best vampire films?!?

Pen0s

in the humour for some vamp slashers!

i like blade 1 and 2
interview with a vampire
from dusk till dawn

cant think of any others at the mo (mind bit melted from last nite )
drop a few more there, im not really into the older films tbh unless they really are sumthing special

Rabies

Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Hugh Hefner

More like Steven Spielberg's Dracula. Crap.

Salem's Lot? It's not gory but it does have vampires.

Then there's always Tales From The Crypt: Bordello Of Blood. So bad it's good.

Vokes

Out of recent films, i liked Underworld a lot. Looking forward to the sequel.

Blade 1 is excellent.

lodgepole

My personal favourites are the two Nosferatu's, Murnau's original and Herzog's remake.

Hugh Hefner wrote:

More like Steven Spielberg's Dracula. Crap.

What?? What did Spielberg have to do with it? Do you mean Francis Ford Coppolla?

Laguna

It's not a film technically but the anime Hellsing is good.

I liked the original Blade too, also Bram Stokers Dracula in a cheesey sort of way was well.

Hugh Hefner

Lodgepole wrote:

What?? What did Spielberg have to do with it? Do you mean Francis Ford Coppolla?

Well, no, I didn't mean that Steven Spielberg actually made it, I just meant that it was all flashy and Hollywood with special effects and crap. Calling it Bram Stoker's Dracula is fairly ironic as it's wildly different from the man's original.

Francis Ford Coppolla's Dracula a) doesn't sound as good and b) doesn't get across my meaning.

Rhyme

Hugh Hefner wrote:

Then there's always Tales From The Crypt: Bordello Of Blood. So bad it's good.

Oh God... why... Corey Feldman, Nooooo...

Bram Stokers one for me thanks...

Karl Hungus

To be fair, I absolutely love Bram Stoker's Dracula for it's fairly high camp, Gary Oldman is nothing short of amazing, as is Richard E. Grant, and if you can manage to ignore Keanu Reeves, it's a great film for what it is.

Retr0gamer

Can't believe nobody has mentioned The Lost Boys.

Crash

beat me to it lost boys for teh win! and of course for wassisface who later went on to end up in 24 (quite drunk so cant quite remember)

Rockshandy

Darkwatch has vampires in it!! does that count!!?? its excellent!

kaimera

Blade.

that russian flick opening here soon.

"Well, no, I didn't mean that Steven Spielberg actually made it, I just meant that it was all flashy and Hollywood with special effects and crap. Calling it Bram Stoker's Dracula is fairly ironic as it's wildly different from the man's original."

It upsets me that you call this film crap!, as someone mentioned Oldman is nothing short of superb, one of the best performances ive ever seen from an actor. Amazing sets, great story even if it is different to the book........

Rev Hellfire

Near dark and even they hunger

lodgepole

Hugh Hefner wrote:

Well, no, I didn't mean that Steven Spielberg actually made it, I just meant that it was all flashy and Hollywood with special effects and crap. Calling it Bram Stoker's Dracula is fairly ironic as it's wildly different from the man's original.

Francis Ford Coppolla's Dracula a) doesn't sound as good and b) doesn't get across my meaning.

It's actually probably the most faithful adaption of the original novel that's ever been produced... It even makes a strong effort to retain the letter writing that is so important to the book. I personally love it. There's some really ****ing dark moments in there and the production design is beyond beautiful. I love the pre-credits sequence when the Count goes mental.

Nimrod's Son

From Dusk Til Dawn. Legend of a movie, if only for Sex-Machine's 'piece'.

my_mate

Underworld is pretty decent.

FX Meister

John Carpenters Vampires is decent enough for a vamp movie. The sequel had Jon Bon Jovi, enough said.

Full_Circle

I’m not sure why, but I’ve always felt very attached the vampire genre in all its forms (tv, books and movies) and as such, I tend to be extra critical of them.

Without question, my two favourite vampire movies have to be Bram Stokers Dracula and Interview with the Vampire.

The first time I saw Dracula, I didn’t very much care for it. I think maybe after reading the book I expected too much of it. But I revisited it a while later and came to appreciate it for the bizarre and luscious spectacle that it is. The acting is gloriously over the top (with Hopkins and Grant clearly seeing the fun in the script and revelling in it), the costumes and sets are sumptuous and even the score is appropriately chilling. And of course, the notoriously difficult Gary Oldman dazzles as both the young and old count. It might not be a perfect adaptation, but it certainly has its memorable moments

When I first watched Interview with the Vampire, I was completely ignorant of the Anne Rice novels. I think this helped me enjoy the film for what it was and not compare it to the superior book it was based on. I couldn’t help but fall in love with the visual extravagance of the movie. Kirsten Dunst made an astonishing debut and it was a novelty all on its own to see Cruise playing the bad guy. And despite there being such big name stars in the movie, I was impressed that they didn’t totally shy away from some of the books homoerotic overtones The only thing that makes me weep is the atrocious way in which the “sequel” (and I use that term very loosely) was treated.

Others I’ve seen but didn’t really cut the mustard for me include:

Dracula 2000: Hopes were high, but Craven disappointed on all levels.
Near Dark: I don’t think I liked anything at all about this movie and the music throughout was abysmal, taking me right out of the scene every time it was played.
The Lost Boys: It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but my lasting impression was that I didn’t enjoy it. Might be worth a second look though to jog the old memory.
Fright Night: Again, it’s been awhile, but it didn’t stand out.
Underworld: Nice and flashy, but the vamps were a disappointing bunch.
Blade Trilogy: The Blade franchise really hurts me the most, cause I see all three movies as being wasted opportunities. The first two had serious potential, but the third was beyond redemption.
Queen of the Damned: I’m not even going to go there.
Van Helsing (does that even qualify as a vampire flick?): One big special effect, and a poor one at that.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Compared to the TV show, the movie isn’t even worth commenting on.
From Dusk Till Dawn: I really enjoyed the film, right up to the point where the vampires appeared, and then it fell to pieces.

Apologies for the length, sometimes I really DO get carried away :rolleyes:

monkeyfudge

Ah... Fright Night was wonderful.

McDowell was so great in it and the film was pretty menacing while still retaining a certain eighties charm.

Karl Hungus

Full_Circle wrote:

Near Dark: I don’t think I liked anything at all about this movie and the music throughout was abysmal, taking me right out of the scene every time it was played.
The Lost Boys: It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it, but my lasting impression was that I didn’t enjoy it. Might be worth a second look though to jog the old memory.

I'm sorry, but you've just slated two of the best Vampire flicks of the 80's!

Near Dark was quite a visionary film, nothing like it had been done before, it took the Vampire myth, ripped the idea from the dusty coffins and superstitions of old, and trasnposed it to this idea of these nomads, constantly moving around. Lance Henrikson was amazing in it aswell, as was Bill Paxton. There were some absolutely classic scenes in it too, especially that entire bar sequence. Aside from the ending, it was a masterpeice. And the Tangerine Dream soundtrack was great.

The Lost Boys was almost the other end of the spectrum, totally cheesy, but it remains today as one of the best vampire films out there, simply because of it's high camp, classic lines and some of the craziest/silliest deaths ever captured to film. It was BRILLIANT.

Makaveli

Indeed, two great films altogether.
I really enjoy Near Dark because of the way they deal with the concept. It's different to evey other vampire film I've seen. Do they even mention the word vampire in it? I remember it was a review written by ObeyGiant that prompted me to get this film and I was not disappointed.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=107269

Creature

Aye Near Dark, well worth buying on DVD. I could rant on about the worthy aspects that make it a great film but lets be honest - half the cast of Aliens as psychopathic vampires. What more do you want?

djkeogh

Ah Near Dark, a film I've seen bits of on TV over the years and really enjoyed but I have never seen the full product. I keep toying with the idea of buying it every time i see it in the stores. Will have to seek it out and enjoy it all in one go.

I enjoy any Vampire flicks. Even have this one Troma flick in my collection about a rock n roll vampire who gets Aids. Very strange film!

pearsquasher

"Lost Boys" is definitely worth - it in an 80's stylee.

"Near Dark" is an excellent modern-day vampire story and probably my favourite.

"The Hunger" is great too...

"Bram Stokers Dracula" Enjoyed it at the time, but the script is dire and it don't age too well.

"Blade"... entered a teenage-boy fantasy area for me that i didn't enjoy at all.. silly.

"Interview with a Vampire".....Brad Pitt ruined it ...and the crap script.

"Trouble Every Day"... the one with Vioncent Gallo . a mad art-house take on the whole thing... extremely bizarre but a great movie for atmosphere and diferent angle on things. Sublime horror.

doonothing

bram stokers dracula is the only dracula film to follow the plot of the book *fact* (i think)

only some bits are different, like the ending, but i think the film had great ending! i prefer it to thw hollywoodness of the book. great film! keanu reeves is awful though...

interview is fantastic too.

adox

Another vote for Near Dark.

It was such a breath of fresh air when I first saw it,and unlike anything that had gone before it.

Lance Henrikson was superb in it and is a great actor.

I`d highly recommend all 3 seasons of Millennium to anyone who like Lance.

Karl Hungus

doonothing wrote:

i prefer it to thw hollywoodness of the book.

adox wrote:

I`d highly recommend all 3 seasons of Millennium to anyone who like Lance.

You're quite right though, Lance Henrikson was nothing short of brilliant in it, but as much as I love the concept, and where it went in season 2 under the helm of James Wong and Glen Morgan, as a creation of Chris Carter, it has the unique privilage of having both an intelligent concept and deep plot, yet at the same time, being utterly directionless.

Much like the X Files, Chris Carter created something where the scope for deep plot was there, but he had absolutely no clue where that plot was leading, and in both instances, it led to the overall storyline flopping and contorting all over the place, contradicting itself and ignoring previous plotlines. Bad way to fumble a show around, so I see Millennium almost as a tragedy in that sense. Oh, and what about that Pathetic episode of the X Files that tried to finish up the Millennium plotline? That was horrible.

That said, it was possibly one of the best things to have ever graced TV. Some episodes were better than many films of the same genre.

The Recliner

No one has mentioned Lifeforce

For Shame

Technically not a vampire movie but in most senses it is based on the vampire myth

Cheesy greatness and a naked girl for half the movie

monkeyfudge

The Recliner wrote:

No one has mentioned Lifeforce

For Shame

Technically not a vampire movie but in most senses it is based on the vampire myth

Cheesy greatness and a naked girl for half the movie

It also had Patrick Stewart and excellent music score...