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Vampire films have been a staple since the silent days, so much so that the depiction of vampires in popular culture is strongly based upon their depiction in movies throughout the years. The most popular cinematic adaptation of vampire fiction has been from Bram Stoker's Dracula, with over 200 versions to date.
Running a distant second are adaptations of Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. The legend of Elizabeth Báthory, the "Blood Countess" has also been an influence. By 2005, Dracula had been the subject of more films than any other fictional character.
Darren McGavin
stars as hard-nosed reporter Carl Kolchak in this creepy double
feature. Set in Las Vegas, The Night Stalker has Kolchak tracking a
string of murders where all the victims are showgirls and all were
completely drained of their blood. In The Night Strangler, Kolchak
uncovers an underground city in Seattle as he investigates another
blood-sucking murderer. The success of these films launched McGavin's
TV show "The Night Stalker."
Count Dracula (Christopher Lee)
is back in action when three swingers turn to black magic to boost
their sex-drive slump. The Count enters the picture when the group goes
from drinking blood to worshipping Dracula's rival, Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates),
causing Dracula to prey upon the three lusty youngsters. The chilling
film climaxes with a tension-filled standoff inside a cathedral.
Cult classics finally get their due in this excellent film series from
Hammer Studios. This double feature showcases the finer points of
horror with two crowd-pleasers: In Brides of Dracula, Van Helsing (Peter Cushing)
hunts down his nighttime nemesis, Dracula, in none other than a school
for girls. Curse of the Werewolf has the woebegone creature (Oliver Reed) wreaking havoc in Spain, where his lust for gore horrifies the locals.
Hammer Studios thrillers are favorites among connoisseurs, and this
double feature is no exception. The Kiss of the Vampire features Noel Willman as a bloodsucker who steals away a man's young bride and then must face off with a vampire-killing professor (Clifford Evans) whom the groom enlists for help. And a nightmare, indeed, is what's beset Janet (Jennie Linden) in the second film as she suffers from visions of her father's death.
Half-vampire, half-human hybrid Wesley Snipes
pursues the bloodsuckers who killed his mother and inflicted their
everlasting curse upon him. But the vampires (who've infiltrated the
highest echelons of big business) aren't finished with their favorite
son. They need Blade's special blood to reincarnate La Magra, a
voracious god who'll inaugurate a bloody new epoch between vampires and
their human hosts.
It appears that Dracula (Christopher Lee)
is on the prowl again after a young girl is found dead -- her neck
marked by fangs -- in a small town's church. Though he's been believed
dead for a while, the people of the town instantly finger the vicious
vampire. Hoping to get rid of the blood-sucking menace, the Monsignor (Rupert Davies) must perform a ritual at Dracula's castle … but will it stop Dracula before he preys on his next victim?
A double feature you can really sink your teeth into! In Dracula's Daughter, the beautiful countess Marya Zaleska (Gloria Holden)
settles in London … and soon displays her dad's predilection for bare
necks! Lamber Hillyer directs. In the Spanish-language version of
Dracula (filmed at night, after the daytime filming of Dracula,
starring Bela Lugosi), the cursed count puts the bite on a group of
confused Londoners. Filmed with an all-Spanish cast.
Scotland's Yard's search for a missing film star leads them to a
haunted house, which serves as the framework for four tales of the
macabre starring horror icons Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Ingrid Pitt.
They include a writer's murderous creation coming to life, a wax figure
causing a fatal argument, a young girl developing an intense interest
in witchcraft and an actor finding a cape that helps immerse him in his
role as a vampire.
Director Neil Jordan's
Oscar-nominated tale of bloodsucking immortals moves from 18th century
New Orleans to a Grand Guignol theater in Paris to present-day San
Francisco as it explores betrayal, love, loneliness and hunger. The
lives of a trio of vampires -- cavalier Lestat (Tom Cruise), tormented Louis (Brad Pitt) and childlike Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) -- are interconnected for centuries in this adaptation of Anne Rice's romantic horror tale.
Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy and Gill Man descend on a
tiny town in search of a diabolically powerful amulet. Only 12-year-old
Sean (Andre Gower)
and his gang of monster-obsessed misfits can save the day in this
overlooked 1987 horror comedy. This 20th-anniversary edition also
includes new interviews with Gower and co-stars Ryan Lambert, Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan and writer-director Fred Dekker.
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