The 25 Best Vampire Movies of All Time

Vampires are a cornerstone of horror cinema, arising even earlier than Universal opened Dracula’s coffin in Hollywood’s relative infancy. Since then, we’ve seen vampires of each iteration — the glittery heartthrobs, the ugliest creatures, the prankster roommates, and numerous different reinventions. There have all the time been vampires lurking in shadows, and there’ll endlessly be batty wings flapping underneath the moonlight. Our activity right here is to focus on the most effective of the most effective vampire films all through historical past, protecting interval highlights as horror actions got here and went sooner than Drac moving into the daylight.

As all the time, there are private favorites that have not squeaked their means onto this checklist however nonetheless deserve recognition. Movies like Suck, The Transfiguration, Byzantium, Blood Red Sky, and Blade need to be within the dialog when followers focus on their favourite vampire films, and we’d love to listen to a few of your options! After studying our picks under, hit the feedback with some vampire films you rank as crowning achievements in vampire cinema.

But for now, let’s take a chew out of this huge subgenre. Here are the 25 finest vampire films of all time. You may take a look at the most effective monster films for extra picks.

25. Vampyr (1932)

Criterion has dubbed Vampyr a horror traditional with good purpose. Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer implements what little technological developments benefitted cinema on the time to create a black-and-white vampire thriller that operates in absurdist brush strokes. Most notably, Vampyr closely makes use of shadows that maneuver with free will, giving a dreamlike state to supernatural influences. It’s no Nosferatu, however it exemplifies how vampire flicks can differentiate themselves via translucent visible results and extra ghostly disorientation even in days when strategies have been restricted. You can by no means stifle ambition, which is able to all the time discover a means.

24. Bit (2019)

The “Vibe Check” on Brad Michael Elmore’s Bit passes with flying (neon) colours. Nicole Maines stars as a transgender teenage lady who strikes to Los Angeles and falls in with a badass crew of vampires (run by cooler-than-everyone Diana Hopper as Duke) who don’t permit males of their undead membership. Elmore’s indie oozes LA’er attitudes from messaging to attractive nightlife scenes — full with a needle drop of Starcrawler’s “I Love LA” — and boasts 10 instances the type of latest vampire flicks with 10 instances the finances. It feels genuine in thematic messages, formidable but wholly working inside its means, and nonetheless has some good bloodletting for extra hardcore horror followers regardless of execution which may favor youthful audiences. A movie that’s by no means shy about what’s on the tin and even holds its feminist message accountable is healthier for its slick-supportive-seductive methods.

23. Nosferatu (2024)

Robert Eggers not has to chase his white whale. The filmmaker’s final ardour undertaking, Nosferatu, is as technically gorgeous and hideously moody as you’d anticipate. Jarin Blaschke’s meticulous arthouse cinematography deservingly earned one of many movie’s 4 Oscar nominations, a testomony to Eggers’s dedication to express and unmatched craftsmanship. Bill Skarsgård disappears underneath festering beauty make-up as he transforms into the predatory Count Orlok, whereas Lily-Rose Depp shines as his writhing, at instances possessed muse. Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe are all incredible supporting gamers as Eggers reworks Henrik Galeen’s and Bram Stoker’s literature into his personal sublimely atmospheric interpretation of Nosferatu’s curse. It’s gothic, beautiful, and grotesque in methods solely Eggers can accomplish.

22. Fright Night (2011)

Yes, 2011’s Fright Night remake earns an entry whereas the beloved 1985 authentic doesn’t. Why? Because 2011’s Fright Night, starring Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, and Toni Collette, is an improve in fierceness and pacing, and separates its performances from the originals sufficient to exist with out competing in opposition to its elders. There’s no comparability between Peter Vincents or Jerry Dandriges — Farrell operates like a shark smelling blood and David Tennant is the Midori-drunk Vegas showman coping with darker demons. The ’85 model’s sensible results are superior with out argument, however Fright Night (2011) will get extra credit score all over the place else. It’s dreadfully predatory from the get-go and by no means relents.

21. Bloodsucking Bastards (2015)

Vampirism can signify quite a few metaphors — for instance, vampirism as dependancy is in style — and in Bloocksucking Bastards, vampires invade workplace areas. The horror comedy starring Fran Kranz and Pedro Pascal is a few gross sales workplace slowly turning into nocturnal gross sales brokers of doom. The soul-sucking drain of cubicle life turns into fairly literal as a result of vampires might be extra productive than people who sleep, take lunch breaks, and so forth. What begins as a spooky Workaholics episode finally reveals the satirical endurance of a Mike Judge comedy, as Bloodsucking Bastards unleashes undead company warfare with provide closet instruments used as weapons. For the horror comedy followers in your life who love “Worksploitation” horror (exploitation flicks about day jobs), that is one chilly name it’s best to reply.

20. The Lost Boys (1987)

The Lost Boys is a Peter Pan riff with extra neck biting and fewer innocence. It’s quintessential ’80s horror at a crossroads between bloody eruptions and glitter utilization, notorious for its inclusion of “Sexy Sax Man.” Kiefer Sutherland’s gang of vampiric Santa Carla misfits experience dust bikes and play thoughts tips by making others suppose they’re consuming bugs, however there’s additionally a imply streak to The Lost Boys. Director Joel Schumacher’s imaginative and prescient is as further because the ’80s would permit, and vampire make-up designs purpose to stir frights — it is a boardwalk hangout flick with surprisingly ugly vampire traits that audiences will always remember for its sense of over-the-top type.

19. Norway (2014)

Chances are you don’t even know Yannis Veslemes’ Norway exists — it sat round ready for U.S. distribution from about 2014 till 2021. Maybe that’s as a result of it’s onerous to explain this Eurotrash tackle vampirism a few bloodsucker who says he’ll die if he stops dancing. It’s a interval piece about Eighties nightclubs and their underbellies that turns vampires into rave-loving occasion animals who befriend prostitutes and find yourself entangled in Nazi conspiracies… The music beats as loud as Veslemes’ inventive ambitions since sequences are handled like glitzy music video segments the place blood might be any vibrant shade. Everything from miniatures to Michel Gondry-esque daydreams thrive. I promise you’ll by no means see a groovier, extra fleet-of-foot vampire hallucination than Norway.

18. Cronos (1992)

Guillermo del Toro’s debut is as del Toro as they arrive. Cronos is an alternate vampire film a few golden insect mechanism, a scarab that grants everlasting life, and vampirism in its least conventional types. You’ll glimpse a baby-faced Ron Perlman performing as a mob goomba, and minimal bloodsucking aside from del Toro’s complete impetus for writing the story of Cronos — his lead character licking nosebleed juice off a rest room flooring like an addict. It’s del Toro’s means of encountering the curse of vampirism, which pivots into extra curiosity about eternal life than how somebody consumes contemporary blood to remain alive. You can see del Toro evolves his ardour for humanizing monsters from Cronos onward and channels his rebellious spirit when bucking style conformity.

17. Blade 2 (2002)

One or two extra slots on this checklist and Wesley Snipes’ first Blade film would seem. As is, Guillermo del Toro’s Blade 2 represents the comedian guide franchise right here as a uncommon sequel that outshines its authentic. Del Toro’s thrives are an improve from industrial blood rave aesthetics since landscapes are extra colourful, vampires turn into terrifying creatures, and mercenaries gun their means via monstrosities utilizing high-tech weapons. Blade 2 advantages from del Toro’s characterization of the macabre and adoration of sensible results, all of that are precursors to later del Toro works like Hellboy and Crimson Peak — with out dropping a drop of Snipes’ bad-mama-jamma Blade angle.

16. Stake Land (2010)

The feral depth of Stake Land can really feel like a direct response to Twilight, as this movie was launched solely about two years after the notorious younger grownup vampire romance. Jim Mickle and co-writer Nick Damici (who additionally stars) method vampires with an apocalyptic lens, the place survivors now wander infested territories looking for protected havens like in Zombieland — besides commerce humor for beastly stress. Damici’s enjoying a vampire hunter who takes a mentee underneath his wing, instructing him tips whereas navigating vampire hordes who thrash, gnash, and rip at throats. Dystopian wasteland vibes are paramount, and motion is relentless, making Stake Land one of many simpler responses to vampires as love pursuits in a post-Twilight world.

15. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Only Lovers Left Alive is simply too cool for college as Jim Jarmusch takes on vampirism with a carefree indie rock angle. Hiddleston matches the position of a reclusive shut-in with the grace of a sedated Joey Ramone, whereas Swinton’s go-with-the-flow grace is intoxicating. The additions of Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin inject a little bit of chaos into bloodsuckers who embrace moody, musical hangout chemistry, whereas Jarmusch makes use of his movie to equate vampirism to drug dependancy and humanity’s intensifying corruption. It’s rebellious, punk-rock, and hipster with out the stigmatic pretension, pushed by tortured but enviable performances that even pull off carrying sun shades at evening.

14. 30 Days of Night (2007)

In the dialog of “Best Comic Book Adaptations,” you finest not neglect David Slade’s 30 Days of Night. Josh Hartnett and Melissa George anchor a solid of Alaskan townsfolk submerged in darkness for 30 days and keeping off a roving vampire gang. Danny Huston epitomizes vampires as creatures price fearing, as primal and animalistic as horror followers have encountered. 30 Days of Night is magnificently monster-forward and by no means for a second lets audiences catch their breath, hinged on an excellent turning level in horror cinema the place attitudes have been nonetheless bleak as midnight, but gore-heaviness advanced from senseless to punctual. Hence the graphic nature of 30 Days of Night, the place vampire mercilessness is an accent to the already frigidly suspenseful survival state of affairs.

13. Ganja & Hess (1973)

Bill Gunn’s experimental vampire romance stands out for a number of causes, first as a result of it’s one of many solely Black vampire movies — particularly in 1973. Duane Jones and Marlene Clark play lovers united by bloodlust as soon as the previous turns the latter, as Gunn makes use of essences of the Black expertise to convey the imprisonment of vampirism. Sam Waymon’s rating supplies this ritualistic drum-beating that’s generally drowned out by vocal screams of anguish, which turns into a disorienting supply of unease, even when offering a soundtrack for lovemaking scenes. Images of nooses, swimming pools of shiny pink blood being lapped by people, and this bare method to displaying vampirism because the antithesis of faith all embrace the sins of humanity with such pronounced rawness. Race, horror, and society collide in a time when vampires primarily have been whitewashed European interpretations — the significance of illustration strikes once more.

12. Interview With the Vampire (1994)

Interview With the Vampire is an attractive, hunky, indulgent deal with that begins in 1791 Spanish Louisiana and finishes with Guns N’ Roses enjoying over the top credit. Tom Cruise is a diabolically dapper Lestat, Brad Pitt a dreamily conflicted Louis, Christian Slater a beefcake journalist — the hunkiness of Interview is off the charts even earlier than mentioning Antonio Banderas. Kirsten Dunst brings a supporting flip as a toddler caught in a youthful physique endlessly, confirming that the performances throughout the board are transformative as a vampire household bickers and feeds all through a long time. There are oodles of presence from Louis’ extravagantly embellished plantation to New Orleans penthouses to Paris’ Théâtre des Vampires (the movie was obtained an Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction). Plainly and confidently, they don’t make ‘em like this anymore — flamboyant, unafraid of queer subtext, and excessively decorative all the way down to minute particulars.

Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire is a separate TV present that was launched in 2022, however affords a special tackle the identical story.

11. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn is a criminal offense thriller that stealthily turns right into a sleazy vampire lockbox midnighter. It’s bought every thing from Salma Hayek delivering a blistering dance quantity to overwhelming vampire numbers as Titty Twister strippers tear aside drunk patrons. What begins as an insidiously darkish kidnapping state of affairs rapidly turns into a guns-blazing horror brawler with Mexican influences and an thrilling method to monster mania. George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, and extra flip to holy water balloons and jackhammer stake machines to exterminate vampires with excessive unholy violence — with an emphasis on sensible results by a few of the finest within the enterprise.

10. Dracula (1931)

Count Dracula’s debut in Universal’s traditional monster run is all about ambiance, huge stage settings, and the gothic structure trendy vampire movies don’t have the nerve to problem. Bela Lugosi units the Eastern European template for “I v’ant to suck your blaaahd!” forms of Counts to comply with, and there’s a purpose. Tod Browning’s Dracula is all about rubber bat puppets, painted backgrounds, and minimal technological development of the ’30s — but its moods are nonetheless infinitely extra fascinating than most trendy vampire takes. Gothic structure, cobwebs all through stone fort basements, and the shadowy black-and-white wash match Dracula’s hypnotic horrors whereas Lugosi makes use of his gaze like a tractor beam. It’s every thing we may ask for in a vampire movie, particularly when promoting vampire movies past drained our bodies and sharp tooth (at a brisk 75 minutes).

9. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

In 2014, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was handily any filmmaking newcomer’s most completed horror debut. Ana Lily Amirpour’s black-and-white Iranian vampire flick possesses such a colourful character, with a standout efficiency from Sheila Vand. Amirpour’s type blends skateboarding, indie rock, and homages to traditional vampire cinema with a contemporary chew. Vand’s loner seeks romance whereas stalking denizens of Bad City by evening, as Amirpour marries candy fantasies with merciless fates and spaghetti Western influences. It’s a vigilante story, a story of hopeless romantics, and has a style for depraved males — all whereas Amirpour valiantly establishes herself as an attention-grabbing filmmaker who’s since made good on such guarantees.

8. The Hunger (1983)

In the pantheon of sexy vampire flicks, Tony Scott’s The Hunger — starring Catherine Deneuve, David Bowie, and Susan Sarandon — would have 3 AM Cinemax specials hotly bothered. Any vampire film that begins with Bauhaus’s “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” earns speedy kudos, and it is all gravy afterward. Deneuve’s killer queen guarantees her lovers everlasting life, however as Bowie’s 18th-century cellist finds out, mentioned eternity would not prolong to bodily options as he all of a sudden begins an accelerated growing old course of. Enter Sarandon’s gerontologist, and the love triangle birthed from deception and sealed with bloody kisses as hungers for sustenance or sexual pleasure run rampant. So sultry, so seductive, and so chaotic as solely the late Scott brother may ship.

7. What We Do within the Shadows (2014)

Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi spoof vampire movies as spectacularly as Rob Reiner’s rock n’ roll mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap spoofs backstage heavy metallic docs. What We Do within the Shadows is a tour via vampire cinema’s historical past with a goofball’s humorousness that is not with out exaggerated scenes of sloppy feeding habits. It’s not solely one of many higher vampire movies and even horror comedies since its launch, however probably the greatest flat-out comedies since 2014. It’s endlessly quotable, educated about its fanged topics, and genuinely hilarious. Werewolves, not Swear Wolves!

Make certain to take a look at the spin-off What We Do within the Shadows TV present for much more laughs.

6. Let the Right One In (2008)

Alfredson adapts John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel by firming down horror parts and vampire conventions to emphasize the connection between outcast youngsters. 12-year-old Oskar and his neighbor Eli kind a compassionate bond when Oskar’s victimization by bullies and Eli’s hidden vampirism pressure an unlikely connection. Society drives each youngsters into the darkish and urges them to outlive by their very own means, which turns into the crux of this tender and tragic love story that by no means subdues its nastier realities about vengeance or feeding. Let the Right One In is an incredible vampiric achievement when it comes to 2000s releases and all-timer high quality.

5. Near Dark (1987)

Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark is an unconventional vampire western that ditches capes for rancher hats. It’s bought extra in frequent with The Texas Chain Saw household values than Count Dracula’s Transylvanian heritage and dares introduce blood transfusion as a profitable counter to undead transformations. A stacked solid together with Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen play vampires who strike worry when feeding on bar patrons, utilizing their pack mentality to outlive as nightwalkers prey on the unlucky. The sunburnt southern vibes and up to date rawhide grit are a shiny ambiance to this street trippin’ vamp story, standing aside with out sacrificing the viciousness horror followers anticipate.

4. Afflicted (2013)

With rankings come controversy, and putting Afflicted this excessive on it will actually deliver questions. Here’s the purpose — Derek Lee and Clif Prowse’s Afflicted is a feral evolution into discovered footage territories that blends the worlds of don’t-look-down parkour motion and bloodsucking salvation. Lee stars because the “stricken” buddy who’s turning right into a vampire whereas Prowse aids in his transformation, because the filmmakers use GoPro views to present a ridealong expertise into vampirism. Between Lee’s bodily efficiency as he contorts in agony to the high-flying acrobatics as Lee’s monster flees from pursuers, Afflicted is among the most revolutionary vampire flicks of the 2000s.

3. Nosferatu (1922)

The curl of Count Orlok’s talon-like fingers, his hunchback shadow ascending the staircase… Max Schreck disappears underneath make-up results that by no means glamorize vampire afflictions. Nosferatu stays an O.G. vampire influencer that proves black-and-white, silent cinema can nonetheless ship compelling horror tales. F. W. Murnau adapts an unauthorized iteration of Bram Stoker’s Dracula that is a humiliation of atmospheric riches because the bushy-eyebrowed Orlok lurks from behind shadows to disclose his jagged, toothy grin. Vampires have not often been scarier a century later — unlock your inside historian and honor your elders.

2. Thirst (2009)

Park Chan-wook’s tackle vampires, taboos, romance, and disgrace is a knockout. Characters all thirst for one thing, which Chan-wook explores via typical and various vampire experiences. A Catholic priest turns vampire, and a disenchanted spouse seeks forbidden eternal romance in her personal grasp of change — what occurs subsequent is artfully unhinged as chaos welcomes kidnappings, killings, and contemplations of everlasting imprisonment. Chan-wook delivers considerate vampire riffage that will get dangerously artistic. Ending photographs in horror do not get a lot better than Thirst, both.

1. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Francis Ford Coppola adapts Bram Stoker’s Dracula with supreme decadence as a gothic horror creature characteristic that is additionally a luxurious blockbuster expertise. Coppola famously demanded solely on-set and in-camera results could possibly be used, which resulted in an astonishing feast for the eyes, from werewolf costumes to projected arteries pulsating atop Winona Ryder. Gary Oldman’s bellowing command over his adversaries as Count Dracula and Anthony Hopkins’ hilariously blunt tackle Van Helsing are triumphant performances — to not neglect no matter accent Keanu Reeves makes an attempt for Jonathan Harker or Tom Waits dropping his thoughts as Renfield. Coppola preserves the spectacle nature of Old Hollywood whereas overblowing each side of his Dracula manufacturing as solely the ’90s would permit. It doesn’t get higher, nor has it ever been higher, than Bram Stoker’s Dracula relating to vampires in cinema.

See our checklist of the most effective Keanu Reeves films for extra of his work.

And that is our decide of the 25 finest vampire films of all time! What do you consider our picks? If we missed your favourite, tell us within the feedback. You may rank the most effective vampire movies your self utilizing our tier checklist software under!

Looking for extra vampire content material? We’ve bought you coated with the most effective vampire anime to observe and the traditional prime 10 vampire film deaths.

Upcoming Vampire Movies

New vampire films are always popping out. Late 2024 noticed the discharge of Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu remake and we have got just a few extra vampire movies to stay up for this 12 months.

Note: This story was up to date on April 17, 2025, with our newest picks for the most effective vampire films. It was initially revealed in 2022.