BW's top ten vampire horrors
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- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsAdrian PasdarJenny WrightLance HenriksenA small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter.This one pulls off the curious feat of being timeless whilst repeatedly screaming 1980's. Effortless chemistry between memorable characters makes this blood drinking riff on outsider mythology a truly affecting ride, there's some nice violence and one of the genre's most inspired romantic images. A childhood favorite that still gets me every time
- DirectorJean RollinStarsFranca MaïBrigitte LahaieJean-Marie LemaireA runaway criminal breaks into an eerie chateau, taking its two frightened chambermaids hostage. As night falls, a group of mysterious aristocratic women arrive and the criminal begins to realize the women are hiding a sinister secret.Before Fascination I though Rollin and the whole artfully erotic Euro-horror genre weren't for me. After Fascination I wanted to see every single one. Remarkable images trace out this thorned fairytale, the social comment is subtle enough to work and there is of course nudity from some stunning, stunning ladies
- DirectorRod HardyStarsChantal ContouriShirley CameronMax PhippsThe descendant of Elizabeth Bathory is abducted by a cult of blood-drinking, self-proclaimed supermen who want her to join them.Surreal and creepy tale of cult indoctrination and blood farming, fine performances, chilling moments and classy photography make this Aussie effort a winner. Familiar faces, a fair amount of plasma and some poignant cruelties to stab you right in the brain.
- DirectorAbel FerraraStarsLili TaylorChristopher WalkenAnnabella SciorraA New York philosophy grad student turns into a vampire after getting bitten by one, and then tries to come to terms with her new lifestyle and frequent craving for human blood.It would be easy to lambast this one for its swathes of philosophical dialogue or the fact that it loads its dice for a foregone conclusion to its questioning, but it still raises interesting points and more importantly has a phenomenal turn from Lili Taylor as the central philosophy student turned bloodsucker. Nice B/W photography, eclectic cast including a disturbing Christopher Walken cameo, and dynamite climax come together to make this one of the best horrors of the 90's.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerCheh ChangStarsPeter CushingDavid ChiangJulie EgeIn China, Professor Van Helsing helps eight kung fu-trained siblings reclaim their ancestral mountain village, now the domain of seven powerful vampires and their army of undead slaves.I love the work of Hammer studios and I love martial arts films, so a collaboration between Hammer and the Shaw Brothers including cool fight work from the ever charismatic David Chiang and a number of other recognisable performers of the era with scenes staged by Liu Chia Liang (cinema's finest fight choreographer), plus solid direction from Roy Ward Baker and Chang Cheh, plus Peter Cushing, Julie Ege, traditional Chinese vampires to help out Dracula and a fair amount of vintage claret, this one was always unlikely to disappoint me. And it didn't!
- DirectorShimako SatoStarsJulian SandsSuzanna HamiltonKenneth CranhamCondemned to life without end, and to an undying passion for a lost love he can never find, a vampire stalks a beautiful young woman.Vampire movie as melancholy romance doesn't usually do much for me, this film being a huge exception. Beautiful blue tinged nightworld ambience, elliptical approach to the plotting that really works and moving leas turns from Suzanna Hamilton and Julian Sands, with even a spot of splashy violence, this is one romantic horror that works
- DirectorTom HollandStarsChris SarandonWilliam RagsdaleAmanda Bearse"Fright Night" sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead.Always a firm fan favorite when it comes to 80's cheese, but the inspired wry clash of in your face 80's bisexuality with the coy, repressed vibes of vintage vampire cinema (in the English language world of course) tends to be more overlooked. Suffice to say its a delightful romp, with Chris Sarandon a wonderfully handsome devil, Roddy McDowell in the role he was born to play and Stephen Geoffreys rolling every annoying friend you ever had into one. Awesome FX work as well.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiIsabelle AdjaniBruno GanzCount Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.Herzog excells in conjuring death and decay, a sick and blighted world where even Dracula is a forlorn and tragic figure. Klaus Kinski makes a fine successor to Max Schreck, the stunning Isabelle Adjani contributes fine work as well and for all the plague rats and doom, nary a single shot fails to be swoonsome in beauty. A tad ponderous but a marvel all the same
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsFrank LangellaLaurence OlivierDonald PleasenceIn 1913, the charming, seductive and sinister vampire Count Dracula travels to England in search of an immortal bride.More Gothic romance, with Frank Langella dominating the show as a dashing Dracula, welcomed seducer, charming cad with unfortunate affliction. May not be accurate but it sure is fun to see Dracula as a tragic hero and van Helsing as a dotty old man, the production design is classy without being cloying and a spraying of cool chiller moments keep this one a bodacious effort. Of all the Dracula's I've seen this one does the most things well the most amount of the time.
- DirectorGiorgio FerroniStarsGianni GarkoAgostina BelliRoberto MalderaThe patriarch of a wealthy family fears that he will show up one day in vampire form. Should this happen, he warns his family to not let him back into his house, no matter how much he begs them.Recapping Bava's Wurdulak segment in Black Sabbath was always going to be tricky territory, but this acquits itself splendidly. Flashbacks from hallucinatory fumbling into a tale of the modern faced with the old and strange, potent sense of time and place rumbling towards a climax of gnarly shocks and dark spirit. Great fun and regrettably underseen joint highly worth watching.