When it comes to horror movies, it’s almost a given that the supernatural will come into play. Witches, ghosts, zombies, even shapeshifters of various kinds of all had their moments at the box office with chilling tales that, more often than not, speak to larger things about humanity. But when it comes to the supernatural in horror, it’s vampires who perhaps have the biggest legacy. Dating all the way back to the silent film era, vampire stories have long been a fixture on the big screen and, over the years, movies have explored just about every kind of vampire and every version of lore you can imagine.
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From one of the earliest vampire films to one of the best adaptations of a literary classic and a lot of fascinating movies in between, here are the ten best vampire movies ever made — and if you haven’t seen some of the ones on this list, you definitely want to check them out.
10) Nosferatu (1922)
Given its significance in not only cinema history but specifically when it comes to vampire movies, 1922’s Nosferatu is firmly a top 10 vampire movie. An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, F.W. Murnau’s movie is the stuff of Hollywood legend, from how it was ordered to be destroyed thanks to legal action and managed to survive anyway to become the template for the horror genre and is widely considered a masterpiece today.
Nosferatu’s story is pretty well-known: an estate agent, Thomas Hutter, is sent to Transylvania from Germany to meet with a new client, Count Orlok, planning to buy a house very near to Thomas’ home. However, Orlok turns out to be not exactly what he seems and after discovering What Orlok is, he flees meanwhile Orlok makes his way to Germany bringing a “plague” in his wake. Ultimately, Hutter’s wife Elizabeth finds that a pure-hearted woman can destroy a vampire if she gives herself freely to them and she does so, sacrificing herself and destroying Orlok in the process. The film is incredible for its time — Max Schreck is particularly fantastic as Count Orlok — and the film is so much the gold standard that it’s been remade several times, including Robert Eggers’ 2024 version.
9) Interview With the Vampire
An adaptation of Anne Rice’s iconic novel of the same name, 1994’s Interview With the Vampire is something of an underrated vampire movie masterpiece. The film largely faithfully adapts Rice’s book, following the story of Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt), a vampire telling his story to a young San Francisco reporter named Daniel Molloy (Christian Slater), recounting his life from being turned by Lestat de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise) in 1791 through their time together, including the turning of a child vampire, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst).
Interview With the Vampire is, like Rice’s novel, indulgent, a little over the top, and very sexy — and very, very vampire in the gothic romantic sense. Cruise’s Lestat, something of a controversial casting choice at the time, is actually downright diabolical while a young Dunst perfectly encapsulates both Claudia’s early childlike wonder and the female rage she grows into being trapped as a child forever. It’s lush, ornate, and brilliant and is a perfect reminder that vampires aren’t always creatures of horror; sometimes they are simply dramatic and dysfunctional.
8) Blade II
Yes, a comic book superhero movie is on a best of list for a genre that has arguably nothing to do with superheroes and that’s because Blade II is just that good. Directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Wesley Snipes, Blade II is a rare case where the sequel is better than the first film. The film simply makes vampires look cool. Deadly, yes, but cool — specifically Snipes’ half-vampire hero. The film follows Blade as he continues is work trying to protect humanity from vampires, this time having to join forces with an elite group of the bloodsuckers so that they can fight against mutant vampires who are planning a massive global genocide that would devastate both humans and vampires.
Blade II slaps, as folks say. The action sequences are great, it has a great set-up in terms of story, there are plenty of interesting characters to follow, Snipes is exceptionally charismatic as Blade, and while it’s a vampire movie it also never loses side of the slightly campy nature of comic books. It’s simply a stand out of the entire vampire genre.
7) Blacula
Blacula is an absolute icon of the blaxploitation film genre, but it’s also an incredibly well-considered reimagining of Dracula and an excellent vampire film. The film stars William Marshall as Mamuwalde, an African prince who is turned into a vampire by Dracula only to be sealed in a coffin for centuries. When he awakens in 1970s Los Angeles, he leaves a trail of blood and violence across the city as he seeks out a young woman who just so happens to be a doppelganger for his long-dead wife.
Yes, Blacula has its very cheesy moments, but the film also takes itself very seriously and for good reason. Like most blaxploitation films, there are a lot of commentaries on culture held within the film — in Blacula’s case, the film is an allegory of the African slave trade. The film also fully reframes the vampire story as Black art, making it less an adaptation and something much more authentic for its own sake. Blacula is also notable in that it features the first Black vampire in film history and that’s pretty cool.
6) The Hunger
Tony Scott’s The Hunger is probably the sexiest vampire movie ever made and I will die on that hill. The film centers around a dark love triangle between a vampire couple (Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie) and a young doctor specializing in sleep and ageing (Susan Sarandon). When John (Bowie) starts rapidly aging and suffering from insomnia he discovers that the promise that the ancient vampire Miriam (Deneuve) made him that killing and drinking from humans would grant him immortality wasn’t entirely accurate. He may live forever, but he will grow old and decrepit. He seeks out Sarah (Sarandon) for help.
While the idea of the seductive, sapphic vampire is by no means a new, it was somewhat revolutionary onscreen. Deneuve’s seductive Miriam is enthralling as a temptress and almost sympathetic as you slowly learn that John is not the first companion to turn to dust before her eyes. The film is also bloody and a little dark which, paired against a very cool and modern 80s backdrop and aesthetic makes for a wild juxtaposition. Deception, blood, vampires, sex… The Hunger has everything.
5) What We Do In The Shadows
Vampires can be hilarious and What We Do in The Shadows proves it. The 2014 film from Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi is a mocumentary, taking on vampire films broadly. The film centers around a group of vampires who live together, with many of the characters being based on different vampire archetypes. The film also deeply humanizes the vampires in the movie. While they are vampires and require human blood to live, they are also as varied and as flawed as anyone else. It’s easy to see the characters less as bloodsuckers (but don’t worry, there is plenty of blood) and more as just people who, despite being immortal, have the same problems and issues as anyone else. It’s a very fresh take on vampire lore and stories and a hilarious movie. It also spawned a whole FX series that is excellent as well.
4) Let The Right One In (2008)
While there are two film adaptations of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel Let the Right One In, it’s Tomas Alfredson’s film that is the better one (though Matt Reeves’ 2010 English language Let Me In is also quite good). The film is the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy, Oskar, meets and befriends a girl named Eli who appears to be his same age but turns out to be a vampire. The movie is both chilling and beautiful, embracing the horror of the story — a child vampire and an actual child forming a bond that takes them into unexpected territory) — and also making it an oddly sweet sort of love story between adolescents.
The film is so special because it unfolds its story perfectly. The snowy setting, the way the story gives the viewer just enough for their own imaginations to fill in certain gaps about how the vampires of this world work, and the unique balance of innocence and horror all combine to make for a film like no other. It’s a rare book adaptation that does its source material justice, too.
3) A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
From Persian filmmaker Ana Lily Amirpour, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night follows a lonesome female vampire stalking the night in Bad City. It’s a straightforward, feminist-leaning plot, but the film is so much more than that. Shot in black-and-white, the film has a deeply dramatic feel that both works well with the various homages to classic vampire films that Amirpour mixes throughout, but there’s also the influence of spaghetti Westerns that make this film something fully unique.
There’s also the matter of the main character, The Girl (Sheila Vand). She may be a loner vampire, but she’s also cool, listening to music and skateboarding. By centering the story around a female vampire, the film is able to explore the idea of female agency and as a perpetrator of violence in ways that are particularly unusual both in most movies broadly and in vampire stories specifically.
2) Bram Stoker’s Dracula
You can’t have a list about vampire movies without an adaptation of the classic novel and Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film is easily the best of them all and one of the best vampire movies ever made. Not only is it a great take on the novel itself, it’s also visually stunning — Coppola used only on-set and in-camera effects for the film and there is really no understating how gorgeous it turned out. There’s also the performances. Anthony Hopkins’ Van Helsing is almost comedic in all the best ways. Keanu Reeves’ accent is severely lacking but he still pulls off a great Jonathan Harker, but when it comes to Dracula? Gary Oldman doesn’t just play a good Drac, he transforms into the vampire fully.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is also a very unique film. It’s not only gothic horror film, but it’s also something of a throwback to Old Hollywood in terms of how it’s made, and it’s also a major blockbuster. In a lot of ways, the film is very much a product of the 1990s and not something that can ever really be done again. It’s also only gotten better with age.
1) Sinners
No, Sinners isn’t in the number one spot because it’s the newest or because it got a history-making number of Academy Award nominations. Sinners is at the top spot because it’s just that good. It’s also a vampire movie that isn’t actually about the vampires. Vampirism is more of a framework for a much larger story about race, culture, and oppression. To put it more directly, man is the monster in Sinners and the vampire threat that changes everything for the Smokestack twins (both played by Michael B. Jordan) is only one small piece of the story. It just also happens to be the bloodiest.
Sinners is a vampire story at its finest, using the supernatural creature as metaphor for something larger and then delivering on that something larger with a layered and complex story that never pulls punches. It’s also just incredibly well made with brilliant performances and great music. It’s a powerhouse of a film and it’s sure to be an enduring classic of the genre.
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Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme
