Vampyr
(Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)

Dreyer’s eerie film is an overlooked masterpiece, even though Murnau’s Nosferatu is the classic vampire film of the era. A dreamlike menace creeps from the shadows; Dreyer’s passion for authenticity meant that he demanded real spiders’ webs rather than fake ones.

The Lost Boys
(Joel Schumacher, 1987)

Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland head up the cast in the iconic aspirational vampire movie. A sequel was completed earlier this year but was released straight to DVD.

Near Dark
(Katherine Bigelow, 1987)

Bigelow’s directorial debut, a vampire western, starred Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen; the word “vampire” is never mentioned in the movie. It bombed at the box office but later earned cult status.

Interview with the Vampire
(Neil Jordan, 1994)

Anne Rice’s bestseller is adapted into one of the great vampire films. Tom Cruise plays Lestat, aristocratic vampire hedonist, who fills his eternity by feasting on nubile young flesh. Brad Pitt is Louis, vampire with a conscience, whose life story unfolds in the film.

Shadow of the Vampire
(E. Elias Merhige, 2000)

This inspired, darkly comic film posits that Max Schreck, the star of Murnau’s Nosferatu, was a genuine vampire. John Malkovich plays Murnau and Willem Dafoe is Schreck.

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