Film genre
Vampire films
have been a staple in
world cinema
since the era of
silent films
, so much so that the depiction of
vampires
in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of
vampire fiction
has been from
Bram Stoker
's 1897 novel
Dracula
, with over 170 versions to date. Running a distant second are adaptations of the 1872 novel
Carmilla
by
Sheridan Le Fanu
. By 2005, the Dracula character had been the subject of more films than any other fictional character except
Sherlock Holmes
[
citation needed
]
.
As folklore, vampires are defined by their need to feed on
blood
and on their manipulative nature; this theme has been held in common throughout the many adaptations.
[1]
Although vampires are usually associated with the
horror
(and sometimes the
zombie
genre), vampire films may also fall into the
drama
,
action
,
science fiction
,
romance
,
comedy
or
fantasy
genres, amongst others.
History
[
edit
]
Early cinematic vampires in other such films as
The Vampire
(1913), directed by
Robert G. Vignola
, were not
undead
bloodsucking fiends, but '
vamps
'. Such femmes fatales were inspired by a poem by
Rudyard Kipling
called "The Vampire", composed in 1897. This poem was written as kind of commentary on a painting of a female vampire by
Philip Burne-Jones
exhibited in the same year. Lyrics from Kipling's poem:
A fool there was ...
, describing a seduced man, were used as the title of the film
A Fool There Was
(1915) starring
Theda Bara
as the 'vamp' in question and the poem was used in the publicity for the film.
[2]
An early adaptation of the immortal aristocrat may have been the Hungarian feature film
Drakula halala
(Karoly Lajthay, 1921), which is now thought to be a
lost film
.
An authentic supernatural vampire features in the landmark
Nosferatu
(1922 Germany, directed by
F. W. Murnau
) starring
Max Schreck
as the hideous
Count Orlok
. This was an unlicensed version of
Bram Stoker
's
Dracula
, based so closely on the novel that the estate sued and won, with all copies ordered to be destroyed. It would be painstakingly restored in 1994 by a team of European scholars from the five surviving prints that had escaped destruction. The destruction of the vampire, in the closing sequence of the film, by sunlight rather than the traditional stake through the heart proved very influential on later films and became an accepted part of vampire lore.
[3]
The next classic treatment of the vampire legend was an adaptation of the stage play based on
Bram Stoker
's novel
Dracula
,
Universal
's
Dracula
(1931) starring
Bela Lugosi
as
Count Dracula
. Lugosi's performance was so popular that his Hungarian accent and sweeping gestures became characteristics now commonly associated with Dracula.
[4]
Five years after the release of the film,
Universal
released
Dracula's Daughter
(1936), a direct sequel that starts immediately after the end of the first film. A second sequel,
Son of Dracula
starring
Lon Chaney Jr.
, followed in 1943. Despite his apparent death in the 1931 film, the Count returned to life in three more Universal films of the mid-1940s:
House of Frankenstein
(1944) and
House of Dracula
(1945)?both starring
John Carradine
?and
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
(1948). While Lugosi had played a vampire in two other films during the 1930s and 1940s, it was only in this final film that he played Count Dracula on-screen for the second (and last) time.
Dracula was reincarnated for a new generation in the
Hammer Films
series starring
Christopher Lee
as the Count. In the first of these films
Dracula
(1958) the spectacular death of the title character through being exposed to the sun reinforced this part of vampire lore, first established in
Nosferatu
, and made it virtually axiomatic in succeeding films.
[3]
Lee returned as Dracula in all but two of the seven
sequels
. A more faithful adaptation of Stoker's novel appeared as
Bram Stoker's Dracula
(1992), directed by
Francis Ford Coppola
, though also identifying Count Dracula with the notorious
medieval
Balkan ruler
Vlad III the Impaler
.
[5]
A distinct subgenre of vampire films, ultimately inspired by Le Fanu's "Carmilla", explored the topic of the
lesbian vampire
. Although implied in
Dracula's Daughter
, the first openly
lesbian
vampire was in
Blood and Roses
(1960) by
Roger Vadim
. More explicit lesbian content was provided in
Hammer
's
Karnstein Trilogy
. The first of these,
The Vampire Lovers
(1970), starring
Ingrid Pitt
and
Madeline Smith
, was a relatively straightforward re-telling of LeFanu's novella, but with more overt violence and sexuality. Later films in this subgenre such as
Vampyres
(1974) became even more explicit in their depiction of sex, nudity and violence.
Beginning with
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
(1948) the vampire has often been the subject of comedy.
The Fearless Vampire Killers
(1967) by
Roman Polanski
was a notable parody of the genre. Other comedic treatments, of variable quality, include
Vampira
(1974) featuring
David Niven
as a lovelorn Dracula,
Love at First Bite
(1979) featuring
George Hamilton
,
My Best Friend Is a Vampire
(1988),
Innocent Blood
(1992),
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1992),
Dracula: Dead and Loving It
(1995), directed by
Mel Brooks
with
Leslie Nielsen
, and, more recently,
Taika Waititi
and
Jemaine Clement
's
mockumentary
take on the subject,
What We Do in the Shadows
(2014).
Another development in some vampire films has been a change from supernatural horror to science fictional explanations of vampirism.
The Last Man on Earth
(1964, directed by
Sidney Salkow
),
The Omega Man
(1971 US, directed by
Boris Sagal
) and two other films were all based on
Richard Matheson
's novel
I Am Legend
. They explain the condition as having a natural cause. Vampirism is explained as a kind of virus in
David Cronenberg
's
Rabid
(1976),
The Hunger
with an international cast directed by
Tony Scott
and
Red-Blooded American Girl
(1990) directed by David Blyth, as well as in the
Blade
trilogy
to a limited extent.
Race has been another theme, as exemplified by the
blaxploitation
picture
Blacula
(1972) and its sequel
Scream Blacula Scream
.
Though always a representation of passion and desire, since the time of Bela Lugosi's
Dracula
(1931) the vampire, male or female, has usually been portrayed as an alluring sex symbol.
Christopher Lee
,
Delphine Seyrig
,
Frank Langella
,
Lauren Hutton
,
Catherine Deneuve
and
Aaliyah
are just a few examples of actors who brought great sex appeal into their portrayal of the vampire. Latterly, the implicit sexual themes of vampire film have become much more overt, culminating in such films as
Gayracula
(1983) and
The Vampire of Budapest
(1995), two
pornographic
all-male vampire films, and
Lust for Dracula
(2005), a
softcore pornography
all-lesbian adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel.
There is, however, a very small subgenre, pioneered in Murnau's seminal
Nosferatu
(1922) in which the portrayal of the vampire is similar to the hideous creature of European folklore.
Max Schreck
's portrayal of this role in Murnau's film was copied by
Klaus Kinski
in
Werner Herzog
's remake
Nosferatu the Vampyre
(1979). In
Shadow of the Vampire
(2000) (directed by
E. Elias Merhige
)
Willem Dafoe
plays Max Schreck, himself, though portrayed here as an actual vampire.
Stephen King
's
Salem's Lot
(1979) notably depicts vampires as terrifying, simple-minded creatures, without eroticism, and with the only desire to feed on the blood of others. The main vampire in the
Subspecies
films, Radu, also exhibits similar aesthetic influences, such as long fingers and nails and generally grotesque facial features. This type of vampire is also featured in the film
30 Days of Night
. The 2011 remake of
Fright Night
is notable for such a hideous depiction of the vampire when manifesting.
A major character in most vampire films is the
vampire hunter
, of which Stoker's
Abraham Van Helsing
is a prototype. Peter Vincent (
Roddy McDowell
) in
Fright Night
(1985) and the Frog brothers in
The Lost Boys
(1987) were all vampire hunters. However, killing vampires has changed. Where Van Helsing relied on a stake through the heart, in
Vampires
(1998), directed by
John Carpenter
, Jack Crow (
James Woods
) has a heavily armed squad of vampire hunters and in
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1992, directed by
Fran Rubel Kuzui
), writer
Joss Whedon
(who created TV's
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and
spin-off
Angel
) attached the Slayer,
Buffy Summers
(
Kristy Swanson
in the film,
Sarah Michelle Gellar
in the TV series), to a network of
Watchers
and mystically endowed her with superhuman powers.
Dracula in films and his legacy
[
edit
]
By far, the most well-known and popular vampire in the films is
Count Dracula
. A large number of films have been filmed over the years depicting the evil Count, some of which are ranked among the greatest depictions of vampires on film. Dracula has over 170 film representations to date, making him the most frequently portrayed character in horror films; also he has the highest number of film appearances overall, surpassed only by
Sherlock Holmes
.
[
citation needed
]
In his documentary "Vampire Princess" (2007) the investigative Austrian author and director
Klaus T. Steindl
discovered in 2007 the historical inspiration for Bram Stoker's legendary Dracula character (see also Literature - Bram Stoker: Dracula's Guest
[6]
): "
Many experts believe, the deleted opening was actually based on a woman. Archaeologists, historians, and forensic scientists revisit the days of vampire hysteria in the eighteenth-century Czech Republic and re-open the unholy grave of dark princess
Eleonore von Schwarzenberg
. They uncover her story, once buried and long forgotten, now raised from the dead.
"
[7]
Vampire television series
[
edit
]
Live action
[
edit
]
One of the first television series with a vampire as a main character was the 1964 comedy series
The Munsters
.
Lily Munster
and
Grandpa
(also known as Vladimir Dracula, Count of Transylvania) are vampires.
The Munsters
was followed in 1966 by the Gothic soap opera
Dark Shadows
, in which the reluctant vampire
Barnabas Collins
became a main character.
In 1985,
The Little Vampire
was a television series made for children. It tells the adventures of the vampire child Rudiger and his human friend Anton.
Forever Knight
(1992?1996) was the first vampire detective story, later followed by many similar series like
Angel
,
Moonlight
,
Blood Ties
and
Vampire Prosecutor
.
In 1997 the teenage vampire series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
became popular around the world. Buffy is a teenage girl who finds out that she is a vampire slayer. She also finds herself drawn to a vampire.
True Blood
(2008) centers on the adventures of the telepathic waitress
Sookie Stackhouse
, who falls in love with a vampire. In the same year
BBC Three
series
Being Human
became popular in Britain. It features an unconventional trio of a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who are sharing a flat in
Bristol
.
In 2009
The Vampire Diaries
told the story of the school girl
Elena Gilbert
, who falls in love with vampire
Stefan Salvatore
, but finds herself also drawn to Stefan's brother
Damon Salvatore
.
The Strain
(2014) is based on the
novel of the same name
by
Guillermo del Toro
.
What We Do In the Shadows
(2014) is a continuation of the 2014 movie. Set in the same universe with the same mocumentary style, but following a different group of vampires.
Animation
[
edit
]
One of the first animated vampire series was the 1988 series
Count Duckula
, a parody of Dracula. In 1985, the anime film adaptation of the inaugural
Vampire Hunter D
novel was released direct-to-video and became popular in both Japan and the United States, prompting an adaptation of the third novel into the also direct to video film
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
in 2000. The two films and the novels they are based on revolve around the eponymous D, a vampire hunter who is the apparent half-vampire/half-human son of Dracula who battles vampires in the year AD 12,090. In 1997 the
anime
series
Vampire Princess Miyu
became popular in Japan, many other anime followed.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
was released in 2012, featuring several vampiric villains. Also in 2012,
Hotel Transylvania
was released, followed by a sequel in 2015,
Hotel Transylvania 2
and in 2018 by
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
.
Another Japanese anime series,
Rosario + Vampire
, portrays one of the leading female characters,
Moka Akashiya
, as a vampire, whose demonic powers are sealed inside her with a rosary seal around her neck. The series portrays other kinds of fictional monsters as well, including a
witch
and a
snowwoman
.
Vampire web series
[
edit
]
From 2001 onward vampire web series became popular around the world. One of the first web series was the 2001 series
The Hunted
. It is about a group of vampire slayers who have been bitten by vampires (but not yet turned into vampires) and try to fight the bloodsucking vampires.
The Hunted
was followed by
30 Days of Night: Blood Trails
(2007) and
30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust
(2008) who were based on the films
30 Days of Night
and
30 Days of Night: Dark Days
. In 2009 the MTV online series
Valemont
follows Maggie Gracen, who decides to infiltrate Valemont University, because her brother Eric has vanished. She soon finds out that the University is full of vampires. The 2009 web series
I Heart Vampires
focuses on two teenage vampire fans, who find out that vampires are more than real. In 2011 the
Being Human
spin-off
Becoming Human
was released online. It is about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who go to a school together and try to solve a murder. The 2014 vampire series
Carmilla
features a retelling of the story of the vampire Carmilla Karnstein, who attends a university in the modern day and falls in love with a human girl.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Notes
- ^
"vampire n." The Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Twelfth edition . Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. York University. 23 October 2011
- ^
Per the Oxford English Dictionary,
vamp
is originally English, used first by
G. K. Chesterton
, but popularized in the American silent film
The Vamp
, starring
Enid Bennett
- ^
a
b
Auerbach, Nina;
Stoker, Bram
(1997) [1897]. "Vampires in the Light".
Dracula
. New York City:
W.W. Norton & Company
. pp. 389?404.
ASIN
B00IGYODVY
.
- ^
Butler, Erik (2010).
Metamorphoses of the Vampire in Literature and Film: Cultural Transformations in Europe, 1732?1933
. Rochester, New York: Boydell & Brewer.
ISBN
978-1571135339
.
- ^
Bartlett, Wayne; Idriceanu, Flavia (2005).
Legends of Blood: The Vampire in History and Myth
. Santa Barbara, California:
Greenwood Publishing Group
. p. 42.
ISBN
978-0275992927
.
- ^
Marigny, pp. 82?85.
- ^
Smithsonian Channel Documentaries 2010x01 "The Vampire Princess"
, retrieved
2018-11-22
Further reading
- Auerbach, Nina. (1995)
Our Vampires, Ourselves
. University of Chicago Press.
- Abbott, Stacey. (2007)
Celluloid Vampires: Life after Death in the Modern World
. University of Texas Press.
- Frayling, Christopher
(1992)
Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula
(1992)
ISBN
0-571-16792-6
- Freeland, Cynthia A.
(2000)
The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror
. Westview Press.
- Gelder, Ken. (1994)
Reading the Vampire
. Routledge.
- Gelder, Ken. (2012)
New Vampire Cinema
. British Film Institute.
- Holte, James Craig. (1997)
Dracula in the Dark: The Dracula Film Adaptations
. Greenwood Press.
- Hudson, Dale. (2017)
Vampires, Race, and Transnational Hollywoods
. Edinburgh University Press.
- Leatherdale, C. (1993)
Dracula: The Novel and the Legend
. Desert Island Books.
- Melton, J. Gordon. (1997)
Videohound's Vampire on Video
. Visible Ink Press.
- Picart, Caroline Joan and Browning, John Edgar eds. (2009)
Draculas, Vampires, and Other Undead Forms: Essays on Gender, Race, and Culture
. Scarecrow Press.
- Silver, Alan
and
Ursini, James
(2010)
The Vampire Film
(4th edition)
ISBN
0-87910-380-9
- Weinstock, Jeffrey. (2012)
The Vampire Film.
Wallflower Press.
External links
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Universe
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Characters
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Original characters
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Alternative versions
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Relatives of Dracula
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