Vampires have been alive in our stories, and fears, throughout history. It was only until 1922 that vampires appeared through film. These film adaptations of the classic vampire storyline can often guide us to understand more of the culture and societal feelings of those time periods. Since it is October, we thought we’d take a ‘bite’ out of the massive evolution that is vampire movies. From the good to the bad and in between.
Nosferatu (1922)
The first ever widely known vampire film is Nosferatu. Based off of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it was readapted to avoid copyright infringement. They did this by using different names such as Orlok and Nosferatu. The famous Dracula depiction turns into a hideous creature with bat ears and long claws. Created in Germany, it was a completely silent expressionist horror film. This depiction and style is completely different from the following vampire films.
Dracula (1931)
The second known vampire film is the famous Dracula series, starting from1931. This movie set the guidelines for the imagery that most think of when they think of vampires. It was created by the major studio, Universal, and was one of their first popular monster movies. Many vampire films took inspiration from this adaptation. The film relies deeply on the enticing appearance of the vampire, and the romantic conflict that is presented. Women are magnetized by his aristocracy, and mystery, then lured to their death.
Blood for Dracula (1974)
Since the upsurging of the Dracula movies, there had been a slow increase in the movies’ focus on romance and sexuality. This film is highly based on these two topics and shows a huge transformation in the vampire storyline that is seen in the later films. The movie, produced by Andy Warhol, focuses on Dracula and his need for blood, specifically from virgin women. They face lots of conflict, because in their search for virgin blood, they can’t find any. This apprehension, that comes from their peers, is where another topic of class and politics comes up. Dracula is seen as an aristocrat by the people, in an area that is largely communistic. These topics are a lot more openly discussed and viewed by films of this time as the social norms have revolutionized since the last Dracula movies.
The Hunger (1983)
This is a movie with themes similar to the last title. It encounters a love triangle between a female vampire, David Bowie, and a female scientist. The vampire seeks to find a lifelong partner in Bowie, but unfortunately this is compromised by Bowie’s hard transition to a vampire. In turn, the vampire seeks partnership in the scientist, who eventually is bitten. This is an odd movie that still focuses on the normal vampire tropes, while also keeping an eye on the social feelings and interests of the time period.
The Lost Boys (1987)
This film is one of the inspirations of the Twilight series. It is a highly teen focused film where a band of teen vampires reside in a California town, where two brothers recently moved. The two boys encounter this gang of vampires and struggle to save themselves from unfortunate fates. In this modern day vampire rendition, the vampires are pitted against living in a struggle between bloodlust and “lifelust.”
Twilight (2005)
This is one of the most popular vampire series of our time. It heavily relies on romance and teenage tropes. A depressed teenager moves to a new town and is thrown off her feet by a creepy vampire that is drawn to her. They struggle against the other vampires that want nothing but to drink her blood. These last two vampire films are very relevant to our time, where the young adult genre upsurged into existence and the typical teenage romance tropes were pushed forward. Alas, the vampire thirst has been kept alive.
The crazy evolution of vampire films is continuing and changing, as our cultural and societal norms are too. Film can be seen as a reflection of the times they were created and are a great way to reminisce and learn about periods of time.
