Where did all the REAL Vampires go?

With all of the Twilight buzz swirling around the blogosphere (and pre-teens’ Facebook pages), it seems this would be the perfect time to remind everyone of the fun that can be had from “real” vampires.  Remember them? You know, scary, immortal, damned to drink human blood for all eternity and generally skulk around with all of the other creepy creatures that go bump in the night? These days, poor Dracula’s fangs have been filed down to kitten-like points, and his biggest concerns have become raging hormones, high school crushes, and *gasp* homework! No wonder he can’t face the light of day!

If  you’re like me and missing the days when the bad guys and evil creatures were actually bad and evil, here are a few must-have classic and contemporary vampire movies to sink your teeth into:

Bela Lugosi as Dracula

Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Here you go–Dracula as Bram Stoker intended. A young lawyer is assigned to a gloomy village in the mists of eastern Europe. He is captured and imprisoned by the undead vampire Dracula, who travels to London, inspired by a photograph of Harker’s betrothed, Mina Murray. In Britain, Dracula begins a reign of seduction and terror, and Van Helsing must gather everyone together to drive Dracula away. Gary Oldman gives a fabulous performance as the mesmerizing Dracula, he’s intriguing and dangerously predatorial all at the same time. Plus, it’s a reminder that Winona Ryder was actually a decent actress before she became a klepto and stopped acting in films.

Interview With the Vampire: Louis De Pointe Du Lac is unhappy with the life he has, until Lestat De Lioncourt offers him the choice between death or life as a vampire forever. Louis realizes all too late what he has become. He refuses to take human life and is about to leave when Lestat turns a little orphan girl into a vampire to make Louis stay. What makes this better than Twilight? Brad Pitt as Louis, like Edward, is brooding, beautiful, and feeds on animals instead of people. He manages to be sympathetic while still remaining, well, vampiric. And if you’re like me and believe that vampires are meant to seem scary and dangerous (which is what makes them exciting), Tom Cruise is jump-on-the-couch, blood-chillingly scary in this flick.

Van Helsing: A bit of a contemporary action-film take on the Dracula story, Hugh Jackman plays a younger, tougher Van Helsing out to rid the world of evil vampires. While not a personal favorite of mine, it plays with the traditional vampire myth in a way that’s not wholly unappealing.

Blade: Another modern film about vampires, this film is full of high action, high adrenaline, and super-scary vampires. Wesley Snipes battles evil, bloodsucking vampires–and if you remember nothing else from the movie, you’ll remember the opening club scene when the sprinkler system starts spraying blood. Blade is half vampire but has devoted his life to killing vampires, with the help of Whistler, a human vampire hunter. His nemesis is Frost, a vampire who aims to take over the world, enslaving humanity. With the help of haematologist Karen, Blade battles Frost and the evil Blood God. If you want some rock-n-roll vampire slaying, this is a good bet.

Nosferatu: F.W. Murnau’s German silent classic is the original and some say scariest Dracula adaptation, taking Bram Stoker’s novel and turning it into a haunting, shadowy dream full of dread. Count Orlok, the rodentlike vampire frighteningly portrayed by Max Schreck, is perhaps the most animalistic screen portrayal of a vampire ever filmed. The victims usually die and are not turned into vampires themselves.

Dracula: After sucking the blood and turning the young Lucy Weston into a vampire, Dracula turns his attention to her friend Mina Seward, daughter of Dr. Seward who then calls in a specialist, Dr. Van Helsing, to diagnose the sudden deterioration of Mina’s health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is indeed a vampire, demonstrates the measures that will have to be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one of the undead. Bela Lugosi is synonymous with Dracula – his Hungarian accent made Dracula the image we all think of today: “I vant to suck your blood.” You can’t have a list of great vampire movies without including this 1931 Lugosi classic.

And a few TV extras:

True Blood: Ok, not technically a movie, but HBO’s new series is something to keep an eye on. Set in New Orleans, the vampires have “come out of the coffin,” so to speak, but not everyone has been able to accept it. Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress, falls in love with a vampire, and is introduced to a whole new world of supernatural beings. Based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: For those of you who like the high school vampire scene but don’t want the teenage angst of Twilight, this is the perfect solution. Campy with lots of sweet fight scenes, this show holds true to the classic vampire myth, but with a sense of humor and fun. Get the DVDs.

What else should be on the list?