Unlike the recent crap the movie industry is trying to sell us as the undead creatures of the night, there are some excellent vampire movies out there to watch. Unfortunately I was an innocent victim in the Twilight releases, as I was forced to sit through all the sparkly twilight vampy films with my better half. On that note, lets have a look at the 5 Vampire movies you should watch, selected from my list of favorite vampire movies.

1. Let me in (2010)

Let Me In is written and directed by Matt Reeves and starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz. It is a remake of the 2008 Swedish film “Let the Right One In”. It is based on the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist. It tells the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy who develops a friendship with a vampire child in Los Alamos, New Mexico in the early 1980s. The key to the remake’s success is the casting of the troubled young leads. The story is kept compellingly real by the vulnerability and sense of true emotional connections that make life worth living, or dying for. Unlike most remakes in recent memory, this is just as good as the original, maybe even better some might argue.

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2. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Based on Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel, about the vampire Dracula, who is on a quest and prepared to stop at nothing to be reunited with the one woman he ever loved. Avenging the death of his wife in the 15th century is another key motivator when he comes to London, specifically to meet Mina Harker (Winona Ryder), the living image of his late wife. Anthony Hopkins takes on the role as the obsessed vampire hunter Van Helsing who is motivated by his hate for the undead.

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3. Interview with a Vampire

The star studded cast to unravel the best-selling romantic horror tale, written by Anne Rice’s, include Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst. The film is about the origins of a centuries-old vampire Lestat (Tom Cruise) who takes a liking in a plantation owner named Louis (Brad Pitt) who lost his wife and child during labour. Louis turned to misery and felt no reason to continue life without his family. Lestat offers him the chance to become a vampire to which he accepts, and Lestat drains Louis’ mortal blood and then replaces it with his own, turning Louis into a vampire. With Louis as the apprentice to his master Lestat, the story is told from the newcomers experience as a creature of the night. The two vampires remain connected over the years, while becoming intimately involved with others of their kind, including Claudia (Kirsten Dunst), a mature immortal in a young child’s body.

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4. Fright Night (1985)

This excellent mix of horror and comedy begins with a teenager that discovers his next door neighbour is a vampire. For young Charlie Brewster, life is about watching old horror movies which fuels his active imagination. Two men move in next door, and for Charlie with his horror movie experience, there can be no doubt that their strange behavior is explained by the fact that they are a vampire and his undead day guardian. Charley turns to the one man he knows has faced the wrath of the undead and lived, the fearless vampire killer Peter Vincent. A washed-up actor who has just been fired from his job as the host of a late-night horror show, Vincent is not about to believe in the rantings of an impressionable teen age boy convinced of the existence of the undead.

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5. The Lost Boys (1987)

The “80s teen flick / horror movie” about a single mom and her two sons who become involved with a pack of vampires when they move into an offbeat Northern California town, is one of the defining vampire movies of its time. Unexplained disappearances and strange events lead the way to an epic showdown where the two brother, originally from Arizona, end up fighting a gang of teenage vampires as they try to survive and keep their loved ones safe. The special effects and quirky one liners are a bit cheese, however it still stands out to prove that not everything about the 1980s was awful. As far as setting the stage for future vampire films are concerned, it’s a must see.

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