Vampires have been sinking their fangs into human necks since the Silent Era. The popularity of the mythical creatures can be credited to Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, which has been adapted more than 170 times. The 1872 novel, Carmilla, by Sheridan Le Fanu, also contributed heavily by being adapted more than 100 times.
Though vampires are primarily known for their craving for blood, early cinematic vampires, as seen in the 1913 movie The Vampire, were femme fatale “vamps” rather than undead fiends. Today, vampires can be clearly defined.
Ordinarily, vampire movies are associated with horror, but from time to time, the creatures tend to appear in drama, action, science fiction, comedy, romance, and fantasy stories. In the 2020s, movie directors are still fascinated with vampires, as we have recently seen gems like Nosferatu and Abigail. However, let’s take a trip back to the 1990s when equally great vampire movies were released, stretching across several genres.
10 ‘Habit’ (1995)
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Habit
- Release Date
- November 14, 1997
- Runtime
- 112 minutes
- Director
- Larry Fessenden
- Producers
- Dayton Taylor
Handling grief and heartbreak at the same time isn’t easy. So New Yorker Sam (Larry Fessenden) — who has just lost his father and broken up with his girlfriend — is glad when he meets Anna (Meredith Snaider), a seductive woman who seems willing to love him and nurse him back to a proper mental state. However, dozens of minutes into Habit, he suspects she might be a vampire.
Bad Company
Has a budget movie ever looked so good? The film was nominated for Best Cinematography and Best Director at the Independent Spirit Awards. Larry Fessenden did a one-man show here, directing, writing, and starring in Habit, without messing up a single thing. A masterclass in multitasking!
Meredith Snaider is also brilliant. Even though she seems human and empathetic at times, she’s still a scary siren, especially when threatened.
9 ‘Karmina’ (1996)
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Karmina
- Release Date
- May 26, 1996
- Runtime
- 110 Minutes
- Director
- Gabriel Pelletier
- Writers
- Ann Burke, Yves Pelletier, Andrée Pelletier, Gabriel Pelletier
Cast
-
Robert Brouillette
Philippe
Arranged marriages suck (total pun intended). Just ask Karmina’s 140-year-old titular character, who flees from her home in Transylvania to go live with her aunt in Quebec so that she won’t exchange vows with the annoying Vlad (Yves Pelletier). Life is better for her in North America, since vampires like her can access a magic potion that enables them to be more human. However, Karmina’s peace doesn’t last long as Vlad and her parents soon show up to bring her back home.
Fighting Traditions
Breathtaking visuals and tense family conflicts drive Gabriel Pelletier’s Genie Award-nominated tale of love and honor among the blood-sucking community. Filmed on location in Quebec, the film unravels like a Shakespearean drama, and the director draws smooth, unhurried work from his cast. He also sprinkled plenty of humor into the script, while underscoring a familiar dichotomy between wants and needs, nature and choice. Check out Karmina, if you yearn to dive into vampire romance.
8 ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ (1996)
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The most iconic of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s collaborations, From Dusk Till Dawn sees two brothers, Seth Gecko (George Clooney) and Richard (Quentin Tarantino) rob a bank before fleeing to the Mexican border. They make a stop at a bar, only to learn that it’s the hangout joint for a gang of vampires.
Bloody, but Aesthetically Pleasing
From Dusk Till Dawn was rubbished by critics when it came out, but it’s now considered a classic. Even today, its prescient message about karma packs a punch and the gore was ahead of its time. Robert Rodriguez shot much of the mayhem on location in Mexico, hence delivering some realism that was rare for vampire movies at the time. The point-of-view camera shots are also breathtaking. In all, this stands as a towering cinematic achievement of the ‘90s.
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7 ‘The Addiction’ (1995)
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The Addiction
- Release Date
- October 4, 1995
- Runtime
- 82 Minutes
- Director
- Abel Ferrara
- Writers
- Nicholas St. John
- Producers
- Fernando Sulichin, Preston L. Holmes, Russell Simmons
There are no drugs in The Addiction. The film concerns Kathleen Conklin (Lili Taylor), a philosophy graduate student who gets attacked by a vampire while she is walking in the streets. As she starts experiencing cravings, she tries hard to control herself, stuffing her mind with intellectual arguments about why she should and shouldn’t attack other people.
Major Dilemma
Abel Ferarray’s widely acknowledged horror masterpiece is a work of insightful beauty. Beyond its delicate presentation of a common story, The Addiction is one of the most visually stunning horror movies ever made. Lili Taylor is superb, conveying vulnerabilities and emotions that bite you and feel achingly real. And we, as the viewers, stand right beside her in her shifting alternating ecstasy and torment.
6 ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ (1992)
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Francis Ford Coppola’s experimentation hasn’t always yielded fruit, but Bram Stoker’s Dracula was, a rip-roaring bloody good time, from opening to conclusion. In the star-studded film, the eponymous vampire (Gary Oldman) falls in love with the fiancé of his lawyer, Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves). He locks the man up and goes after the unlucky woman, and when word reaches vampirism expert, Professor Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins), he decides to act.
Biting for Love
The legendary Coppola directed the film with total conviction. He was adamant about not using CGI, instead relying on antiquated techniques from Old Hollywood. Because of this, we get a truly dark and horrific picture. On top of that, Coppola serves us a rapid-fire repartee, helping us make sense of some of the complex proceedings unfolding.
5 ‘Nadja’ (1994)
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Nadja
- Release Date
- September 13, 1994
- Runtime
- 93 minutes
- Director
- Michael Almereyda
- Producers
- Amy Hobby,
David Lynch
Cast
Nadja walks the same dark footpaths as Coppola’s masterpiece. Here, Dracula’s daughter, Nadja (Elina Lowensohn), plots vengeance against her father’s murderer, Dr. Van Helsing (Peter Fonda). Part of her plan involves seducing Van Helsing’s daughter, Lucy (Galaxy Craze), but the vampire killer has clever strategies of his own.
Life after Dracula
Director Michael Almereyda has always known how to churn out these utterly charming arthouse confections. Painting subtle horrific pictures the way he did seems like a lost art nowadays, but we’ll forever cherish what he did. Here, he draws out delightful performances from his co-stars, and the chemistry between all the cast members is alluringly potent.
4 ‘Cronos’ (1992)
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Cronos
Cast
The chaos in Cronos begins when an alchemist creates a mysterious golden scarab-shaped device called the Cronos, which can make its user immortal. Hundreds of years later, an antique dealer comes into contact with it and is immediately transformed into a vampire. Worse still, a malicious industrialist wants Cronos. Will he get it?
Another Unmissable Gem From del Toro
Guillermo del Torro really scored with Cronos, a fizzy, wildly entertaining Mexican indie film he wrote himself. Federico Luppi has a star-making turn here, and whenever he is in the room with sultry co-star Margarita Isabel, the sparks fly. Claudio Brook also makes a dandy villain playing Dieter de la Guardia, the rich, dying businessman, who is eager to get his hands on the 460-year-old artifact.
Cronos is a rarity in modern cinema — a fast-paced and adventure-filled film that gives its audience rewards for tuning in. Even better, it’s set during the festive season.
3 ‘Interview with the Vampire’ (1994)
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Interview with the Vampire
- Release Date
- November 11, 1994
- Runtime
- 123 minutes
- Director
- Neil Jordan
- Writers
- Anne Rice
- Sequel(s)
- Queen of the Damned
Interview with the Vampire begins with Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt), a 200-year-old vampire, telling his life story to a biographer. Back in 1791, he was a wealthy plantation owner, grieving the loss of his wife and child. Then the charming vampire Lestat de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise) approached him, offering him immortality. He agreed, but the consequences became too much to bear.
Looking Back at When It All Went Wrong
The gothic horror film will please fans of the Anne Rice novel it’s based on. It’ll also please those who love the look and sound of a movie more than the plot. Interview with the Vampire was nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Original Score at the Oscars, and even though these two departments make up the movie’s spine, Pitt and Cruise do well too. Both of them haven’t touched this kind of project before, but we’d love them to.
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2 ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1992)
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Before the show, there was a movie. At the start of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, suave high schooler, Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson), is taking her studies seriously, hoping to gain entry into an Ivy League university. That’s until she meets Merrick Jamison-Smythe (Donald Sutherland). Merrick tells the teen that he’s been sent to train her to fight vampires.
The Foundation of a Great Show
Fran Rubel Kuzul’s vampire comedy felt blazingly refreshing at the time, but powerhouse performances from the cast and a top-notch screenplay by Joss Whedon are what holds us today. Kristy Swanson makes a great protagonist, and we feel her struggles as she tries to adapt to her new life. The TV show that came much later is undoubtedly better, but you’ll love this too.
1 ‘Blade’ (1998)
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Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, Blade concerns Blade (Wesley Snipes), a half-vampire who has dedicated his life to hunting others of his kind. His mom was bitten by a vampire while pregnant with him, so he inherited all the special abilities of vampires (superhuman strength, speed, and healing) and, luckily, avoided weaknesses, like sensitivity to light.
Signs of a Great Future for Marvel
As leading action man, Wesley Snipes was unequaled in the 1990s, the epitome of confidence, and Blade found him in peak form, starring alongside the redoubtable Stephen Dorff in this high-octane vampire film. The camera angles will leave you slack-jawed, and so will the action choreography. Plenty of work was put in here, and two sequels emerged as a result. No wonder there’s only ever gonna be one Blade.