The 30 Essential Vampire Movies – Rotten Tomatoes

(Photo by Magnolia Pictures, New Line Cinema, Sony Pictures Classics, Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection)

Werewolves, mummies, and cobbled-together lab freaks have been around since theearliestdecades of film, but no monster was perhaps more camera-ready than the vampire. Those counts and lords who love to mug and menace for the camera, mesmerize with their fancy capes, and whose pale skin glows in the luminous flicker of old film cameras. So no surprise that some of the best vampire movies back then are some of the best vampires now, like Dracula, Nosferatu, and Vampyr, even as they approach their centennial anniversaries. Thats the bar thats been set for our guide to the essential and best vampire movies, and still we found plenty worthy to follow in their fang-steps.

Across legend, we know vampires for their allure and seductive properties. (Or at least, just their property who wouldnt be charmed by a 600-bedroom castle?) The sex appeal of the vampires has especially been played up in movies since the 80s: As the sexy suburban neighbor (Fright Night), the upper-strata socialites (The Hunger), and a smoulderers row of hot guys (Interview with the Vampire) and leather jacket rebels (The Lost Boys).

Or if you just want some action, see From Dusk Til Dawn, Daybreakers, Underworld, and 30 Days of Night.

So, looking for something to watch on your next open-coffin-and-chill night? Then go to bat with our 30 Essential Vampire Movies! Alex Vo

#30

Adjusted Score: 48089%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

#29

Adjusted Score: 73197%

Critics Consensus: Though it arrives during an unfortunate glut of vampire movies, Daybreakers offers enough dark sci-fi thrills -- and enough of a unique twist on the genre -- to satisfy filmgoers.

#28

Adjusted Score: 56622%

Critics Consensus: While 30 Days of Night offers a few thrills, it ultimately succumbs to erratic execution.

#27

Adjusted Score: 58275%

Critics Consensus: Stylish yet hollow, The Hunger is a well-cast vampire thriller that mistakes erotic moments for a satisfying story.

#26

Adjusted Score: 57249%

Critics Consensus: Having lost much of its bite transitioning to the big screen, Twilight will please its devoted fans, but do little for the uninitiated.

#25

Adjusted Score: 85634%

Critics Consensus: Shadow of the Vampire is frightening, compelling, and funny, and features an excellent performance by Willem Dafoe.

#24

Adjusted Score: 72153%

Critics Consensus: This uneven but amiable 1967 vampire picture is part horror spoof, part central European epic, and 100 percent Roman Polanski, whose signature sensibility colors every frame.

#23

Adjusted Score: 88370%

Critics Consensus: Near Dark is at once a creepy vampire film, a thrilling western, and a poignant family tale, with humor and scares in abundance.

#22

Adjusted Score: 90568%

Critics Consensus: George A. Romero's contribution to vampire lore contains the expected gore and social satire -- but it's also surprisingly thoughtful, and boasts a whopper of a final act.

#21

Adjusted Score: 92156%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

#20

Adjusted Score: 75778%

Critics Consensus: Mario Bava's official narrative debut is a witchy nightmare steeped in gothic splendor, shot in chiaroscuro black and white and punctuated with startling gore.

#19

Adjusted Score: 93014%

Critics Consensus: Guillermo del Toro's unique feature debut is not only gory and stylish, but also charming and intelligent.

#18

Adjusted Score: 72367%

Critics Consensus: Vampire Hunter D's gothic charms may be lost on those unfamiliar with the anime series that spawned it, but the crisp action and nightmarish style will satiate horror aficionados' bloodlust.

#17

Adjusted Score: 86280%

Critics Consensus: Fright Night deftly combines thrills and humor in this ghostly tale about a man living next to a vampire.

#16

Adjusted Score: 62082%

Critics Consensus: Though some may find the plot a bit lacking, Blade's action is fierce, plentiful, and appropriately stylish for a comic book adaptation.

#15

Adjusted Score: 36045%

Critics Consensus: Though stylish to look at, Underworld is tedious and derivative.

#14

Adjusted Score: 65266%

Critics Consensus: A pulpy crime drama/vampire film hybrid, From Dusk Till Dawn is an uneven but often deliriously enjoyable B-movie.

#13

Adjusted Score: 100629%

Critics Consensus: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night blends conventional elements into something brilliantly original -- and serves as a striking calling card for writer-director Ana Lily Amirpour.

#12

Adjusted Score: 84909%

Critics Consensus: The stylish Thirst packs plenty of bloody thrills to satisfy fans of both vampire films and director Chan Wook Park.

#11

Adjusted Score: 93784%

Critics Consensus: Worth watching for Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton's performances alone, Only Lovers Left Alive finds writer-director Jim Jarmusch adding a typically offbeat entry to the vampire genre.

#10

Adjusted Score: 81725%

Critics Consensus: Overblown in the best sense of the word, Francis Ford Coppola's vision of Bram Stoker's Dracula rescues the character from decades of campy interpretations -- and features some terrific performances to boot.

#9

Adjusted Score: 94581%

Critics Consensus: Trading gore for grandeur, Horror of Dracula marks an impressive turn for inveterate Christopher Lee as the titular vampire, and a typical Hammer mood that makes aristocracy quite sexy.

#8

Adjusted Score: 99486%

Critics Consensus: Bela Lugosi's timeless portrayal of Dracula in this creepy and atmospheric 1931 film has set the standard for major vampiric roles since.

#7

Adjusted Score: 99769%

Critics Consensus: Stunning visuals from Werner Herzog and an intense portrayal of the famed bloodsucker from Klaus Kinski make this remake of Nosferatu a horror classic in its own right.

#6

Adjusted Score: 103073%

Critics Consensus: Full of disorienting visual effects, Carl Theodor Dreyer's Vampyr is as theoretically unsettling as it is conceptually disturbing.

#5

Adjusted Score: 81456%

Critics Consensus: Flawed but eminently watchable, Joel Schumacher's teen vampire thriller blends horror, humor, and plenty of visual style with standout performances from a cast full of young 1980s stars.

#4

Adjusted Score: 67045%

Critics Consensus: Despite lacking some of the book's subtler shadings, and suffering from some clumsy casting, Interview with a Vampire benefits from Neil Jordan's atmospheric direction and a surfeit of gothic thrills.

#3

Adjusted Score: 102743%

Critics Consensus: Smarter, fresher, and funnier than a modern vampire movie has any right to be, What We Do in the Shadows is bloody good fun.

#2

Adjusted Score: 105055%

Critics Consensus: Let the Right One In reinvigorates the seemingly tired vampire genre by effectively mixing scares with intelligent storytelling.

#1

Adjusted Score: 109216%

Critics Consensus: One of the silent era's most influential masterpieces, Nosferatu's eerie, gothic feel -- and a chilling performance from Max Schreck as the vampire -- set the template for the horror films that followed.

Read more from the original source:
The 30 Essential Vampire Movies - Rotten Tomatoes

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero