-nominee Richard Jenkins of The Visitor), next door to Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee of The Road), a social outcast who is viciously bullied at school. In his loneliness, Owen forms a profound bond with his new neighbor Abby, but can’t help noticing that she is like no one he has ever met before. As a string of grisly murders grips his wintry New Mexico town, Owen has to confront the reality that this seemingly innocent girl may not be what she seems.
Let The Right One In
Released: 2008
Directed by: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: KÃ¥re Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
114 minutes
GMV rating: 5/5
Oscar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl who turns out to be a vampire.
Lost Boys
Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.
Released: 1987
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Corey Feldman, Corey Haim, Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Alex Winter, Jami Gertz, Chance Michael Corbitt, Billy Wirth, Jamison Newlander
93 minutes
GMV rating: 5/5
A mother and her two teenage sons move to a seemingly nice and quiet small coastal California town yet soon find out that it’s overrun by bike gangs and vampires. While older brother Michael (Jason Patric) falls in with the cool vampires, and begins to become one himself, his nosey brother (Haim) gets in the way. Pushed by a couple of teenage friends, the Frog Brothers (Feldman and Newlander) take it upon themselves to hunt down the vampires that they suspect of a few mysterious murders and restore peace and calm to their town.
The Lost Boys is arguably one of the best vampire movies, and quickly obtained cult status. The 1980s classic changed the vampire genre, while maintaining many of the vampire legends (sunlight, garlic, stakes to the heart), the film made vampires cool and attempted to get away from the dusty sleeps in a coffin, stereotype that plagued vampire films for decades. Not only were the vampires in a motorcycle gang, they could fly without turning into bats and slept upside down from their clawed feet. While being sexy without the previous baggage of the suave gentlemen vampire, the Lost Boys vampires were vicious killers, their feeding violent and blood soaked. The film marked a turning point in vampire cinema, breaking ground for many new vampire movies to come. Of a few disappointments with the film, the writers fell back on a stuffy old man as the head vampire, and in the end the vampires did not receive fair treatment.
After many years of speculation, two sequels were released, though direct-to-video, the movies continued and concluded the Californian vampire saga with Lost Boys 2: The Tribe and Lost Boys 3: The Thirst.
Lost Boys 2: The Tribe
Never grow old. Never die. Never know fear again.
Released: 2008
Directed by: P.J. Pesce
Starring: Tad Hilgenbrink, Angus Sutherland, Autumn Reeser, Corey Feldman, Shaun Sipos, Corey Haim, Merwin Mondesir, Kyle Cassie, Greyston Holt
94 minutes
GMV rating: 4/5
The follow up to the 1987 cult classic horror hit about the battle between Californians and teenage vampires, a brother and sister have moved to Luna Bay, only to get mixed up with a gang of surfers that are more than they appear to be. The sequel takes us back to the familiar shady surf city of Santa Carla, California, where vampire surfers quickly dispatch anyone who tries to invade their turf.
Into this dark world arrive moody Chris Emerson (Hilgenbrink) and his shy sister, Nicole (Reeser). Subtle references to their father, Michael, immediately establish a link to the Lost Boys legend and set a sinister tone of impending doom. Featuring appearances by “The Lost Boys” original stars Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. Having just lost their parents in a car accident, the siblings move in with their eccentric Aunt Jillian and become new prey… to washed up surf legend Shane Powers (Angus Sutherland, half-brother to original Lost Boys star Kiefer Sutherland). Shane has set his eyes on fellow surfer Chris, and through Nicole, Shane wants to bring Chris into the Tribe, unfortunately Chris resists the gift and enlists Frog Brother Edgar, now a seasoned vampire hunter.
The Lost Boys trilogy concluded with the final instalment Lost Boys: The Thirst.
Lost Boys 3: The Thirst
The Frog brothers are back for blood
Released: 2010
Directed by: Darlo Piana
Starring: Corey Feldman, Jamison Newlander, Tanit Phoenix, Casey B. Dolan, Seb Castang, Felix Mosse
81 minutes
GMV rating: 4/5
Vampire hunter Edgar Frog is destitute and nearly friendless, when the beautiful vampire-romance novelist Gwen Lieber offers him a small fortune to go on the vampire hunt of a lifetime and save her brother from an army of newborn vampires who use a new drug called the Thirst, which is a mixture of Ecstasy and vampire blood. Realising he can’t do this alone, Edgar turns to his brother, Alan Frog, to help him save Gwen’s brother.
A bloodsucking fiend is ready to party down vampire style and take over the world. All he has to do is slip ravers a new designer drug that will turn them into a rave-on army of global-dominating vein-drainers. But not if vampire hunter Edgar (Corey Feldman) has anything to say – and do! – about it. Joined by a cute comics clerk and a muscle-bound (especially between the ears) reality TV star, Edgar and brother Alan (Jamison Newlander) man up for the final instalment in the Lost Boys trilogy.
Love at First Bite
Released: 1979
Directed by: Stan Dragoti
Starring: George Hamilton, Susan Saint James, Richard Benjamin, Dick Shawn, Arte Johnson, Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford
96 minutes
GMV rating: 2/5
Dracula and Renefield relocate to 70′s era New York in search of Cindy Sondheim (the reincarnation of Dracula’s one true love, Mina Harker). “Trouble adjusting” is a wild understatement for the Count as he battles Cindy’s psychiatrist, Jeffrey Rosenberg (a descendant of Van Helsing who changed his name for professional reasons?), who may almost certainly, possibly, may be in love with Cindy too.
Love Bites
Released: 1993
Directed by: Malcolm Marmorstein
Starring: Adam Ant, Kimberly Foster, Roger Rose, Michelle Forbes
98 minutes
GMV rating: 2/5
Story about a vampire (80s rocker Adam Ant) who falls in love with a woman and tries to “re-humanize” himself in order to be with her.
Midnight Son
Released: 2011
Directed by: Scott Leberecht
Starring: Tracey Walter, Arlen Escarpeta, Larry Cedar, Shawn-Caulin Young
69 minutes
GMV rating: 2/5
Midnight Son is the story of Jacob, a young man confined to a life of isolation, due to a rare skin disorder that prevents him from being exposed to sunlight. His world opens up when he meets Mary, a local bartender, and falls in love. Tragically, Jacob’s actions become increasingly bizarre as he struggles to cope with the effects of his worsening condition. Forced by the disease to drink human blood for sustenance, he must control his increasingly violent tendencies as local law enforcement narrow their focus on him as a suspect in a series of grisly murders.
Modern Vampires
Taste the evil. Taste the fun
Released: 1998
Directed by: Richard Elfman
Starring: Casper Van Dien, Rod Steiger, Kim Cattrall, Natasha Lyonne, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Craig Ferguson, Udo Kier, Robert Pastorelli
91 minutes
GMV rating: 2/5
Count Dracula is in L.A., running a hideous club scene, and he’s angry that a rogue vampire, posing as a streetwalker, is slashing. He’s also unhappy that Dallas, a youthful undead and former protege, is in town. The rogue slasher, Nico, serendipitously picks Dallas as a victim; after discovering each other’s nature, they become lovers. In fear of the Count, Dallas’s coterie urges him to kill Nico, but he refuses. Meanwhile, a Viennese vampire hunter, Van Helsing, arrives in L.A. and hires the Crips to help him.
Moon Child
Released: 2003
Directed by: Takahisa Zeze
Starring: Gackt, Hyde,
120 minutes
GMV rating: 4/5
Moon Child follows a group of childhood friends as they advance in a futuristic criminal underworld. Sho feels he is doomed to walk in his idol Kei’s footsteps as a vampire with the gift of eternal life and the curse of blood thirst. Over time, their tight friendship becomes corrupted because of their rivalry and love for the same woman. But time heals all wounds, and even the loss of a loved one doesn’t not mean the end, except what happens when a vampire is tired of immortality.
My Babysitter’s a Vampire
Released: 2010
Directed by: Bruce McDonald
Starring: Matthew Knight, Atticus Dean Mitchell, David Wontner, Vanessa Morgan, Ari Cohen, Cameron Kennedy, Kate Todd
85 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
It’s the eve of the first day of high school for 14-year-old Ethan and his buddies Benny and Rory, and they’re ready to shed their Star Trek pj’s and geeky image and finally be cool! Ethan and Benny baby-sit his 8-year-old sister Jane and mark the moment by making the ice cream sundae to end all sundaes. When Jane wanders out to the road by herself and almost gets killed, Ethan’s parents slam him with the worst punishment possible – a babysitter for all of their future Friday night “date nights”. As if that’s not enough to ruin a freshman’s already precarious image, Ethan’s about to find out that his 16-year-old “babe-o-sitter,” Sarah, is not just the hottie he’s crushing on at school – she’s a fledgling VAMPIRE! Ethan, Benny and Rory get dragged into Sarah’s mission to stop her blood-sucking ex-boyfriend Jesse from taking over the town – and they begin to realize that their sleepy little town of White Chapel is holding some dark and spooky secrets. And that they may just have some secret powers of their own. As Sarah’s BFF Erica and the rabid fans of The Dusk Chronicles (those very popular movies where gorgeous vampires try not to eat people) plan for the big Dusk 3 premier and Jesse plans his ultimate vengeance on White Chapel, Ethan realizes that he, Sarah and his friends may be all that stands between life as they knew it – and the end of the world.
My Best Friend Is a Vampire
Released: 1988
Directed by: Jimmy Huston
Starring: Robert Sean Leonard, Cecilia Peck, Rene Auberjonois, Cheryl Pollak
89 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
Jeremy (played by a young Robert Sean Leonard) is a typical high-school student searching for love and sex. Thanks to his after school job delivering groceries, Jeremy lucks out on the opportunity to lose his virginity to the gorgeous Nora (Cecilia Peck), only after his one night stand he finds himself being transformed to a vampire. First, he does not quite believe it himself, but with the help of a 300 year old teacher (played by Rene Auberjonois) and the handbook “vampirism – a guide to an alternative lifestyle”, he finds out that blood, including the pig’s blood he sources at a local butcher, does not taste as bad as he expected. But soon a nefarious vampire murderer appears on the scene and sets his sights on Jeremy. Of course this is a comedy filled with silly antics and few vampire slayings.
My Sucky Teen Romance
Released: 2011
Directed by: Emily Hagins
Starring: Devin Bonné, Tina Rodriguez, Elaine Hurt, Lauren Lee
77 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
On 17-year-old Kate’s last weekend in town, she and her friends plan to spend it together at Space — the local science fiction convention they attend every year. At the convention Kate meets Paul, a recently turned teen-vampire (who is also dressed as one). But when Kate tries to make a move on him, he accidentally bites her in the neck. Kate and her friends soon discover Paul is not the only vampire at the convention, and it is up to them to stop the vampires and find a way to turn Kate back before it is too late.
Near Dark
Released: 1987
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton
95 minutes
GMV rating: 4/5
A mid-western farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of southern vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars.
Night Junkies
Released: 2007
Directed by: Lawrence Pearce
Starring: Vass Anderson, Katia Winter, Jonathan Coyne
90 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
In the seedy London underworld of junkies and prostitutes, a vampire stalks women. When a stripper, Ruby, is bitten, she is determined not to give in to her blood addiction, no matter what.
Night of Dark Shadows
Just another night of… Terror
Released: 1971
Directed by: Dan Curtis
Starring: David Selby, Grayson Hall, Kate Jackson, Lara Parker, John Karlen
95 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
A painter and his wife move into a home and find themselves plagued by ghosts and spirits of his ancestors that used to be witches.
Once Bitten
A one-night stand with eternal complications
Released: 1985
Directed by: Howard Storm
Starring: Jim Carrey, Lauren Hutton, Karen Kopins, Cleavon Little
94 minutes
GMV rating: 3/5
The Countess has a problem. She is a 400 year old vampire who will cease to look young unless she is able to feed on a virgin three times before Halloween, which is only a week away. She sends Sebastian, her servant and all of her lesser vampires out to find one. Finding a virgin is difficult in Los Angeles. Enter Mark (played by Jim Carrey) who has a problem; he wants to ‘do it’ with Robin in the worst way, but she wants to wait. Jamie and Russ, Mark’s goofy friends convince him to go to a Hollywood pick up spot where Mark meets the Countess, on the prowl. Robin’s not going to understand. This goofy mid-80s vampire comedy is more about teenage sex and awkward situations than about the vampires. If you can stand watching Jim Carrey becoming a vampire, then you might enjoy this movie, but remember this movie almost killed Carrey’s film career just as it was getting started.
