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Dracula’s Daughter [Lambert Hillyer, 1936]
Universal Studios’ first sequel to Dracula[Tod Browning, 1931] begins with Edward Van Sloan as Professor Abraham Van Helsing being taken to Scotland Yard and accused of Count Dracula’s murder!
“You’re not in London now, Dr. Garth, with your police. You’re in Transylvania, in my castle!”
Countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden), Dracula’s Daughter
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Son of Dracula [Robert Siodmak, 1943]
Lon Chaney, Jr. as Count Alucard holds Louise Allbritton as Katherine Caldwell in his power in this story, which brings the Transylvanian Count to New Orleans long before author Anne Rice had a similar idea.
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Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein [Charles Barton, 1948]
The last gasp of the classic Universal monsters: The studio threw Dracula (Béla Lugosi), the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange), and the Invisible Man (Vincent Price) into the pot. Here, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) approaches the oblivious Lou Costello. Surprisingly, this was a handsome production that treated the monsters with respect.
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Dracula Has Risen From The Grave [Freddie Francis, 1968]
The priest has lost his faith and the man his nerve when they stake Count Dracula.
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But their aim is not true and Dracula pulls out the stake (with lots of gushing red gore, unusual at the time)!
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The Vampire Lovers [Roy Ward Baker, 1970]
Ingrid Pitt as Marcilla Karnstein, a character based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla. One of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of lesbian-themed vampire films from Hammer.
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General von Spielsdorf (Peter Cushing), having driven a stake through Marcilla’s heart, cuts off her head, just to make sure she’s really dead this time.
“You must die! Everybody must die!”
Marcilla Karnstein (Ingrid Pitt), The Vampire Lovers
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Twins of Evil [John Hough, 1971]
Mary and Madeleine Collinson, identical-twin Playboy Playmates, are the stars of this, the third in the Karnstein trilogy from Hammer. Peter Cushing shines as a fanatical Puritan eager to burn witches and stake vampires.
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Near Dark [Kathryn Bigelow, 1987]
A rushed happy ending is the only flaw in Bigelow’s Western vampire masterpiece. Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton (pictured) give fantastic performances as outlaw vampires trying to survive in the contemporary American West. Joshua John Miller as Homer, an aged vampire trapped forever in a child’s body, is both repulsive and heartbreaking. A very good movie.
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Bram Stoker’s Dracula [Francis Ford Coppola, 1992]
Sadie Frost as Lucy is not too pleased to see that cross, in Coppola’s imaginative retelling of Dracula.
“Lucy is not a random victim… She is the Devil’s concubine!”
Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins), Bram Stoker’s Dracula
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Innocent Blood [John Landis, 1992]
Anne Parillaud as the beautiful and lonely vampire Marie, who will only take “innocent blood” to survive. She accidentally lets violent mob boss Sal “The Shark” Macelli survive her attack, creating an even more monstrous mobster who envisions creating an army of mafia vampires. Marie joins forces with undercover cop Joe Gennaro (Anthony LaPaglia) to destroy Macelli. Robert Loggia is brilliant in a brave and very funny performance. With Don Rickles as Manny Bergman, Macelli’s lawyer. From an original screenplay by Michael Wolk.
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Interview With the Vampire [Neil Jordan, 1994]
Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Cruise are all vampires in this big-budget movie version of the Anne Rice novel.
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Van Helsing [Stephen Sommers, 2004]
Josie Maran as the flying vampire Marishka.
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Richard Roxburgh as Count Vladislaus Dracula, holding Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious, looking into a mirror. Mel Brooks repeated this gag in Dracula: Dead and Loving It[1995].
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Roxburgh tries to remain as menacing as he can under the circumstances.
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30 Days of Night [David Slade, 2007]
Danny Huston as Marlow, the leader of the vampires who besiege a small Alaskan town in the dead of winter. Huston is terrific as a vicious vampire out for blood.
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Let the Right One In [Tomas Alfredson, 2008]
Lina Leandersson as Eli in this marvelous Swedish vampire film based on the novel and screenplay by John Ajvide Lindqvist. A young boy named Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant) is bullied by the other boys in his small town. He slowly builds a friendship with the strange girl who moves into his apartment block with her uncle. A quietly great horror film.
“I live off blood… I’m twelve. But I’ve been twelve for a long time.”
Eli (Lina Leandersson), Let the Right One In
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Daybreakers [Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig, 2009]
A variation on Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend(which has been made into three films already). A pandemic has turned most of the world’s people into vampires and they want a cure. Good actors and cool special effects.
