Ahh.
Vampires.
I love ‘em - you love ‘em - and ever since the days of early gothic literature, tales
of mysterious counts and countesses - out in the misty, mountainous terrain of central
Europe have disseminated the immortal imagination of our sanguine overlords across our shared
horror culture.
The term vampire was first popularised in Western Europe - after reports of mass hysteria
in the Balkans that resulted in corpses being staked and mobs of villagers accusing isolated
individuals of being blood-sucking vamps.
They were known as the shtriga - the vrykolakas - and the strigoi - and, well - it’s plain
to see, that horror cinema has immortalised our garlic-hating bat-friends with some damn
awesome horror movies.
Let’s take a look.
Hello horror fans - and welcome back to the scariest channel on YouTube - Top 5 Scary
Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch - as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Scariest Vampire Movies Of All Time.
Roll the clip.
Now - for the curious amongst you, that clip was from the legendary 1922 German expressionist
horror film - Nosferatu, directed by F.W Murnau and starring Max Schreck as the infamous vampire,
Count Orlok.
And really guys - although it doesn’t make this list, we can’t pay homage to vampire
horror cinema without first mentioning this particular O.G blood-sucker.
So, there we go.
Also, there are some absolutely astounding vampire movies out there - The Lost Boys,
Fright Night, Night Watch, Underworld, From Dusk Till Dawn - but this list is the most
SCARIEST - not the most badass.
Kicking us off at Number 5 - 30 Days Of Night, 2007
And to be honest with you guys, I still can’t understand the lack of critical acclaim that
this film received - because in my book, it’s one of the most faithful adaptations of Vampire
fiction that I’ve ever seen.
The thing that makes 30 Days Of Night so endeering - without mentioning its stellar cast and
performance - is that the villainous vampires in the film are so captivatingly original.
They’re beastial and primal in ways that horror cinema has rarely ever captured.
Based on the comic book miniseries of the same name, written by Steve Niles and directed
by David Slade, 30 Days Of Night focuses on the small town of Barrow, Alaska - as it enters
it’s thirty-day long polar night - and it just so happens that a band of ancient vampires
turn up on a ghost ship, ready for an interruption free all you can eat buffet.
Josh Hartnett, as Sheriff Eben Oleson - absolutely knocks this film out of the park, as well
as supporting roles from Melissa George, Ben Foster and Mark Boone Junior.
30 Days Of Night is violent in all the right places, suspenseful in just the right amount
- and a fitting homage to the devices that make Vampire fiction so damn awesome.
Coming in at Number 4 - A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, 2014
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that this film went under the radar for most people,
and with a tagline stating it as - the first Iranian vampire western, then I wouldn’t
exactly besmirch you for not taking note.
But - if you haven’t - what you’ve missed out on is one of the most unnerving, yet beautifully
captured demonstrations of vampire cinema in recent times.
Written and directed by the awesome American-Iranian director Ana Lily Amirpour - and also produced
by none-other than Frodo Baggins himself, Elijah Wood - A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
tells the tale of a lonesome vampire who stalks her prey in the fictional Iranian ghost-town
of Bad City.
The film stars the relatively unknown actress, Sheila Vand - who plays the title role of
The Girl - who also turns out to be a corporeal vampire of legend who spends her days in lonely
isolation, spooking unwitting pedestrians at night and feasting on villainous criminals
just for kicks.
I’m going to shoot straight - this film isn’t exactly full-frontal horror - but
where it really shines, is in its atmospheric dread and bleak demonstration of the human
condition.
Next up at Number 3 - Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992
Alright - if this was a list of literature, then of course - Bram Stoker’s original
Gothic masterpiece, Dracula - would be at the tip-tip-tippity top of this list - because
of course - it’s Vampire Fiction 101.
Butttt - if I’m being honest, Francis Ford Coppola's silver screen adaptation - although
a horror showstopper - doesn’t exactly bite the same necks that other vampire movies do.
But - that’s the downside - because the rest of this film, in its own right - is a
fantastic depiction of our favourite hemoglobin obsessed Count Dracula.
Directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, and released in 1992 - this film emerged during
a time when some of horror’s greatest icons were getting a bit of a rework, to say the
least.
And rework it does, steering Count Dracula from a campy cape-wielding hammer horror figure,
to a creature steeped in ancient history and dripping with the blood of long-lost generations.
Also, did I mention that this film is absolutely stacked.
Gary Oldman as Count Dracula, the incredible Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing himself - Winona
Ryder in all her glory - and of course, the one, the only, Keanu Reeves - whose English
accent in this film is the stuff of cringe legend - but still awesome nonetheless.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, although the narrative takes second seat - looks absolutely incredible,
and it’s dripping with the atmospheric sheen of Count Dracula himself.
And finally - at our Number 1 spot - Interview With The Vampire, 1994
And I excruciatingly pandered over where to place this film, but I think in the end - I’m
happy with giving it the number two spot.
For one reason - it perfectly captures the essence of what it is to be a vampire, in
a much more bleak and existential way - that other vampire horror films have failed to
encapsulate as well as this.
It’s also 90s cinema at its peak - and I’m a stickler for nostalgia.
So there you go.
Directed by Neil Jordan, with a screenplay from Anne Rice herself - based on her incredible
1976 novel of the same name - Interview with the Vampire is a tale that spans generations,
and manages to maintain the blood-soaked gothic horror throughout.
The film stars Tom Cruise as Lestat de Lioncourt - who, may I add - is fantastic at playing
a psychopathic blood-sucking villain.
Who knew, eh?
Alongside my man Brad Pitt as Louis de Pointe du Lac - a plantation owner of Spanish Louisiana
in 1791 - who gets turned into Lestat’s new vampire best friend, because - let’s
face it, they’re both pretty lonely dudes.
This film is fantastic because of the seamless ancestry that it manages to weave throughout
its narrative, capturing the immortality of these vicious, pale-skinned - beautiful bright
eyed killers without breaking a sweat.
Not like vampires can sweat anyway.
Or can they?
Do vampires sweat?
Let me know guys.
And finally - at our Number 1 spot - Let The Right One In, 2008
Oh man - I’m just going to go out and say it - I adore this film.
And please - please watch this first before the 2011 remake, Let Me In - although, I will
give that the credit it’s due - because the remake is still a decent horror film.
But - and it’s a big but, it IS pretty much a shot for shot remake - and, well, Let The
Right One In is a near-perfect movie - so it’s difficult not to be good.
Directed by Tomas Alfredson and written by John Lindqvist, based on his novel of the
same name - Let The Right One In tells the tale of two kids in Stockholm, Sweden - Eli
and Oskar - and, well - Eli is a vampire.
This film is heartbreaking and terrifying all at the same time - and it tells the tale
of two, lonely children in the bleak-Swedish-mid-winter without pulling any punches.
Despite being a film about a legendary fantasy creature - Let The Right One In manages to
capture the humanity of isolation.
It’s violent, it’s drenched in blood - it’s oftentimes shocking and bleak - but it’s
also charming, endearing and beautifully depicted - mainly down to the on-screen relationship
of Kare Hedebrant and Lina Leandersson - two child actors who colossally step up to the
plate, and who together deliver one of the finest shared performances in horror cinema.
Really guys, I cannot recommend this film enough.
Let The Right One In is perhaps the finest modern vampire film ever made - and for that,
it deserves the number one spot on this list.
Well - there we have it horror fans - our list for the Top 5 Scariest Vampire Movies
Of All Time - why don’t you let us know your picks in the comment section down below.
Before we depart though, let’s scour the comment section - and read out some of your
more entertaining edifications from over the past few days.
First up - Dave S says -- With Jack’s love for horror there is only one real question.
If he hears a strange sound outside a cottage in the middle of the night, does he go to
see what it is due to horror curiosity, or does he Nope out of there with the quickness?
-- Well Dave S, what an absolutely fantastic question my good man.
And I think the only real answer to that is - I’ve seen far, far too many horror movies
to know that succumbing to curiosity is never a good idea.
After all - it DID kill the cat.
Next up - Dale Cordova says -- Jack if you could be a supernatural character from a movie
which one would it be and why?
-- And cheers Dale, another awesome question.
Well, hopefully through this list I’ve outlined the pitfalls of being a vampire - no one wants
to be that lonely, right?
Although, I must admit - it is pretty alluring.
I’d have to pick -- oh man this is hard.
Can I be a gunslinger of Gilead?
Roland Deschain?
Yeah, I’ll take that.
Well - on that note horror fans - unfortunately that’s all we’ve got time for today, cheers
for sticking around all the way until the end.
If you were a fan of this video - make sure to hit that thumbs up button, as well as that
subscribe bell - and we’ll be seeing you in the next one.
As per usual, I’ve been your horror host Jack Finch - you’ve been watching Top 5
Scary Videos - and until next time, you take it easy.