Vampire Movies You Shouldn't Miss
Our recs this week don't have Dracula, but they do have David Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Swedish vampire children
Believe it or not, vampire movies have been around for over 100 years now, from Nosferatu (1922) and the original Dracula (1931) all the way through to Renfield, which opens in theaters this weekend and stars the immortal Nicolas Cage as Dracula. This week on the newsletter we’re recommending a couple of our favorite vampire flicks. Neither feature Dracula, but they are both very much worth checking out even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of the genre.
Drew recommends…
Let the Right One In
It’s that classic tale of young love: boy (a meek and bullied 12-year-old) meets girl (an ageless vampire that happens to look like a quiet, pale young lady) and falls for her immediately. Let the Right One In is a 2008 Swedish vampire film that focuses on its characters and story, first and foremost. It’s not trying to shock you with violence and terror, but simply present two misfits that found each other at a crucial time in their young lives. It’s the type of romantic genre movie that just about anyone can find worth the time and emotional investment.
Oskar is the picked-on Swedish boy that desperately needs a friend and someone that will stand up for him. Eli is the (vampire) girl that moves in next door. Despite her need for human blood to stay alive, these two become unlikely companions as he tries to make it through the school day and she tries not to reveal her true identity. Director Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) doesn’t overplay the vampire elements while establishing an icy and ominous mood for the movie. Let the Right One In accomplishes the tricky balancing act between specific genre vampire story and rich dramatic material that feels universal.
Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Billy recommends…
The Hunger
As a Tony Scott aficionado this was the one hole in his filmography that I haven’t seen. And after watching The Hunger I was sent into an existential crisis thinking about Tony Scott’s career. This could not have been more different thematically to his other efforts. It’s sexy, bloody, and led by movie stars who are in stark contrast to who he worked with later on.
It was almost as if he and his brother Ridley had a conversation after The Hunger and agreed they were doing similar things. So Tony went a different way to give themselves a more clear space in the industry. The Hunger stars Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon. Deneuve and Bowie (Miriam and John) are a vampire couple and Sarandon (Sarah) is a doctor who specializes in aging. John was turned into a vampire in the 18th century by Miriam and the promises of the life he wanted were only partially true. He would love forever, but not be young forever. He begins to age rapidly and seeks out Sarah to see if she can reverse the effects.
What ensues is light on story, but captivating in every way. A love triangle of sorts centered around manipulating vampires is a recipe for success when shot so stylishly. Vampire stories famously used violence as an insinuation for sex ever since the original Universal Dracula. This was one of the first Vampire movies that merged sex and violence so completely. Which is why this is so weird to see in a Tony Scott movie.
He always had attractive and oily (Top Gun was his best movie) stars, but the gaze was uniquely different. And eventually his movies, while meticulously made and eternally entertaining, became so sterile in regards to its ogle on its actors. Tony Scott is one of our most under-appreciated directors and I think it is because when you see a Tony Scott movie you can generally recognize right away it is his movie. The Hunger is not that way at all. It subverted all my expectations for a director that felt so easy to “get”. It may be time to re-examine the career for Tony Scott.
Available to rent digitally on demand