When vampires bite the silver screen

"I'm flesh and blood, but not human. I haven't been human for two hundred years."
--Louis (Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles, 1994)

Pale skin, sharp fangs, undead and drinks blood… seems familiar? Of course! Seeing someone with these characteristics surely means that you're looking at a vampire.

Vampires are described differently across cultures. In Transylvanian tales, they are described as having pale skin and long fingernails. Bulgarian vampires are said to have only one nostril. Some have more than unique descriptions such as vampires attacking only while naked and vampires that wore high-heeled shoes, as described in Moravian and Albanian folklore respectively. In modern times, vampires are described as having pale complexion, sharp fangs that they use for biting their victims, superhuman capabilities and somewhat immortal lives. They are thought to be killed only by exposing them to sunlight, making them drink blood from corpses, or driving a stake through their heart. Perhaps, the modern vampire is the most famous, with people being greatly influenced by media and literary works.

Because of their attributes, vampires have created mass hysteria among people during the early times, as early as Egyptian dynasties. They associated vampirism with demonic possession, thus terrorized people in the past. Even several pathological diseases, such as tuberculosis, bubonic plague and rabies, and grave digging, are being mistaken for vampirism. But the real question is do vampires really exist? In reality, no. But they do exist in a place that all of us probably know…

HOLLYWOOD

Vampires, being a dominant figure of horror films, inspired a lot of fictional movies in Hollywood. I guess everyone will agree that the most famous vampire-based-character is Bram Stoker's "Dracula".

Dracula

Like all vampires, Dracula comes to life each night to suck the blood of the living. As he pursues his victims, he is, in turn, pursued by Jonathan Harker. Harker is convinced by a Dr. Van Helsing that the only way to stop Dracula is to find the coffin that conceals him during the day and drive a stake through his heart. Harker discovers the coffin and Dracula is destroyed. (McNally, 1997)

Since Bram Stoker's infamous novel, the name "Dracula" has been associated with vampires already. Because of this, Dracula inspired a lot of films about him. The number of films that have been made in reference to Dracula have reached 649, according to the Internet Movie Database. There are almost 200 movies that feature Dracula, second to the most numerous, Sherlock Holmes. Dracula, having pale skin and being a suave, charismatic villain, became the standard for modern vampires.

The very first film, Nosferatu eine Symphony des Grauens ("Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror") is a silent movie, directed by F.W. Murnau in 1922. In the story, Count Dracula is changed to Count Orlok (literally meaning "fright"). Because of this, Murnau was sued for Copyright infringement by the Stoker estate.

One of the most famous adaptations of the story is Browning's classical film, "Dracula" starring Bela Lugosi in 1931. In 2000, the United States Library of Congress deemed the film as "culturally significant" and so, preserved.

Several films about Dracula were made up to the present which includes Wes Craven's "Dracula 2000" and an animated film by Warner Brothers, "The Batman vs Dracula" in the year 2005. Dracula also appeared in other, less accepted genres. Surprisingly, there is a soft-core, lesbian, pornographic and semi-parodical film with an all-female cast that was shown in 2005 with the title, "Lust for Dracula".

Wesley Snipes, Blade

Because of these "Dracula" films, where some became box-office hit and high-grossing movies, more vampire-themed films were produced in which some became very well-known. In 1998, Norrington directed "Blade", a comics-based film starring Wesley Snipes. In 2002, its sequel, "Blade II" was shown and lastly, "Blade: Trinity" in 2004. On the same year, "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles" was shown in the big screen, being a film wherein the protagonist is a vampire. The movie starred Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas and Kirsten Dunst. Not long after, its indirect sequel, "Queen of the Damned" was shown. The "Underworld" series, with Kate Beckinsale for the leading role, also became popular as the movie series inserted "Lycans" or werewolves, their rival clan, in the plotline.

Van Helsing

Vampire-hunters became known as well. Perhaps the most famous is the one that hunts Dracula himself. Van Helsing. A film about this infamous character, "Van Helsing" was shown in 2005 starring Hugh Jackman as the title role. Likewise, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" became popular among the youth, when its film led to the production of a hit TV series with the same title starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, as well as its spin-off, "Angel".

But somehow, vampires have lost its frightful touch at present. With the birth of the "Twilight" saga by Stephanie Meyer in 2005, people started to view the night creatures as more positive , more appealing and perhaps, sexier  than the blood-lust figures of the medieval times. The novel has emphasized that these vampires, hungry for human  blood, also have the capacity to enjoy a romantic date with their seventeen-year old prey.

These films have affected how people see vampires. In the medieval times, vampires were regarded with terror and often caused mass hysteria. But presently, vampires are regarded as fictional character alone, a mere option for a Halloween costume. Some westerners even used the "vampire look" as a fashion statement.

According to literature, Jonathan Harker successfully destroyed the said "Father" of all vampires, Dracula. Perhaps, we will never known if vampires really do exist. But we should still be careful, especially while watching these films. We never know, they might just be lurking in the darkness, ready to steal your popcorn and bid you a sweet, deep, goodnight kiss.