If you ask people their favorite vampire movie, especially teenage girls, the majority of the answers will be the Twilight (New Moon and Eclipse) series featuring stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison. While the Twilight series is successful and makes huge box office, there are a lot of other popular vampire movies that capture the blood-sucking, drama and classical mythology. With stars like Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Wesley Snipes and Hugh Jackman here is a look at some of the best vampire movies other than Twilight.
Blade Trilogy: Blade brought vampire movies into the modern era, with technology, gadgets and excellent visual storytelling. Blade himself is a half-human, half-vampire that hunts vampires himself. Wesley Snipes plays Blade and the movie features a lot of dark humor, along with strong violence.
The first Blade movie was a great start to the trilogy, but Blade 2 is the best feature in the series. In Blade 2, there is a lot of violence, great special effects and a lot of different innovative gadgets that Blade uses to kill the vampires.
Even in dark settings, the visuals and cinematography are stunning, as well as Blade’s numerous fight scenes. The movie also features the political side of vampires and some thought-provoking questions to think about if vampires actually did exist.
Blade III provided memorable moments and even featured Dracula, but the movie focused more on comedic elements rather than pure action. Triple H, Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Beil and Parker Posey were all added to the large ensemble cast.
From Dusk ‘Til Dawn: Before Robert Rodriguez helmed family films like Spy Kids and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl, he created violent action films, including the vampire themed From Dusk ‘Til Dawn. George Clooney and Quentin Tarintino, star as criminals who take a family hostage and end p at a run-down bar in the middle of the desert.
It is a slow build-up until the vampires are finally revealed, but once they are, blood flies everywhere as the characters try to battle their way out of the chaos. The movie features a lot of Rodriguez’s singature actors and action scenes.
The success of From Dusk ‘Til Dawn led to two vampire themed sequels that are also worth watching.
Dracula: You can never deny the original creation and Bela Lougi’s Dracula is still a watchable classic that features the classic Dracula story. The story is dark, features the classic garlic and a few scares that still hold up today.
Dracula’s slicked back hair provides the style and swagger that was brought to many future incarnations of vampires, including Twilight’s Edward.
Dracula :Dead and Loving It: Just like Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks decided to send up another monster classic in his vampire spoof Dead and Loving It. Comedic actor Leslie Nelsen takes the role of Dracula and every element of the vampire genre is made fun of.
While the movie is not as good as spoofs like Robin Hood: Men in Tights or Spaceballs, the movie is one of the best comedic efforts for a vampire film.
Van Helsing: Made as an ultimate compilation of classic horror monster, Hugh Jackman stars as action hero Van Helsing. Dracula makes several appearances in the film, along with other horror movie monsters like Frankenstein.
The average CG effects can become distracting in the movie, but the story sticks to the classic Dracula and vampire themes. Hugh Jackman is also entertaining as Helsing and better effects would have made this an instant classic.
Interview with the Vampire: Featuring an all-star cast that includes Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Kristen Dunst, Interview with the Vampire follows a vampire who refuses to bite humans and another vampire looking for love.
This movie avoids classic vampire clichés and provides a realistic story set in the 1700s. The acting and effects are also suburb for the early 1990s.
