Vampire films have been a staple in world cinema since the era of

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s, so much so that the depiction of

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

s in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in films throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of vampire fiction has been from

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

's 1897 novel ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

'', with over 170 versions to date. Running a distant second are adaptations of the 1872 novel ''

Carmilla ''Carmilla'' is an 1872 Gothic fiction, Gothic novella by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. It is one of the earliest known works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'' (1897) by 25 years. First published ...

'' by Sheridan Le Fanu. As folklore, vampires are defined by their need to feed on

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

and on their manipulative nature; this theme has been held in common throughout the many adaptations. Although vampires are usually associated with the horror (and sometimes the

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

genre), vampire films may also fall into the

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

, action,

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, romance,

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

genres, amongst others.

History

Early cinematic vampires in other such films as '' The Vampire'' (1913), directed by Robert G. Vignola, were not

undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's o ...

bloodsucking fiends, but

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

"vamps". Such characters were inspired by a poem by

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

called "The Vampire", composed in 1897. This poem was written as kind of commentary on a painting of a female vampire by Philip Burne-Jones exhibited in the same year. A phrase from Kipling's poem was used as the title of the film '' A Fool There Was'' (1915), starring Theda Bara, and the poem was used in the publicity for the film. An early adaptation of the immortal aristocrat may have been the Hungarian feature film '' Drakula halála'' (Károly Lajthay, 1921), which is now thought to be a

lost film A lost film is a feature film, feature or short film in which the original negative or copies are not known to exist in any studio archive, private collection, or public archive. Films can be wholly or partially lost for a number of reasons. ...

. An authentic supernatural vampire features in the landmark ''

Nosferatu ''Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror'' () is a 1922 silent film, silent German Expressionism (cinema), German Expressionist vampire film directed by F. W. Murnau from a screenplay by Henrik Galeen. It stars Max Schreck as Count Orlok, a vampire who ...

'' (1922 Germany, directed by F. W. Murnau) starring Max Schreck as the hideous Count Orlok. This was an unlicensed version of

's ''

'', based so closely on the novel that the estate sued and won, with all copies ordered to be destroyed. It would be painstakingly restored in 1994 by a team of European scholars from the five surviving prints that had escaped destruction. The destruction of the vampire, in the closing sequence of the film, by sunlight rather than the traditional stake through the heart proved very influential on later films and became an accepted part of vampire lore. The next classic treatment of the vampire legend was an adaptation of the stage play based on

's novel ''

'', Universal's ''

'' (1931) starring

Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

. Lugosi's performance was so popular that his Hungarian accent and sweeping gestures became characteristics now commonly associated with Dracula. Five years after the release of the film, Universal released '' Dracula's Daughter'' (1936), a direct sequel that starts immediately after the end of the first film. A second sequel, '' Son of Dracula'' starring Lon Chaney Jr., followed in 1943. Despite his apparent death in the 1931 film, the Count returned to life in three more Universal films of the mid-1940s: '' House of Frankenstein'' (1944) and '' House of Dracula'' (1945)—both starring John Carradine—and ''

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'' is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton (director), Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), who has partnered with Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) in or ...

'' (1948). While Lugosi had played a vampire in two other films during the 1930s and 1940s, it was only in this final film that he played Count Dracula on-screen for the second (and last) time. Dracula was reincarnated for a new generation in the Hammer Films series starring Christopher Lee as the Count. In the first of these films ''

'' (1958) the spectacular death of the title character through being exposed to the sun reinforced this part of vampire lore, first established in ''Nosferatu'', and made it virtually axiomatic in succeeding films. Lee returned as Dracula in all but two of the seven

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

s. Another adaptation of Stoker's novel appeared as '' Bram Stoker's Dracula'' (1992), directed by

Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola ( ; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. He is considered one of the leading figures of the New Hollywood and one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. List of awards and nominations received by Francis Ford Coppo ...

, though also identifying Count Dracula with the notorious

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Balkan ruler

Vlad III the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/31 – 1476/77), was List of princes of Wallachia, Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most imp ...

. A distinct subgenre of vampire films, ultimately inspired by Le Fanu's "Carmilla", explored the topic of the

lesbian vampire Lesbian vampirism is a Trope (literature), trope in early gothic horror and 20th century exploitation film. The archetype of a lesbian vampire used the fantasy genre to circumvent the heavy LGBT censorship, censorship of lesbian characters in the ...

. Although implied in ''Dracula's Daughter'', the first openly

lesbian A lesbian is a homosexual woman or girl. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate nouns with female homosexu ...

vampire was in '' Blood and Roses'' (1960) by

Roger Vadim Roger Vadim Plemiannikov (; 26 January 1928 – 11 February 2000) was a French screenwriter, film director, and producer, as well as an author, artist, and occasional actor. His best-known works are visually lavish films with erotic qualities, s ...

. More explicit lesbian content was provided in

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

's Karnstein Trilogy. The first of these, '' The Vampire Lovers'' (1970), starring Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith, was a relatively straightforward re-telling of LeFanu's novella, but with more overt violence and sexuality. Later films in this subgenre such as '' Vampyres'' (1974) became even more explicit in their depiction of sex, nudity and violence. Beginning with ''

'' (1948) the vampire has often been the subject of comedy. '' The Fearless Vampire Killers'' (1967) by

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański (; born 18 August 1933) is a Polish and French filmmaker and actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Roman Polanski, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Britis ...

was a notable parody of the genre. Other comedic treatments, of variable quality, include '' Vampira'' (1974) featuring David Niven as a lovelorn Dracula, '' Love at First Bite'' (1979) featuring George Hamilton, '' My Best Friend Is a Vampire'' (1988), '' Innocent Blood'' (1992), ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'' (1992), '' Dracula: Dead and Loving It'' (1995), directed by

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

with

Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen (February 11, 1926November 28, 2010) was a Canadian actor and comedian. With a career spanning 60 years, he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, portraying more than 220 characters. He made his a ...

, and, more recently, Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's

mockumentary A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...

take on the subject, '' What We Do in the Shadows'' (2014). Another development in some vampire films has been a change from supernatural horror to science fictional explanations of vampirism. '' The Last Man on Earth'' (1964, directed by

Sidney Salkow Sidney Salkow (June 16, 1911 – October 18, 2000) was an American film director (more than 50 motion pictures), screenwriter, and television director. Salkow was educated at the City College of New York, Columbia University, and Harvard Law Sch ...

), ''

The Omega Man ''The Omega Man'' (stylized as ''The Ωmega Man'') is a 1971 American Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, postapocalyptic action film directed by Boris Sagal and starring Charlton Heston as a survivor of a pandemic. It was written by John W ...

'' (1971 US, directed by Boris Sagal) and two other films were all based on Richard Matheson's novel '' I Am Legend''. They explain the condition as having a natural cause. Vampirism is explained as a kind of virus in David Cronenberg's '' Rabid'' (1976), ''The Hunger'' with an international cast directed by

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was a British film director and producer. He made his theatrical film debut with ''The Hunger (1983 film), The Hunger'' (1983) and went on to direct highly successful action and t ...

and ''Red-Blooded American Girl'' (1990) directed by David Blyth, as well as in the ''Blade'' trilogy to a limited extent. Race has been another theme, as exemplified by the

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

picture '' Blacula'' (1972) and its sequel '' Scream Blacula Scream''. Though always a representation of passion and desire, since the time of Béla Lugosi's ''Dracula'' (1931) the vampire, male or female, has usually been portrayed as an alluring sex symbol. Christopher Lee, Delphine Seyrig,

Frank Langella Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...

Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...

, Catherine Deneuve and

Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton ( ; January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001) was an American singer, actress, dancer, and model. Known as the " Princess of R&B" and "Queen of Urban Pop", she is credited with helping to redefine contemporary R&B, p ...

are just a few examples of actors who brought great sex appeal into their portrayal of the vampire. Latterly, the implicit sexual themes of vampire film have become much more overt, culminating in such films as ''Gayracula'' (1983) and ''The Vampire of Budapest'' (1995), two

pornographic Pornography (colloquially called porn or porno) is sexually suggestive material, such as a picture, video, text, or audio, intended for sexual arousal. Made for consumption by adults, pornographic depictions have evolved from cave paintings ...

all-male vampire films, and ''Lust for Dracula'' (2005), a

softcore pornography Softcore pornography or softcore porn is commercial still photography, film, imagery, or even audio that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic or intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of sexual p ...

all-lesbian adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. There is, however, a very small subgenre, pioneered in Murnau's seminal ''Nosferatu'' (1922) in which the portrayal of the vampire is similar to the hideous creature of European folklore. Max Schreck's portrayal of this role in Murnau's film was copied by

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a ...

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

's remake '' Nosferatu the Vampyre'' (1979). In ''

Shadow of the Vampire ''Shadow of the Vampire'' is a 2000 horror film directed by E. Elias Merhige and written by Steven Katz. The film stars John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe. It is a fictionalized account of the making of the classic vampire film '' Nosferatu, ei ...

'' (2000) (directed by E. Elias Merhige) Willem Dafoe plays Max Schreck, himself, though portrayed here as an actual vampire.

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's '' Salem's Lot'' (1979) notably depicts vampires as terrifying, simple-minded creatures, without eroticism, and with the only desire to feed on the blood of others. The main vampire in the ''

Subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

'' films, Radu, also exhibits similar aesthetic influences, such as long fingers and nails and generally grotesque facial features. This type of vampire is also featured in the film '' 30 Days of Night''. The 2011 remake of '' Fright Night'' is notable for such a hideous depiction of the vampire when manifesting. A major character in most vampire films is the vampire hunter, of which Stoker's Abraham Van Helsing is a prototype. Peter Vincent ( Roddy McDowell) in '' Fright Night'' (1985) and the Frog brothers in '' The Lost Boys'' (1987) were all vampire hunters. However, killing vampires has changed. Where Van Helsing relied on a stake through the heart, in ''

Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

'' (1998), directed by

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

, Jack Crow ( James Woods) has a heavily armed squad of vampire hunters and in ''

'' (1992, directed by

Fran Rubel Kuzui Fran Rubel Kuzui is an American film director and producer. She directed the films '' Tokyo Pop'' (1988) and '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992). She also produced the films ''Orgazmo'' (1997) and '' Telling Lies in America'' (1997). Biography ...

), writer

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

(who created TV's ''

'' and spin-off ''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'') attached the Slayer, Buffy Summers ( Kristy Swanson in the film, Sarah Michelle Gellar in the TV series), to a network of Watchers and mystically endowed her with superhuman powers.

Dracula in films and his legacy

By far, the most well-known and popular vampire in the films is

. A large number of films have been filmed over the years depicting the evil Count, some of which are ranked among the greatest depictions of vampires on film. Dracula has over 170 film representations to date, making him the most frequently portrayed character in horror films; also he has the highest number of film appearances overall, surpassed only by

Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...

. In his documentary "Vampire Princess" (2007) the investigative Austrian author and director Klaus T. Steindl discovered in 2007 the historical inspiration for Bram Stoker's legendary Dracula character (see also Literature - Bram Stoker: Dracula's GuestMarigny, pp. 82–85.): "''Many experts believe, the deleted opening was actually based on a woman. Archaeologists, historians, and forensic scientists revisit the days of vampire hysteria in the eighteenth-century Czech Republic and re-open the unholy grave of dark princess Eleonore von Schwarzenberg. They uncover her story, once buried and long forgotten, now raised from the dead.''"

Vampire television series

Live action

One of the first television series with a vampire as a main character was the 1964 comedy series ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom about the home life of a family of benign monsters that aired from 1964 to 1966 on CBS. The series stars Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster (Frankenstein's monster),Episodes referring to the fact that Herman is ...

''.

Lily Munster Lily Munster (née Dracula) is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom, ''The Munsters'', originally played by Yvonne De Carlo. The matriarch of the Munster household, Lily is a vampire. The role was later played by Lee Meriwether in ''The Munsters ...

and

Grandpa Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maxi ...

(also known as Vladimir Dracula, Count of Transylvania) are vampires. ''The Munsters'' was followed in 1966 by the Gothic soap opera ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'', in which the reluctant vampire Barnabas Collins became a main character. In 1985, '' The Little Vampire'' was a television series made for children. It tells the adventures of the vampire child Rüdiger and his human friend Anton. ''

Forever Knight ''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight (Forever Knight), Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks ...

'' (1992–1996) was the first vampire detective story, later followed by similar series like ''

'', ''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. History The ancient Greek philosopher Anaxagoras was aware that "''the sun provides the moon with its ...

'', '' Blood Ties'' and ''

Vampire Prosecutor ''Vampire Prosecutor'' () is a South Korean television series, starring Yeon Jung-hoon, Lee Won-jong, Lee Young-ah and Kim Joo-young. The crime procedural Korean drama, drama tells the story of a prosecutor who hides his identity of being a vam ...

''. In 1997, the teenage vampire hunter series ''

'' became popular around the world. Buffy Summers is a teenage girl who finds out that she is a vampire slayer. She also finds herself drawn to a vampire. '' True Blood'' (2008) centers on the adventures of the telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who falls in love with a vampire. In the same year

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes for a 16 to 34-year-old target aud ...

series '' Being Human'' became popular in Britain. It features an unconventional trio of a vampire, a

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

, and a

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

who are sharing a flat in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. In 2009 '' The Vampire Diaries'' told the story of the school girl Elena Gilbert, who falls in love with vampire Stefan Salvatore, but finds herself also drawn to Stefan's brother Damon. ''

The Strain ''The Strain'' is a 2009 vampire literature, vampire horror fiction, horror novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan. It is the first installment in ''The Strain Trilogy'', and was followed by ''The Fall (del Toro and Hogan novel), The Fal ...

'' (2014) is based on the novel of the same name by

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

. ''What We Do In The Shadows'' (2019-2024) is a continuation of the film of the same name in a

style and follows a new group of vampires, played by comedians. ''Interview With The Vampire'' (2022-present) is an adaption of the book series by Anne Rice, inserting homosexual themes, whereas the 1994 film adaptation of the same represents the longing and tension in the novels felt by creatures who do not have sex.

Animation

One of the first animated vampire series was the 1988 series ''

Count Duckula ''Count Duckula'' is a British children's television series, children's animated comedy horror television series created by British studio Cosgrove Hall Films, Cosgrove Hall Productions and produced by Thames Television as a spin-off of ''Dang ...

'', a parody of Dracula. In 1985, the anime film adaptation of the inaugural '' Vampire Hunter D'' novel was released direct-to-video and became popular in both Japan and the United States, prompting an adaptation of the third novel into the also direct to video film '' Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust'' in 2000. The two films and the novels they are based on revolve around the eponymous D, a vampire hunter who is the apparent half-vampire/half-human son of Dracula who battles vampires in the year AD 12,090. In 1997, the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series '' Vampire Princess Miyu'' became popular in Japan, and many other anime followed. '' Vampire Knight'' is an anime from 2008 based on the manga published from 2004-2013, it is about a girl who is the daughter of the chairman at an elite vampire academy where she is their guardian. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure was released in 2012, featuring several vampiric villains. Also in 2012, '' Hotel Transylvania'' was released, followed by a sequel in 2015, ''

Hotel Transylvania 2 ''Hotel Transylvania 2'' is a 2015 American animated monster comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation in association with LStar Capital, animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks, and distributed by Sony Pictures Relea ...

'' and in 2018 by '' Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation''. Streaming provider Netflix released four seasons of '' Castlevania'' 2017-2021, loosely based on the video game franchise of the same name ('' Castlevania''), where Dracula is a vengeful warlord who summons supernatural armies of demons to avenge the death of his wife in a supernatural setting. Netflix released a sequel series ('' Castlevania: Nocturne'') in 2023. Another Japanese anime series, '' Rosario + Vampire'', portrays one of the leading female characters, Moka Akashiya, as a vampire, whose demonic powers are sealed inside her with a rosary seal around her neck. The series portrays other kinds of fictional monsters as well, including a

witch Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...

and a snowwoman.

Vampire web series

From 2001 onward vampire web series became popular around the world. One of the first web series was the 2001 series '' The Hunted''. It is about a group of vampire slayers who have been bitten by vampires (but not yet turned into vampires) and try to fight the bloodsucking vampires. ''The Hunted'' was followed by '' 30 Days of Night: Blood Trails'' (2007) and '' 30 Days of Night: Dust to Dust'' (2008) who were based on the films '' 30 Days of Night'' and '' 30 Days of Night: Dark Days''. In 2009 the MTV online series '' Valemont'' follows Maggie Gracen, who decides to infiltrate Valemont University, because her brother Eric has vanished. She soon finds out that the University is full of vampires. The 2009 web series '' I Heart Vampires'' focuses on two teenage vampire fans, who find out that vampires are more than real. In 2011 the ''Being Human'' spin-off '' Becoming Human'' was released online. It is about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost who go to a school together and try to solve a murder. The 2014 vampire series ''

'' features a retelling of the story of the vampire Carmilla Karnstein, who attends a university in the modern day and falls in love with a human girl.

References

Notes Further reading * Auerbach, Nina. (1995) ''Our Vampires, Ourselves''. University of Chicago Press. * Abbott, Stacey. (2007) ''Celluloid Vampires: Life after Death in the Modern World''. University of Texas Press. * Frayling, Christopher (1992) ''Vampyres: Lord Byron to Count Dracula'' (1992) * Freeland, Cynthia A. (2000) ''The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror''. Westview Press. * Gelder, Ken. (1994) ''Reading the Vampire''. Routledge. * Gelder, Ken. (2012) ''New Vampire Cinema''. British Film Institute. * Holte, James Craig. (1997) ''Dracula in the Dark: The Dracula Film Adaptations''. Greenwood Press. * Hudson, Dale. (2017)'' Vampires, Race, and Transnational Hollywoods''. Edinburgh University Press.
Website with info and clips
* Leatherdale, C. (1993) ''Dracula: The Novel and the Legend''. Desert Island Books. * Melton, J. Gordon. (1997) ''Videohound's Vampire on Video''. Visible Ink Press. * Picart, Caroline Joan and Browning, John Edgar eds. (2009) ''Draculas, Vampires, and Other Undead Forms: Essays on Gender, Race, and Culture''. Scarecrow Press. * Silver, Alain and Ursini, James (2010) ''The Vampire Film'' (4th edition) * Weinstock, Jeffrey. (2012) ''The Vampire Film.'' Wallflower Press.

External links

Vampire Film Festival – New Orleans

Reviews of vampire films
a
The Film Walrus

at Oddfilms.com

at Eclipse.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Vampire Films Film genres

Film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

History of fiction Horror films by genre