Sunday Spotlight on Vampires

Sunday Spotlight on Vampires!

This week, let's take a brief look at the history of the Vampire movies. Vampires have been in cinema goer's nightmares since the early days of film. In 1922, a German director named F.W. Murnau made the classic "Nosferatu". Which was based so closely on Bram Stoker's Dracula, his estate sued to have all copies of that film destroyed. They won and the film was lost for years until 1994. A team of scholars pieced the film back together from several surviving prints. Next up, in 1931 came Dracula. Bela Lugosi was the first to put sexy into the vampire role. He may not be sexy to you but, to ladies of the 30's, he was their Edward.

Lugosi was so good in the role of Count Dracula, many of his manerisims have become mainstays for the role. His accent, hairstyle, all have become symbols of Dracula. Over the years, we have seen many vampires in the cinema. Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella, the list goes on. Lets look at some of the films that helped define the modern vampire film.

Nosferatu (1922) This German silent film was the first truly terrifying vampire film made. Starring Max Schreck as Count Orlok. His image defines horor films to this day.

Dracula (1931) Starring legendary actor Bela Lugosi as the titular Count Dracula. This is the gold standard of today's vampire film. This was recently restored to a pristine condition and released on Blu-Ray. This is a must see vampire film.

Salems Lot (1979) Stephen King's version of the vampire tale is truly a creepy one. This was a television mini series in 1979 but, remains of of the scariest vampire films to date.

The Lost Boys (1987) A group of teenage vampires hunt as a pack. Corey Haim and family must fight them off to survive. Sounds like a typical 80's teenage movie with a twist. This helped vampires transition from bloodthirsty creatures into the romantic vamps they have become. A pivitol 80's movie.

Twilight (2008) See where it all began. Twilight takes the vampire tale and turns it into a Romeo and Juliet of the modern age. Edward Cullen has become the modern day Dracula. Taking the vampire and turning him into a passionate, romantic creature of love. With sparkling skin and doe eyes, Edward is pure hunk.

There are many, many more great vampire films to check out. Hammer films are are also very good. Christopher Lee is fantastic as Count Dracula. Catch up on some great vampire stories this week.

Click here for a great list of the top 70 vampire films of all time.