What Are the Best Vampire Shows?

What are the best Vampire shows? Vampires can be considered a staple in modern media, fuelling the fantasy and horror genres with their enigmatic presence and command in the dark. Indeed, vampires have been seen in cinema for as early as 1922, with the release of F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. What are the best Vampire shows? Nosferatu can be considered the grandfather of modern vampire films, in the same way that Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the forefather of all modern vampire stories. Indeed, Nosferatu began as a plagiarized adaptation of Dracula itself. It then went on to become one of the hallmarks of horror cinema, utilizing German Expressionism in its direction and creating a play of light and shadow that works well with the story being told. It is no small feat to truly frighten an audience, much less if the film is a silent one. What are the best Vampire shows? Each generation of film makers has its own iteration of the vampire myth, and now, there are countless television shows that feature these famed supernatural beings as well.

While the vampire genre has spawned truly a large amount of classics, here are a few that are for sure to leave an imprint on you.

Top Vampire Films

Let the Right One In (2008) – Tomas Alfredson

What are the best Vampire shows? Let the Right One In is as far away from Twilight as possible, which was released on the same year. Its creepy atmosphere and dreadful story make for a truly spell-binding experience. It tells the story of the vampire child Eli and the friendship formed between Eli and the human child Oskar.

The Hunger (1983) – Tony Scott

A sultry erotic thriller, The Hunger features a seductress (Catherine Deneuve) still hung up on the death of her longtime lover (played by David Bowie), and crosses path with a young doctor (Susan Sarandon), with whom she becomes captivated with.

Cronos (1993) – Guillermo Del Toro

Guillermo Del Toro has a reputation today as one of the best film makers there is, and he made his debut with a work that is ahead of its time.

Thirst (2009) – Park Chan-wook

Thirst is a story of a sinful priest who turns into a blood-sucking creature. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. A clear departure from Park’s previous works in Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, this film is a discombobulating journey that questions gender roles and sexism in a backdrop of bloodlust and violence.

Byzantium (2012) – Neil Jordan

Neil Jordan may be most known for his work with Interview with a Vampire, but he sure does deliver his expertise in this terrifyingly distant and visually stunning masterpiece. What are the best Vampire shows? Saoirse Ronan leads the cast as a forever young vampire, and the story is told from her point of view.

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002) – Guy Maddin

What are the best Vampire shows? Guy Maddin twists the old Dracula story into his own desire. This wildly inventive and ingenuous film tells the story of a gorgeous young woman named Lucy who is wondering why she can’t just take three husbands at once, not unlike men who take multiple wives. Then, within the first ten minutes, Lucy is bitten by Dracula, and so begins a tale of madness, lust, and comedy superimposed on the underlying loss and tragedy.

The Strain (2009) – Guillermo Del Toro & Chuck Hogan

Del Toro returns to the vampire lore with The Strain, a story focusing on the vampire virus infesting New York City. The longer the vampires live, the more they lose their humanity, culminating in them becoming mindless monsters.

Top Vampire Television Series

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

What are the best Vampire shows? One of the most famous pop culture phenomenon is Joss Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The titular Buffy played by Sarah Michelle Gellar is the archetype of bad-ass female who saves the world one episode at a time. Buffy, though at first reluctant with her destiny as the Chosen One, soon becomes used to her role, and she later strikes a romance with the vampire Angel, and even later, another vampire, the charismatic but sort of evil Spike.

Angel

Angel is Buffy’s main love interest, especially during the first seasons. He became a wildly popular character as well, soon having his own self-titled spinoff show that featured some of the characters in the original series.

Being Human

Another vampire television show is Being Human by BBC, which features the unconventional relationship between a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost, as they live in their flat in Bristol.

The Vampire Diaries

In 2009, The Vampire Diaries premiered as a show, adapted from a series of novels of the same name. Set in the Mystic Falls, its protagonist is Elena, torn between the love and rivalry of brothers Damon and Stefan Salvatore.

What are the best Vampire shows? Vampires have been and will continue to be popular archetypes in literature, films, and television. They are classic villains with traits that can be twisted to suit that of antiheroes. Really, there are lots of possibilities in using them as characters, and we for sure haven’t seen the last of them in both the small screen and the big screen.