Vampire films

I miss "Les lèvres rouges" on the list. a movie with female vampires. the English title is "Daughters of Darkness"


Edited by BaldJean - July 23 2018 at 17:42

ahhh..  well done Greg.  You had the one I had hoped you would have.

I should have made the joke option, "Vampires suck".

Micky and everyone else, list any others you like. Micky, Near Dark is one of my favourites on this list, so I'd really like to hear about any others you like that you can remember.

The one on the list that made the biggest impact on me is The Hunger.

I'm going to quote Dr Wu who inspired this with my response from another poll I made.

Logan wrote: dr wu23 wrote: A bit surprised that no one voted for The Hunger....since Bowie had a part in it.....very stylish vampire film. I missed it on the list but went back and voted just now. It's my brother's favourite film, and is very stylish indeed. Fans of Bauhaus would like it too. I've mentioned it any various forums over the years, and you're the first person that I can remember commenting it, so I'm one happy camper. I think that it's both an underknown and it's a seriously underrated film. Of course some like it because of an erotic scene with Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve....

It has a critics consensus at Rotten Tomatoes of 48%, but fares much better with audience score at 66%. I think that the "critics" are often not the best judges as they often are too busy making notes and overthinking thing as they watch too just experience a film. It's made worse when you go to one of those special screening for critics, and you get one shot to remember, and everyone there is busy making notes instead of just taking it all in. Reviewing films often killed them for me. Too often I hear from critics things like "This film is confusing", when there is an internal logic and they just don't get it. These are the guys who should be able to make sense of such things, but especially when those reviews just came from one movie screening and they are having to watch lots of films, the experience can confuse. It doesn't help when thy are not that familiar with the genre or it is not a genre that they appreciate, or when they have too many genre expectations.

Quotes taken from https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1010220_hunger?

"Visual sensualities will have a feast, but you'll have to read Whitley Strieber's novel if you don't want to emerge with a badly scratched head."

Nonsense, never read the novel and it made enough sense to me on first viewing.

"The Hunger is an agonizingly bad vampire movie, circling around an exquisitely effective sex scene. Sorry, but that's the way it is, and your reporter has to be honest" (Roger Ebert).

Maybe it's just not your thing, other than the sex scene. Still miss you, Roger Ebert.

"The obsessive conjunction of lesbian sex and flowing blood suggests a deep-seated misogyny, but neither this nor any other theme is registered with enough clarity to offend."

I'm sure some would find it offensive -- try showing it to various orthodox religious groups or do a public screening of it in Saudi Arabia.

"Bloody lesbian-vampire story is stylish, but no Twilight" (Renee Schonfeld).

It's no "every other film on my list" either. Is Twilight really that great? It only has 49 percent at rotten tomatoes, not that I care about such ratings, and I don't think it's a great comparison, perhaps it is time for peer reviewing film reviews before publication.

"More style than substance, and perhaps simply an excuse to get Denueve and Susan Sarandon, Miriam's post-Bowie love, in bed together" (The Austin Chronicle).

I could think of worse excuses.

"A film with legendary cast and photograph. Underestimated at the time, but like any other cult movies, was able to find its audience. [Full review in Spanish]"

"Vampire movies were always cool, but it took The Hunger to make them modern."

"As good a horror film in the most pure, rarefied sense of "horror" that the '80s produced in English' (The Agony and the Ecstasy).

I'm not really a Nicholas Cage fan (really like Adaptation), but Vampire's Kiss from 1989 made my top ten films list (plus The Hunger) after I saw it in 1990 on video. It's a terrific black comedy, and that reminds me that I had intended to add Kiss of the Vampire when I made this list. Good thing that the original list is only intended as an accessory to discussion and a jumping off point for talking about vampire films.

One that I thought would get a number of quick votes is The Fearless Vampire Killers -- surprised to see it with none (not my favourite Polanski film, but it is fun). I thought that would be a popular film, but then it is early days and non-music topics don't seem to be hugely popular here (except for those unending Just For Fun type topics), and the American Politics Thread keeps on going, not surprisingly, as Trump keeps on being Trump and investigators keep on investigating.

EDIT: meant to mention this. Another particular favourite of mine is Let the Right One In (the Swedish film from 2008). There was an English language remake called Let Me In in 2010, but I haven't seen it (I very rarely like the remakes as much as the originals, and almost never when it comes to Hollywood type remakes of "foreign" films or TV).

Edited by Logan - July 24 2018 at 08:03

What's your favourite, or particular favourites, of any of the Jean Rollin films? Always looking for recommendations and to broaden my horizons. I might have seen The Nude Vampire, but Grapes of Death looks interesting (and I happen to like other similarly titled things such as The Grapes of Wrath and the Apes of Wrath).

Thanks, I will look for it.

From that list..probably The Horror of Dracula with Christopher Lee.....a great Dracula...but Bram Stokers Dracula with Oldman is excellent.

I'm a bit surprised that Interview With The Vampire (Brad Pitt, Cruise, Slater, Banderas, ) is not on the list.....imho a very good adaptation of the book....though of course the book is better.

"Malpertuis" is a real gem and undeservedly very little known. The story is not easy to follow though; reading the book by Jean Ray as background is highly recommended (and the book is no easy read either). We had both read the book before we watched the movie.

Murnau's Nosferatu (Eine Symphonie des Grauens) from 1922 still trumps everything that followed in my book. Max Schreck's depiction of Count Orlok is tantamount to that of 'a penis with teeth'

Not my favorite sub-genres of horror. I always like the Frankenstein, werewolf or zombie movies more.

Edited by Argo2112 - July 25 2018 at 10:11