It is finally October and time to get excited for Halloween! The best way to get in the spirit for the spooky season is to watch a scary movie. Vampires have been a classic element of horror for centuries and made their first appearance on the big screen in Nosferatu in 1922. Since then, many vampire movies and TV shows have been released. These range from kid’s movies, to comedies, to terrifying horror movies (and we cannot forget about the teen vampire dramas). I have comprised a list of some of my favorite vampire movies from varying genres that you should watch this season.
- The Lost Boys (1987)
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From the fashion to the classic soundtrack, you can not get more 80s than this movie. The Lost Boys has a great balance of horror, comedy, and romance. This movie is not overly scary at all, but there is some older special fx gore and blood (they are vampires after all). This is a good pick for someone who is not a huge horror movie fan but wants to watch something mildly scary. It is very entertaining and has a few common 80’s actors that you are probably familiar with. The soundtrack of this film is very well known. This is my favorite vampire movie.
- Fright Night (1985)
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This movie is another 80s horror movie, similar to The Lost Boys. Similarly, it is classified as a horror-comedy, but I would say that this film is scarier than The Lost Boys. Expect 1980s style gore and horror. Chris Sarandon is a fantastic actor in this movie and has a very large role, but due to Fright Night‘s plot full of mystery, I do not want to spoil anything about the film or who the characters may be! If you watch The Lost Boys and like it, watch this movie next.
- Twilight (2008)
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How could I make a list of vampire movies without including the Twilight series? Okay, these may not be vampires that really have any original folklore attached to them, but they are still fun movies to watch. These are classic movies for any 2000s baby and perfect for anyone who has no interest in watching a horror movie.
- Van Helsing (2004)
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This, in my opinion, is the scariest movie on this list. If you get scared easily, I still recommend this film because it is so worth it to see Hugh Jackman fighting vampires. The music score is fantastic, the vampires are beautiful (and also ugly depending on form), and the costumes are amazing! It has beautiful scenes, especially the one in Dracula’s ballroom full of mirrors. This film has been a favorite of mine for years.
- The Little Vampire (2000)
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For anyone who has kids in their lives or just wants to watch a super cute movie, this is a good pick. This was one of my favorite “scary” movies when I was young.
- Dracula (1931)
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This is the most classic vampire movie, the original Dracula film. If you love horror movies, make sure to go back to the originals! They may not be as scary as modern films due to lack of technology, but these classic monster movies are the basis of modern horror.
- Bonus: TV Shows
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There are many TV shows with vampires, but some of my favorites include The Originals, The Vampire Diaries, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.