Movie monsters: Vampires

Recently watched The Lost Boys (still love the ending of that movie - always cracks me up), which led to recall my younger days visiting the Psychotronic shop which was in a basement in Camden Town, when I was seriously into a horror movies. That shop was small and grotty, but back then, it was horror movie manna!

I wonder if it's still around? Anyway I digress...throughout this blog, I'll be looking at my fave movie monsters, so without further ado, I'll start the proceedings with my fave screen vampires (in reverse order):

Number 5: Wesley Snipes as Blade. Previously the only black screen vampire I was aware of was Blacula (catchy name, eh), but Snipes did a good job as a vampire killer who is a half vampire / half human hybrid. I haven't seen the TV series yet, but I'll make a note to catch it eventually (ps: didn't think much of "Blade: Trinity" though).

Number 4: David Boreanaz as Angel, star of the sadly missed spin-off from the TV Buffy the Vampire Slayer series. Angel is a heroic vampire cursed with a soul by gypsies, which fills him with remorse for his bloody crimes throughout the centuries, which were committed by his previously evil persona Angelus.

Number 3: Bela Lugosi as Dracula. Lugosi (born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó) found fame as Count Dracula in the 1927 Broadway stage production (which ran for three years), and the subsequent movie adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel in 1931. Sadly his most famous role also led to his career's decline due to typecasting, and he died in poverty. He was buried in his full Dracula costume, including cape.

Runner-up: Max Schrek as Count Orlok in Nosferatu (1922) - despite the age of this movie, I still feel without doubt, that Orlok is one of the most eerie and creepiest vampires around.

Numero Uno has to be Christopher Lee's Count Dracula (of ye olde Hammer Horror flicks). Before his roles in the Lord Of The Ring and Star Wars trilogies, Christopher Lee was the main man for his portrayal of the ultra-seductive and sinister count.


As for my favourite screen vampiress...

Number 5: Barbara Shelley as Helen Kent in Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966). Always felt sorry for Barbara Shelley in this movie. She's among a group of naive travellers who decides to accept an invitation to stay at Dracula's castle, despite being warned by the locals. Bad mistake. The prim and proper Helen becomes a victim of the recently resurrected Dracula, and is transformed into a beautiful, sexy vampiress - who is promptly staked in the heart.

Number 4: Kim Cattrall as Ulrike - Modern Vampires (1998) aka Revenant. This oddball movie is definitely tongue-in-cheek...check out the vampire killers in the hood for example (although Robert Pastorelli makes a poor Count Dracula), but Kim Cattrall as a vampiress encouraging undead sex in the city was a hoot.

At Number 3: Salma Hayek as Santanico Pandemonium - From Dusk Till Dawn (1996). Her role as the main attraction (and vampire queen) at the seedy Mexican striptease joint Titty Twister was brief...but unforgettable.

Runner-up: Fenella Fielding as Valeria Watt - Carry on Screaming! (1966). I'll concede that it is debatable whether the character Valeria Watt was an actual vampire, but Fenella is great as the evil seductress on one of the best "Carry On" movies ever made.

Top vamp: Ingrid Pitt as Marcilla / Carmilla / Mircalla Karnstein - The Vampire Lovers (1970). OK - this Hammer Horror film is better known for the brief scenes of nudity and the plot has some loose ends: who was the shadowy man-in-black who appears on horseback? And who was the noblewoman responsible for introducing Marcilla/Carmilla/Mircalla to the unsuspecting families under a false pretext? But in spite of that, Ingrid Pitt (born as Ingoushka Petrov in Poland on 21 November, 1937) is great as the deadly, yet tragic vampiress.