GREATEST VAMPIRE MOVIE EVER?

[poseablemonster]

I kinda like "Taste The Blood of Dracula".  It's a pretty bad movie, but like most Hammer films, it has it's interesting moments.  I think there's a scene toward the beginning where a horse takes a poop.  Can you say that about any other Vampire film?

I just finished watching the Mexican classics El Vampiro and the sequel El Ataúd del Vampiro, and loved them both.  Great movies, very visual.  German Robles made a great Vampire, and I really grew to like the Abel Salazar - hero character, too.  He was also good in The Curse of the Crying Woman. 

[capt.hendry51]

I gotta say I just  really like Son Of Dracula.  Lon Chaney brought a primal energy and menace to the role. Great set designs, good SFX, great music, and a great supporting cast.

[SpankRamen]

I'm moving into a Nosferatu phase, now. I feel as though I'm going backwards. After this, I'm just gonna turn off the TV & finish reading the Book Of Nod. 

[lepumpernic]

THE BEST VAMPYRE MOVIE:

1) NOSFERATU

2) SALEM'S LOT.


NOSFERATU.. IT'S FANTASTIC!!!!!! A MOVIE WITHOUT SOUND.. THE IMAGES.. THE ATMOSPHERE... ORLOK... IT'S GREAT!!!!

AND THE FX... IT'S A MOVIE OF 1922!!!!


NO WORDS... IT'S AMAZING.... FIRST IN MY BOOKLIST: NOSFERATU.

SALEM'S LOT.. ITS GREAT.. THE VAMPYRES WITH THE YELLOW EYES... THE BOY IN THE WINDOW...
BARLOW... (A COPY OF NOSFERATU)---- GREAT! 

[monster4josh]

Excellent thread--don't mind if I jump right in...

If I had to name just one, it would be Browning's DRACULA because of the Lugosi leer and that presence; Bela was one of a kind. The others I really dig: BRIDES OF DRACULA creeped me out when I was about 9; saw it on Bob Wilkins' CREATURE FEATURES back around '73...especially the scene where Peter Cushing is watching the vampire girl rising from the grave, and the finale. DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN has a special place in my heart and in my collection. But I also enjoy THE NIGHT STALKER, and "The Vampire" episode from the sadly short-lived TV series (this was the first time I remember rooting for the good guy in a vampire story). Currently my favorite vampire movies are all by Mario Bava: BLACK SUNDAY, BLACK SABBATH ("The Wurdulak" segment), and PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES.

[neonnoodle]

I really did like "The Night Stalker."  It's very engrossing and scary as heck!  The performers were all great, too.  Solid TV movie...

[ProfGriffin]

Horror of Dracula...for Cushing, for Lee and for that ending.  The ending makes the entire film for me.

I've said it before and it bears repeating...Horror of Dracula...THE most exciting ending in a vampire film.  PERIOD.

Dracula running from Van Helsing...RUNNING from the mortal who has the knowledge and the ability to destroy him....
Peter Cushing chasing down Dracula...his 'London Fog' coat flowing...his scarf billowing.... the James Bernard Music propelling the action onward...

It's all coming back to me...
Dracula tries to make an escape to the cellars, but is caught seconds before vanishing.  He MUST kill Van Helsing NOW, if not, Van Helsing will surely go down the trapdoor when he is sleeping the sleep of the undead, and destroy him with ease.

The battle is on...Van Helsing ducks a hastily thrown candelabra, and suddenly finds himself face to face with the vampire Lord!

Dracula rushes to Van Helsing and lunges at him like an animal.  Van Helsing struggles and tries to break away from the Vampire, but Dracula's grip is like iron.  Van Helsing quickly feels himself weaken and his legs start to falter.  Dracula pushes Van Helsing back onto a low table and continues to slowly choke the life from him.  Van Helsing gasps, chokes, then surrenders to unconsciousness.

Dracula rises, his fangs gleaming in triumph.  A few wicked seconds later and Dracula starts to descend towards the prone body of Van Helsing again, this time with the intention of triumphantly drinking Van Helsing's blood.  Inches away from Dracula's curse, the brave vampire killer's eyes flutter open and he reacts to the proximity of the foul creature, pushing away with all his strength. 
Dracula, expecting a weakened foe is caught off guard and flung back against the fireplace.

The next few moments are tense as Dracula, smiling a grim smile starts to advance again.  Van Helsing backs away rubbing his neck, to make sure he was not bitten.  There is a beat of an exchange, Dracula silently saying, "You cannot beat me, and you KNOW you cannot beat me.  Your death is only a matter of time."

Then by the grace of God, Van Helsing sees the heavy curtains and remembers exactly what time of day it is.
He leaps back on the massive table and quickly runs the length of it to avoid Dracula's grasp.  He leaps from the table's edge and catching the curtain, pulls it down to allow the sunlight to pour into the room!!

When Van Helsing runs onto the table and leaps toward the curtains, Dracula follows him for a split second with his head...watching where Van Helsing is running. 
Dracula must be thinking. "What's he doing...? Uh-OH!!!" 
Only then does he attempt to move out of the way...
I've always thought that in the heat of battle the old Vivode lost track of the big picture...the bright sunlight outside.

Reportedly, it was Cushing himself who came up with the dramatic run across the table and leap to the curtains...as well as the two candlesticks instead of simply pulling out another cross from his coat.
Peter "Props" Cushing joked that he sometimes felt like a crucifix salesman with so many crosses on his person, and that the candlestick improvisation was a much more dramatic way to go.

He was right.

And Lee's Dracula.... well it's a bad day in Klausenburg as he tries to fight off the repelling effects of the makeshift cross...the power of goodness and Van Helsing's faith pushing him back.... back.  He instinctively uses his hand to hold himself up but exposed to the sunlight, it begins to crumble...pain pain...

The cross pushing him back, back, back... until he falls INTO THE SUNLIGHT.... FACE UP!!  Slowly he flakes away to ashes, his screams of pain becoming gurgles as his body returns to the earth.

Van Helsing watches the destruction of Dracula with a mixture of disgust and pity, and when it's all over, he walks slowly towards the table letting the glorious sunlight cover him and thanking God for his blessing.

If this all seems a little one sided, remember that the vampire is EXTREMELY powerful and possesses great strength and abilities.  It MUST have several weaknesses to counter its abilities and thank goodness that we will always have the heroic Vampire Slayers to battle back the forces of darkness.

I feel the same way about Karl Kolchak and that truly nasty vampire Janos Skorzney.

[monster4josh]

Yes, indeed, Skorzeny as portrayed by Barry Atwater, is great.  It's funny, but before I ever saw THE NIGHT STALKER, I had seen Atwater in THE NIGHT GALLERY film ("The Cemetery"--still one of my favorite vignettes ever). When he appeared as Skorzeny I thought, "wait, I know that guy." But it wasn't until later that I put it together. Too bad they couldn't have expanded "The Cemetery" into a full picture; Roddy McDowall and Ozzie Davis were terrific; the other two segments are rather forgetable...

[ProfGriffin]

And who can forget Barry Atwater as a green-skinned Dracula in the little promotional short for the Count Dracula society (leading the vampire oath) that was played before Dracula AD 1972?

"So help me Christopher Lee...."

Now...you are once of us!!!!!

[kolchak4ever]

Wow, every movie listed is great in one way or another.  But I must say I'm rather fond of
Jack Palance as Dracula. There was just some thing about his performance that sent a shiver down my spine. Also Christopher Lee in Bram Stoker's Count Dracula '71 is really good.
But the one I can sit and watch over and over is  The Night Stalker.  It's not as scary or gory as some, but it sure is a lot of fun.
Dale

[avenger]

I can't seem to make up my mind as there are so many vampire movies I like.
Obviously all the different incarnations of Dracula,with Christopher Lee,Bela Lugosi,Frank Langella,
Jack Palance,etc.are favourites.Then there are Salem's Lot,Blade,Fright Night and too many more to choose from.I also liked The Night Stalker series.

[Universal Steve]

The greatest vampire film of all time is also my favorite film of all time...
Dracula with Bela Lugosi. A film that relied on acting and story rather that special effects. For whatever reason it had no soundtrack except for Swan Lake at the beginning, it added to the mood of the film. Universals' first talking horror film has my vote.

[The Drunken Severed Head]

Universal Steve, you truly are the most loyal soldier of the UNIVERSAL Monster Army. I salute you!

[Crazy1van]

FRIGHT NIGHT holds a special place in my heart as the 1st R rated movie I attended without getting someone older to buy my ticket.  LOST BOYS may be my favorite though, due to the friends I saw it with as much as the movie itself.  It was LOST BOYS that inspired me to start seeking out all the vampire movies and books I could find (I was already hooked on lycanthropes, so to speak). 

[neonnoodle]

That was ATWATER in that promotional film, as the green-skinned vampire?

Ah, aha!  I have wondered who the heck that was for a while, thanks for that nice little neck-bite of information !

You see, when you go to the store and find the shelves devoid of vampire films, or figure that there's far less of them than there ought to be, and you think, "Jeez, who is buying all the vampire films around here?  I can't hardly get none for myself!"  Well, you need look no further than this thread!

ALL the movies listed are great.  Vampires come in many great flavors.