Vampire Movies

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Although the exact origins of this myth are still uncertain, vampirism has fueled an abundance of fictional works, from literary creations to cinematographic productions. A common trait of most is the portrayal of vampires as partially human, entailing them having a conscience and a specific system of moral values. In the vast majority of films, interaction between humans and vampires has been a different approach to humanizing demonic beings and envisaging a level of closeness between the pure and impure. It’s worth noticing that all the similarities have been based on the presumption of a common human spirit, as opposed to the ideology that labels people as slightly developed animals.

The merging of human and demonic elements has forever been an object of people’s fascination, whether they choose to accentuate the contamination of predominantly righteous individuals with evil facets, or imagine a spiritual seed growing within an utterly foul creature.

All vampire-based productions usually include, or at least refer to the classic ways of destroying their unholy kind, such as exposing them to sunlight, crucifixes, piercing their hearts with a wooden stake or merely repelling them with the scent of garlic (although they would only prove human in that regard). Among the classics are the numerous adaptations of Bram Stoker’s best selling novel, Dracula. To prove that the theme is always in demand are reputable movies starring first class Hollywood actors such as Brad Pitt and Wesley Snipes, bringing the exploitation of this myth to a fine art. Not only have vampires inspired the scripts of reputable films, but also those of best rated television series, some of them culminating their success with a proper film.

As expected, such films don’t tend to spare their viewers of a few gory scenes, if only for authenticity. The frequency and explicitness of those scenes varies though, according to the aspect the film is meant to emphasize, as well as its quality. Films of a lower standard, aimed at a public that evaluates productions centered on the supernatural by the ghastliness of certain moments, make use of the obvious goriness far more often than those who target a more sophisticated audience.

One could even make a more subtle analogy, between vampires and people who deem themselves unfit to properly function in society, and picture a life on its outskirts as the only possible option. Since vampires don’t actually exist, the connection between directors’ visions and present day realities is unavoidable. Some forms of vampirism involve energy draining as opposed to blood sucking, which makes the creations based on them furthermore realistic.

Contrary to the common perception, when watching a film centered on vampires, one does not necessarily seek the dark thrills of fright and revulsion, but most likely the budding hope of acceptance of the socially outlandish, who choose to distance themselves from the rest but at the same time feel drawn to the lifestyle of those branded as “normal”. Whilst vampires are not real, people who feed off the life force of others and drain their hope, pride and zeal are unmistakably real and obviously the ones to watch out for.