With the upcoming release of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu, our crew got together to discuss some of our favorite vampire movies! Let us know your favs @SiftPop!
“There’s been only one Blade! There’s only ever gonna be one Blade!” says an unnamed character in the recent Deadpool & Wolverine. And even though it was meant as a cheeky joke, it’s still true to this day. What Wesley Snipes brought to the role of this daywalker who tries his hardest to stay on the right side, while battling his urges of being half vampire, half human, is underappreciated. His commitment, the easiness with which he portrays this pretty complex character… When talking about perfect casting choices, his name is rarely top of anyone’s list, and yet it should be, because he is Blade. He is cool, threatening, and menacing, but with a softer side to him, and the first Blade movie displays it so well; I wish the current MCU would take notes and make more movies in this tone. Because Blade still has some funny moments and lines, while being serious and introducing this character so perfectly — it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing this role. Sure, it might be a bit more ‘90s, but Blade is still an underappreciated Marvel film before Marvel became the behemoth it is. (Luke Burian)
You’ve heard of Snakes on a Plane, the infamously goofy action movie that doesn’t have much beyond its basic titular premise, but what about another film that takes the very basic premise of “_____ on a plane” and stretches it into a feature film? Netflix’s 2021 film Blood Red Sky does that with the blood-sucking vamps we’ve come to love seeing on our screens since Nosferatu changed the game. In another world, thisis a tale about finding the line between the human and animalistic parts of ourselves, and the intricacies of maintaining a balance between the two. In our world, it’s just about vampires on a plane, but that’s more than okay. It’s not that deep, but it pulls off the premise surprisingly well. It follows Nadja (Peri Baumeister), a widow who boards a plane to New York with her soft-spoken son Elias (Carl Anton Koch). The plane is hijacked mid-flight, and for a bit, we follow the expected story pattern of terrorists taking control. This time, though, there’s an added twist — there are monsters, and they’re hungry for blood. What follows is absurd and heartbreaking; everything is played completely straight, but with ridiculous concepts and heightened performances. It’s an action-packed, hyper-violent thrill ride. As is the case with the majority of streaming originals, this flew (ha) under the radar, and thus, I must become its champion. Aerophobics, beware. (Rowan Wood)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer deserves credit for helping to make the Warner Bros. the juggernaut it became. Sarah Michelle Gellar became a household name as the titular slayer, with a show stepped in mythology and world-building. The series helped catapult the term “strong female character” into the pop culture lexicon, while also breaking ground on LGBTQIA+ issues and experimenting with episode formats like a silent episode and a music episode. What really sets Buffy the Vampire Slayer apart, though, is its willingness to talk about high school topics like bullying, love, and finding your tribe. The creature designs are fantastic, but the vampires really stand out. Whether you were team Spike or team Angel, those two made a mark on television by popularizing the love triangle for teenagers. Overall, Buffy the Vampire Slayer will go down as one of WB’s most important shows, as it created a path forward for what successful shows on the network would eventually become. We wouldn’t get shows like Smallville, Gossip Girl, and The Vampire Diaries without Buffy. (Mike Hilty)
Long before Twilight, there was Interview With the Vampire. The original sparkly, homoerotic vampire film that captured the imagination of the days youth. Upon release, this film didn’t have the best reputation. Critically panned for reasons I can only speculate on. Maybe it was because it took people by surprise by its level of campy, overacted and overdramatized lives of a soulless, evil vampire and his apprentice. Sure, it’s poetically pretentious, but it’s also a great study of someone coping with pain and regret. Brad Pitt is solid enough as the vampire being interviewed in modern times (the ‘90s). He would do anything to escape the pain of losing his wife and child, even if that means causing pain to others over the following centuries. However, the standout is clearly Tom Cruise as Lestat, a role the likes of which he has never played before or since. Scenery-chewing, snake-charming, evil incarnate. His character arc is fascinating, and Cruise’s true range of talent is on full display. To be frank, I’m not sure he has demonstrated all of his tricks in a single movie like he does here. I also can’t talk about this film without mentioning a stellar performance from an 11-year-old Kirsten Dunst, who is epically dynamic, coming very very close to stealing the entire film. An incredible introduction to her talent. Brilliantly scored by Elliot Goldenthal, and very well-directed by Neil Jordan, the film hit me in my late teens, a pretty impressionable time in anyone’s life, and it’s why I still adore it. (Adam Ritchie)
Let the Right One In is a Swedish horror/coming-of-age film based on a novel of the same name. It follows 12-year-old Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), an outsider and bullying victim with his mind set on revenge, who strikes up a relationship with the mysterious Eli (Lina Leandersson), his new and mysterious neighbor. This film shouldn’t work. Oskar is far from the most likable character, but the story somehow gets invested in him and Eli’s relationship. A lot of the credit for me goes to writer John Ajvide Lindqvist, who, in adapting his own novel, chooses the right places to trim. He omits much of Eli’s backstory (by far my least favorite parts), and the result is significantly superior. As someone who is generally not the biggest horror fan, this film manages to transcend that to become one of my all-time favorites. Its foundation is a great story first that just happens to contain a vampire, instead of focusing on the vampire aspects to the detriment of the story. (For those foreign language film averse, the American remake starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz and directed by Matt Reeves is fine, too, but watch the original if you can.) (Jake Bourgeois)
Beyond being among the best vampire stories, Midnight Mass is one of the best seasons of television in general. Mike Flanagan tells a deeply personal story invoking his fears of the horrors his alcoholism could have caused, and he explores his complex history with religion. An altar-boy-turned-atheist, Flanagan shines equal light on both ideologies, along with Islam. No punches are pulled, as the good, the bad, and the ugly are all on display. While Midnight Mass lacks the visceral scares of The Haunting of Hill House, it is every bit as adept at developing characters, maybe more so. The “angel” is terrifying in its limited appearances, but the true horror on display is the fallibility of people and the corruption of power. Midnight Mass shows a struggling small island community get turned upside down when a mysterious priest arrives, and miracles soon follow. Hamish Linklater delivers a criminally underrated and powerhouse performance, deeply layered with mystery, compassion, aggression, and everything between. His take on the young priest with ulterior motives is the best acting in a stacked lineup of Flanagan’s Netflix projects. Close behind is Samantha Sloyan as Bev Keane, a self-serving and hypocritical religious zealot who cherry picks whatever scripture best suits her current needs. The show is loaded with lengthy monologues, but they are all brilliant. The creature’s screentime is limited, but its moments are worth the patience, and its impact is felt throughout the story. (Jason Mack)
Any discussion on vampire films feel like they would be incomplete without discussing the F.W. Murnau classic Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror, which to the surprise of no one has been in my must-watch list for a while. If any film were to ever match the enduring status of movies, it would easily be this one. Not only because the film itself was ordered destroyed, but because of how colloquially it has become to the genre itself. From the terrifying presence of Count Orlok to the demise of the creature in the end, this film has left its fingerprints on future movies of the genre. Even for a silent movie over 100 years old, there is a sense of eerie dread hanging over you, as you first meet Orlok and his retinue in his castle, with effects that hold up even a hundred years after this movie was made. Just maybe sleep with one eye open…. and don’t answer any inquiries for property from a count in Transylvania you’ve never heard of. (Joseph Davis)
Let me be clear about something I believe: Vampire stories are often messy and ridiculous. They want to be horror, but at times they also want to be Catholic adjacent. Saints. Priests. Sacrifices. Eternal Life. Crosses and Crucifixes. It is just so absurd to try and fit any of that with a story about beings that live off of blood. I’m not saying you can’t mesh two ideas, but usually those ideas don’t go well together. But you know what other time of life is ridiculous and messy? High school. Vampire Academy had the genius idea to stick all those concepts into a stew together. A school for youthful blood-suckers to learn more about their history, get training for their gifts, and do normal teenage BS like party, spread rumors, and break hearts. Zoey Deutch is the perfect star for this movie, too. She’s sassy, physical, and more than charming enough to get audience to root for her. Is this movie also convoluted and ridiculous and faster paced than peak roided-up Lance Armstrong? YES. But there has to be a sharpest tool in the shed. Or in the case, a sharpest fang in the mouth that is vampire movies. This movie is entertaining, funny, and well-acted. If you skipped it 10 years ago, give it a shot instead of watching the new peacock show. It’s free on Roku right now. You cannot borrow my Blu-ray of it. (Samuel Nichols)
You might think you’ve seen Nic at his absolutely Cage-est, but I assure you, until you’ve watched Vampire’s Kiss, you have not. I don’t even know where to begin with the fever dream that is this movie because vampires existing may be the most believable part. Cage plays the most narcissist of misogynistic ‘80s, white collar, New York yuppies ever captured on film, and following his journey of believing he is becoming a vampire, following a one night stand, is the most unhinged I’ve ever seen him. He manages to make a rant on alphabetizing file folders more off the rails than buying plastic vampire fangs and attacking a woman in a nightclub. I’d elaborate more on the actual plot and story, but honestly, are you going to be watching for the cohesive story elements or to see what insane actions Cage takes next? That’s what I thought! Oh, and did I mention he uses some kind of pseudo Brit, surfer boy accent that comes and goes throughout the movie? I’ve seen this three or four times now, and while I would by no means classify it as a good movie, I would say it’s worth watching at least once, whether you enjoy vampire movies in general or just enjoy yelling, “What the hell is going on?!” at your television. (Patrice Downing)
The mockumentary horror/comedy, What We Do in the Shadows, they explore the timeless question about vampires: What if they were dumb? Years before FX began airing one of the funniest shows on television, the dynamic duo of Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement created a lean, hilarious, and haunting flick about a group of vampires sharing a flat in Wellington, New Zealand. It is one of the funniest films of the last decade, with buckets of dry humor… and blood, with its gallows humor of idiotic vampires dealing with the day-to-day nonsense of sharing a place, while trying to navigate the complexities of vampire life. The cast is impeccable with Waititi and Clement leading the way as a dandy vampire and the pseudo-Dracula of the tale (a.k.a. a rockstar vampire who lays a lot). Plus, the world-building is fantastic — the werewolf sequences deliver plenty of laughs and scares (Rhys Darby’s leader of the were-crew is one of the film’s unsung heroes). Few vampire films feel so fresh and interesting, and that’s exactly what makes What We Do in the Shadows essential viewing. (Shane Conto)