For Valentine’s Day many film buffs love to enjoy some of the screen’s most famous love stories to get into the mood. Classic romantics may turn to titles like Casablanca and Gone with the Wind, but the not so stereotypical enjoy films with darker, sexier tones. Ever since Stoker published Dracula, an enticing novel that intertwined sexuality, unending devotion and vampires, it has been impossible to create a classic without those very same motifs.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Cheerleader Buffy Summers is a shallow valley girl soon to find out that she is The Slayer and destined to fight and kill vampires. Written by Joss Whedon, the man that would eventually go on to direct the hit television series, this movie rendition is far from the Sarah Michelle Gellar Buffy fans came to know and love. Unfortunately, all was not well on the set as Donald Sutherland kept changing the dialogue, infuriating Whedon in the process.
This Swedish film follows ostracized Oskar as he befriends and falls in love with a deceptively innocent vampire named Eli. The title itself hearkens back to the old myth that vampires can only enter a home if they are invited in, however both the writer and the director, John Ajvide Lindqvist and Tomas Alfredson, admit to not caring much for vampires. While Eli is supposed to be a boy, a female was cast. Because her voice was deemed too high pitched, Elif Ceylan was hired to do the voice. The film quickly grabbed a cult following here in the US after it’s release thanks to its easy availability through services like Netflix and DirecTV.
A marriage of horror and comedy, young Charley Brewster must hunt down the Vampire slaying legend of his favorite TV show in order to kill the evil that just moved in next door. Tom Holland, the writer and director, had a great time with the film since he was virtually free to do what he wanted as the studio executives sunk their time in two other films. Because of this, it succeeded as being the highest grossing horror film of the year, beating out the second Nightmare on Elm Street.
Based off of Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu, it follows the exploits of Dracula as he sets up his new home in Varna to spread plague and death while mourning the curse of immortality. Since it was filmed by Werner Herzog after Stoker’s copyright of Dracula had run out, he was able to restore much of the original lore used in Murnau’s adaptation. Even though he tried to do his best with this homage and a total crew of 16 people, Herzog stated in 2008 that Murnau’s film was the greatest German film of all time.
Another film that represents a decently accurate portrayal of the novel, this classic black and white movie stars none other than Bela Lugosi in his defining role as Count Dracula, and his move to Carfax Abbey where he is eventually brought down by the Harkers and Van Helsing. Lugosi had found stage success as the Count and was so set on playing Dracula in the film that he agreed to a mere $500 per week during shooting. When he finally passed in 1956, he was buried wrapped in the cape he wore in the film.
–Brandon Engel
