Tobe Hooper's adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot is considered one of the great vampire films ever made. Made for television, Hooper broke the usual standards for a TV film and presented viewers with terrifying horror situations and one of the most frightening vampires ever. This was a well-designed and very scary horror classic that has aged quite well.
The film's good reviews made it a success and showed that audiences were hungry for stories about modern vampires. Over the years, there have been many great vampire films that owe a debt to Tobe Hooper's classic, and a few that Hooper should probably thank.
Nadja (1994)
There aren't many vampire films like 1994's Nadja. Michael Almereyda crafted a truly unique visual experience for his tale of a female vampire, daughter of recently destroyed Dracula, who wants to stop being a bloodsucker. Nadja moves to NYC but her vampire brother has found her and won't let her go, all the while, the great-grandson of Van Helsing is on their trail, seeking to wipe out both of them, as they are the last of Dracula's offspring.
Almereyada's visual palette is unique and the filmmaker uses a number of different filmmaking styles (stop-motion, rotoscope, puppetry, etc.) to give an artful flair to this unique and haunting piece of vampire greatness. This is truly a 90s horror film that should have found an audience.
House Of Dark Shadows (1970)
The wildly popular TV series that ran from 1966 to 1971 was the basis for this great vampire creeper. House of Dark Shadows finds Barnabas Collins, an almost 200-year-old vampire, accidentally released from his coffin inside the Collinswood mansion, unleashing a bloodlust long buried.
While this is certainly a dialogue-heavy film, director Dan Curtis keeps things interesting through great performances and above the line Gothic set design that is a visual feast. Make no mistake, there are many scenes of vampire frights to be had, as well.
Fright Night (2011)
As many misguided remakes have shown us, it is a bad idea to redo a film so cherished by its fans. However, Craig Gillespie's 2011 remake of Tom Holland's 80s vampire classic Fright Night was one of the better remakes to come along in quite some time. The plot stayed true (a teen discovers his neighbor is a murderous vampire and enlists a horror TV host to help him fight) and the film worked.
Colin Farrell did a great job in one of his finest films in the role made famous by Chris Sarandon, with David Tennant stepping into the role of Roddy McDowell's TV host/vampire hunter, Peter Vincent. Aton Yelchin plays the lead and all actors do solid work. The film is a respectful homage and an excitingly creepy update of one of the great 80s horror treasures.
Stake Land (2010)
A vampire hunter and his protege travel the land in a world where vampires have taken over in the unique and exciting Stake Land. Jim Mickle's vampire thriller makes good use of a low budget and minimal cast. This is a film about survival and trust as much as a bloody vampire film.
This is a bare-bones film, but not in its screenplay or performances. Nick Damici is the seasoned and jaded vampire killer and Connor Paolo is his young protege. There are good messages about sacrifice and the fall of society tucked inside this underrated vampire treasure.
Dark Shadows (2012)
Dark Shadows was Tim Burton's update of the famous 70s vampire soap opera mentioned above. Cinema's dynamic duo of Burton and Johnny Depp came together to make this film a spooky vampire film with macabre humor and dark undertones.
While not a huge box office success, the film is extremely well done, funny, and spooky. Depp gives one of his most unique performances as vampire Barnabas Collins, while a fantastic supporting cast (Michelle Pfieffer, Chole Grace Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley, and Helena Bonham Carter) has great fun.
Let The Right One In (2008)
In the excellent vampire film Let the Right One In, a bullied grade school boy befriends and falls for a strange 11-year-old girl who turns out to be a centuries-old vampire.
Thomas Alfredson's potent Scandinavian horror film takes on the pains of growing up, depression, loneliness, and first love. This is a fascinating film that is more character study than horror, but Alfredson allows for some shocking moments of terror, yet never goes overboard. This is a patient film that ranks as one of the best thinking person's horror films of its decade.
Fright Night (1985)
One of the most beloved 80s horror films, Tom Holland's Fright Night is the entertaining tale of a teenager who believes his neighbor is a vampire. Roddy McDowell costars as the timid horror host who becomes a real-world vampire hunter, while Chris Sarandon creates one of the most seductive and creepy vampire villains ever put to film.
Holland's film was a huge success, thanks to a smart screenplay, great performances, and a fun vibe. The filmmaker handles the balance of comedy and horror with a steady hand, making this one of the most entertaining horror films of the 1980s.
The Hunger (1983)
Tony Scott's debut film The Hunger is one of the underrated horror films of the 1980s. It features Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie as a vampire couple who have lived together for centuries. Bowie's character's age and life are beginning to slip away and Deneuve's seeks a replacement for her fading lover, finding one in a doctor, played by Susan Sarandon.
Scott's filmmaking is patient and striking in its visual design. and the performances from Deneuve, Sarandon, and especially David Bowie, giving one of the great film performances from a musician, are perfect. This undervalued and underseen treasure is an artful, erotic, philosophical, and terrifying vampire tone poem.
The Addiction (1995)
Character study, drug allegory, and a philosophical look at evil, Abel Ferrara's The Addiction is all of these things, along with existing as an effective modern vampire tale.
Lili Taylor is award-worthy in one of her finest roles and films as an NYC philosophy student who goes searching for evil and finds it in the form of Annabella Sciorra's vampire who bites her, sending Taylor on a bizarre journey of addiction to human blood. This is a New York chamber-piece horror film like only Abel Ferrara could create.
Vampires (1998)
John Carpenter's 1998 classic Vampires is most certainly a Western. James Woods and his band of Vatican-funded vampire hunters travel the Southwest drinking whiskey, partying with women, and slaying bloodsuckers.
James Woods improvises heavily and gives one of his best performances as the head of the team. He is Clint Eastwood by way of Sonny Corleone. The actor and the film are wildly entertaining and Carpenter directs the film with an exciting style that brings horror and action together flawlessly, creating not only one of his finest films, but also one of his best scores.