Vampires in Popular Culture - the Best Foreign-Language Vampire Movies

Did you know one of the first pieces of vampire fiction originated in Germany? Yup, it was a poem simply called The Vampire and was written by Heinrich August Ossenfelder all the way back in 1748. The first examples of short fiction novelizations were written by authors from England and Scotland respectively. Bram Stoker, who created the most famous vampire in history was from Scotland. Strangley one of those stories called Varney the Vampire was read to children as a bedtime story. Considering the way vampires are depicted in films you wouldn't think was a particularly good idea but to each his own.

The majority of pop culture vampire stories filmed for the silver screen originated in English speaking countries even though the first vampire movie was of German origin. There aren't very many foreign language vampire films but what films there are usually fall on the good side. Here are what I feel are the best foreign vampire movies in popular culture.

Let the Right One In

This critically acclaimed Swedish vampire film based on a critically acclaimed Swedish book of the same name is one of the best vampire movies I've seen in a very long time. A bullied boy dreams of getting revenge on the people who pick on him. He falls in love with a vampire girl who helps him find that courage. If you haven't seen this make it the next movie you see and also read the book since the film only tackles one part of a multi-layered story.

The Mr. Vampire Series

Mr. Vampire features Jiang Shi, which are corpses that hop around. The Jiang Shi have been dubbed Chinese vampires by Westerners and also as "hopping vampires." However, these creatures more closely resemble zombies. Mr. Vampire combines action, comedy and horror with traditional Chinese folklore to create this very entertaining film.

Frostbiten

Frostbiten is billed as Sweden's first vampire film. A doctor and her teenage daughter move to a little town up in North Sweden after the doctor gets a job at the hospital. Some interns find some pills for an experimental vaccine and mistake them for drugs and those pills turn them into vampires. All hell breaks loose in this entertaining horror comedy.

Vampyr

Vamypr is an obscure German film loosely based on In a Glass Darkly. A man travels to a remote village and witnesses some strange sites. After a villager dies from anaemia the traveller wonders if it is that or something more evil. Initially this vampire movie was released to mixed reviews but it has received a better reception from new viewers as time went on.

Thirst (2009, South Korea)

Tossing aside the usual cliches and formulas of vampire films and vampire folklore this movie from South Korea is sure to be a standout film for a long time. A priest volunteers for an experimental vaccine study intended to rid the world of a deadly virus. He nearly dies and lives only after receiving a transfusion of vampire blood and this changes him.

Hopefully the trend of good foreign language vampire films continues.