Vampires Suck: My Top Five Favorite Vampire Movies

I've long been a fan of the undead. Ever since I can remember, I was reading about vampires and other creatures that went bump in the night. On occasion, I'd branch off into other supernatural interests - ghosts, werewolves or zombies, to name a few, but I would always go back to the bloodsuckers in the end. The name, Lestat, still gives me chills. That was one sexy vamp!

Vampire movies were a particular favorite of mine, though I've always been rather picky about my vampire pictures. I didn't like the particularly animalistic vampires that ripped and tore, leaving destruction and mayhem in their wake. Perhaps it was Vampire: the Masquerade (the role-playing game, not the video game) that instilled in me the need for vampires to be careful and secretive - for them to engage in the Masquerade, holding fast to what little humanity remained in them as they struggled with the inner monster.

Needless to say, I enjoy vampire movies that have (what I imagine would be) a degree of realism to them. Blade, while a great action film, seemed a little too far fetched and, while I loved Julian Sands' portrayal of Alex in "Tale of a Vampire," I couldn't get over the messy eater sounds. I mean, honestly - you couldn't sneak a snack in an alleyway if you made all those slurpy sounds. And "Twilight?" Please - sparkly vampires?

If you're a fan of great vampire movies, here are some that I highly recommend. Mind you, there are a few funny ones in here too (I do love my vampire comedies):

My Top Five Favorite Vampire Films

1. The Lost Boys, 1987 - Starring talented actors Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Alex Winter (who would later go on to play Bill, in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure") and the two Coreys (Corey Haim and Corey Feldman), this movie was one of the sexiest things produced in the 80's. We had a beautiful girl half-vamp, played by Jamie Gertz, and a pack of bad boy vampires who were out to cause trouble. Toss in some amazingly cheesy, yet hilarious, one-liners and you have a vampire movie that's sure to stand the test of time. The soundtrack isn't half bad either.

2. Near Dark, 1987 - Released the same year as the more popular "Lost Boys" movie, Near Dark is a definite must-see for those who are fans of vampire movies. A little grittier than its competition, it's still a very enjoyable film and has a great storyline - even if it is missing those super sexy rock star vampires. Starring Adrian Pasdar (perhaps best-known for his role as Nathan Petrelli in the NBC drama, "Heroes") and the mysterious disappearing Jenny Wright, this movie has the combination of a unique storyline coupled with the perfect touch of comedy and a super-creepy bad guy, played by Bill Paxton.

3. Interview with the Vampire, 1994 - I had long been a fan of The Vampire Chronicles when this movie was released and, to be honest, I was almost afraid to watch it at first. I was completely unable to picture Tom Cruise in the role of Lestat, and Brad Pitt as Louis? How badly would they butcher my favorite Anne Rice books? In the end, I broke down and watched it - and I had to admit that I liked it a lot more than I thought I was going to. While Tom Cruise was a bit campy, as the somewhat sinister vampire Lestat, he still did a good job of drawing the viewers into the story. A young Kirsten Dunst was also perfect as the beautiful and doll-like child vampire, Claudia. While this film does vary a bit from the original story, the main body of the tale stays pretty true to the original book.

4. Queen of the Damned, 2002 - Released almost 10 years after the original Interview with the Vampire, Queen of the Damned was eagerly awaited by Anne Rice fans. Despite the author's offer to write a screenplay for The Vampire Lestat (the second book in the Vampire Chronicles), Warner Bros. chose to skip on to Queen of the Damned and, instead of focusing on the back story, focused on Lestat as the main character. The end result left many people disappointed. So why include this in my top 5 list? Because, if you're a fan of Anne Rice's books, Stuart Townsend does a brilliant job of Lestat de Lioncourt - The character is sexy, sinister and sensual. If you watch this movie for the sole sake of watching a good vampire film, it's actually quite good and the Queen of the Damned soundtrack is amazing. If you're watching this movie to see Lestat, you probably won't be disappointed. If, however, you're watching this to learn the story of Lestat and expect it to follow Anne Rice's vision? Read the books.

5. Fright Night, 1985 - What do you do when you think your next door neighbor is a vampire? One can only imagine the frolicsome fun to be had in this 1985 horror comedy. Starring the talented Chris Sarandon as the suspected vampire, Jerry Dandrige, the acting in this film is right on beat and superbly done. Roddy McDowall is equally brilliant in his role as washed up actor/vampire hunter, Peter Vincent. This movie has a massive cult following and it's not hard to see why but... if you don't want to see some old grainy movie from the 80's, Fright Night is one of several films that is being picked up for remake. Currently in production, I'm equally excited about the new version, which stars great actors like Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and, a personal favorite of mine, David Tennant (best known for playing the 10th Doctor in the popular "Doctor Who" series).

There are so many great vampire films out there, that I'm quite sure I could go on and on about them. The above top 5 vampire films are simply those that stand out in my mind as having been particularly memorable. As you will note, rather than going with more recent films, these are ones that have seemed to stand the test of time and are not easily forgotten. Of course, I'm sure to add to my personal list as the years go by - I'm not one to stop watching vampire movies any time soon. In fact, I'm eagerly awaiting the vampire spoof, "Vampires Suck," set to be released in the near future. If you're not afraid to poke a little fun at the fanged folk, this looks like a brilliant piece of work.