Well, ladies and gentlemen, Halloween is almost here. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve covered different topics including the supernatural, dark action movies and British horror films. While the supernatural definitely plays a huge part in this holiday, Halloween is also about dressing up as monsters. Ghouls and goblins are definitely par for the course for Halloween, but the two of the most popular monsters associated with Halloween are vampires and werewolves. While I initially intended to do separate posts for each one, I feel that these two are so intrinsically tied with each other and the holiday, that I think it’s a better idea to combine the two into one post. Vampire movies have been around since nearly the beginning of the medium. One of the earliest examples is Nosferatu, starring Max Schreck. One of the earliest werewolf movies released was 1941’s The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney, Jr. While vampires have become more popular over the years, werewolves are just as terrifying. I think everybody knows what these two monsters are, so I will refrain from explaining them. This post will delve into my favorite vampire and werewolf movies. Let’s sink our teeth into these ones.
Dracula(1931)
What can I say about this film that hasn’t already been said? It’s a classic in every sense of the word. Based on the Bram Stoker novel of the same name, the film follows a mysterious Transylvanian count as he makes his way to England. As it turns out, this mysterious figure is Count Dracula, and he’s searching England for a bride. The other thing is, is that he’s a vampire, needing to drink human blood to survive. This is definitely Bela Lugosi’s film, through and through. Not only is he charming and charismatic, he’s also scary as hell when he needs to be. The actor’s natural Hungarian accent helps make the character one of the most iconic on-screen villains of all time. Of all the classic monster movies, Dracula stands tall above every single one of them. 87 years later, the film still has an impact on audiences around the world. That’s how good this movie is.
The Wolfman(2010)
2010’s remake of the classic The Wolf Man is one that I completely forgot about. I know people have often ragged on the 2010 film, but I found it to be a very entertaining film. Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, and Hugo Weaving really help bring this story to life. It’s about a man who has to return home when he finds out that his brother has been killed by a mysterious beast. As it turns out, this beast is a werewolf that only appears during the full moon. While out hunting for the beast, Ben Talbot is bitten and left for dead. Some time after, he begins to change into something monstrous. While I can’t say that the 2010 film is better than the Lon Chaney film, I actually found this one to be more entertaining. It has some interesting twists and turns woven into it that make it a little more interesting. It’s not a perfect film, but I really dig the setting and the atmosphere here. The gore and creature designs don’t hurt, either.
Underworld
While Underworld isn’t the first film to bring the two legendary monsters together, it’s definitely the most stylish. The film follows a group of vampires led by the beautiful, yet, deadly Selene as they hunt down their enemies, the lycans, or werewolves. The two species have been locked into a never-ending war for the last 1,000 years. After the success of The Matrix, a lot of movie studios that it would be cool to have their heroes dressed in black and wearing a trench coat. In the case of Underworld, it kind of works. It’s not by any means a great movie, but it has a lot of good things going for it. The creature designs are really cool, as the werewolves are generally done with men in suits, making them seem real. The fight sequences are pretty good, if a bit generic. What really sells this film is the cast. You have Kate Beckinsale as Selene and she is fantastic. It also doesn’t hurt that she’s a stunning woman and she looks even better clad in black. Bill Nighy is simply fantastic as Victor, a vampire Elder. Michael Sheen also does a good job as Lucien, the leader of the werewolves. The film does blur the line between who are the “good guys” and who are the “bad guys.” Say what you will about the sequels to Underworld, but the first movie is one of my favorites.
30 Days of Night
I actually reviewed this one a little while back, so if you want to check out my review of 30 Days of Night, you can hit the reviews tab at the top of the page. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, 30 Days of Night is set in Barrow, Alaska. During winter at one point, the sun goes down for 30 days, leaving the town in perpetual night. During this particular event, the town is beset by a group of ravenous and vicious vampires that lay waste to what’s left of the population. To say that this is a brutal vampire movie is an understatement. As I stated in my review, these vampires are a far more vicious kind of beast than you see in other movies. They behave more like animals and that makes them even more terrifying. The leader, Marlow, is one of the scariest vampires I’ve ever seen in a movie, and Danny Huston just brings the savagery to the character. It’s bloody, violent and dark.
Dog Soldiers
While I mentioned Dog Soldiers in my post about the best British horror movies, the film still belongs on this list. Director Neil Marshall’s first feature-length film is a horror movie knock-out. Not many directors can say that their first movie will go down as one of the best horror movies of the early 21st century. The film follows a group of British S.A.S soldiers as they are being stalked by a group of gigantic werewolves. The effects of the film are outstanding, as they are all practical. It’s a gory movie for sure as one guy is disemboweled and still lives. It’s bizarre, but it works. The werewolves themselves are like something of a goddamn nightmare. They’re like 10-11 feet tall and they are massive. But they can also move. The cast includes Sean Pertwee of Event Horizon and Liam Cunningham of Game of Thrones. It’s an incredibly wild film that no horror fan should miss.
From Dusk Till Dawn
If, for some reason, you knew absolutely nothing about this movie going in, without seeing trailers or any kind of marketing, you might be forgiven for thinking that this film starts out as a crime thriller. Yeah…..no. It starts off that way, but it turns into something even more crazy about 30 minutes in. From Dusk Till Dawn follows two hardened criminals as they kidnap a family and make their way towards Mexico, only stopping at a bar called the Titty Twister. Stopping here turns out to be a mistake as the owner’s and employees turn out to be demonic vampires and basically slaughter all the customers. This movie stands out for a number of reasons. First of all, the cast is incredible: George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Harvey Keitel, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Salma Hayek, and the legendary Fred Williamson all have outstanding parts in the film. It is absolutely one of the most bonkers vampire movies I have ever seen in my life and we have Robert Rodriguez to thank for it.
Those are some of my favorite vampire and werewolf movies. Halloween is literally two days from now, as of this writing, so I will be wrapping up this series tomorrow. I will also have something special for you folks on Halloween day, so be sure to stick around for that. This has absolutely been one of my most satisfying projects that I’ve done for this site, and I hope you all feel the same way. So…stay tuned as I wrap up this special series of The Best.