Ever since Bram Stoker first released his signature novel,Dracula,back in 1897,vampireshave been immortalized in pop culture. Enigmatic creatures of the night that walk the border between dead and living, there have been countless examples of iconicvampireportrayals in media over the last 100 years.
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While there are a number of attributes fans associate with vampires (weakness to sunlight, aversion to garlic and lack of reflection just to name a few) there are those whobreak the mould. While many would think ofblood-suckingas the epitome of what makes a vampire, there aresome depictions of these unholycreatures thatsubvertthat expectation.
7Blade - Blade (1998)
Blade proved that just because someone is a vampire, doesn’t mean they have to act like one.Played effortlessly by Wesley Snipesin the Original 3 movies, Blade wages a one-man war against vampire kind, vowing revenge on those who killed his mother. Possessing superhuman abilities without a vampire’s weakness, he’s a formidable force.
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The one weakness he does share with those he hunts is the thirst for blood that every vampire has. However, Blade refuses to give in to his hunger. Instead, he relies on a serum that satiates his hunger. However, he has been known to drink blood in situations where he needs all his strength, and the victim is willing.
6Space Girl - Lifeforce (1985)
One of the crazier films on this list,Lifeforcewas Tobe Hooper’s follow-up to the smash hitPoltergeist. Taking a step away from pure horror (although it contains many horror elements) Hooper createdLifeforcein conjunction with Canon films. The film sees a race of vampiric aliens try to take over the Earth after a NASA mission goes wrong.
The iconic image many will associate with the film is that of a naked Mathilda May, who plays the lead vampire or Space Girl. Instead of drinking blood, she absorbs the life force of her victims, leaving emaciated husks in her wake.
5Lady Durwood - Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974)
Captain Kronus - Vampire Hunteris one of Hammer’s later vampire films. Coming from the studio that helped popularize the image of the blood-sucking vampire with theirDraculafilms,Captain Kronus - Vampire Hunterevolved the studio’s portrayal of the creatures.
In the film, Captain Kronos explains that there are many differing types of vampires, far more than just bloodsuckers. In the film, they hunt a vampire who is feeding on youth, reversing her own again in the process. The film proved to be one of Hammer’s finest, in an era when their output was deemed to be declining in quality.
4Darkseekers - I Am Legend (2007)
Unlike other entries on our list which show vampires with a supernatural origin or from space, the vampiric creatures inI am Legendresult from a viral outbreak. Sole survivor Robert Neville (Will Smith) is the last human left to fend off against the incredibly mobile and aggressive creatures.
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While the original novel the film is based on showed a more classic depiction of blood-sucking vampires, the movie instead created more infected-type creatures that have no bloodlust. They are also shown to be intelligent creatures, and as Neville discovered, more complicated than they first appear.
3Radu Molasar - The Keep (1983)
While Michael Mann is much better known for his crime masterpieces such asHeat,he followed up his feature debutThiefwith a venture into the horror genre. Set during the height of WW2,The Keepis a lesser known horror movie, but one with an intriguing central villain.
Radu Molasar drained victims of their life energy, leaving behind a trail of disheveled corpses. Carving his way through a group of Nazi’s in Romania, Molasar is another example of an energy vampire, preferring to take away a victim’s life force rather than blood.
2Count “Drac” Dracula - Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Who says vampires have to be scary? Taking a more family-friendly approach to the undead, Hotel Transylvania brings together a number of classic monsters, including Frankenstein, a wolf-man and of courseCount Dracula himself, played by Adam Sandler.
As viewers would expect from a film aiming for a family-friendly tone, this version of Count Dracula isn’t one for draining people of their blood. Instead, he drinks a “blood substitute”, close enough to the real thing to get the same effect. As a result, he has none of the thirst and all the powers fans would expect from a vampire, not that it helps him stay out of trouble.
1Peter Loew - Vampires Kiss (1988)
There are a few films out there where people who aren’t vampires are convinced that they are. But none are quite as out there asVampire’s Kiss.Thiscult black comedy filmhas gained some attention over the years, largely due to a typically crazy performance from Nicholas Cage in the lead role.
In the film, Nicholas Cage’s Peter Loew is convinced he’s becoming a vampire after an encounter (that may or may not have happened) with a mysterious woman. However, no fangs ever appear for him, leaving him to improvise with some fake rubber fangs. While he does try to drink some blood from his victims, he never really gets the hang of it.
