by Nikk Nelson, Staff Writer, Cinematic Maniac

A friend once told me I have some serious movie-watching stamina. In this world of constant content and algorithmic curation, I wanted to share some of my favorite cinematic mixtapes, for lack of a better term.

October is my favorite month of the year, horror is my favorite genre, and I agonized over what to recommend. I finally settled on vampires. At this point, vampires have been part of cinema for a century, which is wild to think about, so I wanted to curate a playlist that captured the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright fun of vampires on screen. 

Nosferatu (1922)
dir. F.W. Murnau. Starring Max Shreck. Runtime 1h 34m.

Any aspiring cinephile must see Nosferatu. It’s easy to find. There are several versions, even one in color set to heavy metal music. It’s difficult to put into words why this film is so important and, just, plain, good. Standing in 2022, you can see the seeds of so many great films, not just horror, that would go on to be made thanks in no small part to F.W. Murnau and Nosferatu. 

Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
dir. E. Elias Merhige. Starring John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe. Runtime 1h 32m

This is one I’ve found not too many people have seen and it really enhances the experience if you watch Nosferatu first. A dark biopic-parody that imagines the making of Nosferatu with John Malkovich as the obsessive F.W. Murnau and Willem Dafoe as the equally obsessive Max Schreck. The performances are incredible, there are genuinely funny moments, as well as a sense of honest, respectful, homage. 

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder. Runtime 2h 8m

As much as it pains me to skip over Bela Lugosi and the Hammer Horror era, for the sake of a reasonably manageable list, I want to focus mainly on the vampire movies I grew up with. I had this videogame adaptation on Sega Genesis. It was terrible. The movie is also kind of a mess, in my opinion, but I absolutely love it. Keanu Reeves is doing his goddamn best and Winona Ryder is trying to help him. Anthony Hopkins is completely out of his mind and Gary Oldman turns in a performance literally for the ages. Francis Ford Coppola had a vision and for better or worse, here it is.  

Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
dir. Mel Brooks. Starring Leslie Nielsen, Mel Brooks. Runtime 1h 28m

I was obsessed with later career Mel Brooks when I was a kid. This, Spaceballs, and Robinhood: Men in Tights were constant videostore rentals. It was the last of eleven films directed by Mel Brooks and what many consider to be his worst. But I vehemently disagree. For one, I am in love with Steven Weber and think he’s one of the most underrated actors, ever. The bloody staking scene still makes me belly laugh. Two, Peter MacNicol is quotably hilarious as Renfield. I double-featured this with Ghostbusters II last week because I couldn’t get enough of Peter MacNicol. 

The Lost Boys (1987)
dir. Joel Schumacher. Starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim. Runtime 1h 37m

I feel like this strikes a perfect balance between the previous two features. Dark, but not as dark as Coppola. Funny, but not as silly as Mel Brooks. This is one of my favorite movies of all time. One of those lightning in a bottle, once in a lifetime, perfect movies. Incredible cast, solid, character-driven story, effective gore that’s not over the top, and an awesome soundtrack—a perfectly preserved window into the late 1980’s. I get to see this on the big screen for the first time later this month with my older brother. Growing up, this was our movie. I was the Corey Haim to his Jason Patric. It will forever be the movie that best captures the essence of our bond. 

Tales from the Crypt Presents: Bordello of Blood (1996)
dir. Gilbert Adler. Starring Dennis Miller, Angie Everhart. Runtime 1h 27m

It’s kind of a trip to watch Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys, when he was sitting on the launchpad to superstardom, and then to watch him in this, when he was careening toward the rock bottom of his career. Still, I will love him forever, and love him in this alongside Dennis Miller, who delivers the kind of sarcasm that is the cornerstone of my being. If nothing else, this will introduce you to the Tales from the Crypt universe which, if you’re uninitiated, is well worth exploring. You also get a great supporting cast including Chris Sarandon and Erika Eleniak as well as some awesome gore effects. I think it’s a lot of fun.  

Dracula 2000 (2000)
dir. Patrick Lussier. Starring Gerard Butler, Jonny Lee Miller. Runtime 1h 39m

I had to include this on the list because it defines my teenage years so incredibly well. A sea of remakes and reboots is nothing new and back during the turn of the century, the way Hollywood did it was the following template: <Insert Intellectual Property> 2000. I don’t know that it can be overstated how much Wes Craven’s Scream impacted cinema at the time. It was such a hit with teenagers, Wes Craven’s production company was more or less handed the reigns for the entire horror genre. This movie aims to be ‘What if we did Scream but vampires? Like, Dracula with frosted tips?’ The two direct-to-video sequels, Dracula II: Ascension and Dracula III: Legacy I also recommend for no other reason than Jason Scott Lee, who I’ve been a huge fan of ever since Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. 

Queen of the Damned (2002)
dir. Michael Rymer. Starring Aaliyah, Stuart Townsend. Runtime 1h 41m

If you want an idea of what the early-aughts were like, the previous film and this one will give you a pretty solid idea. It’s not a great movie but I find myself enjoying it every time I watch it. Working around Aaliyah’s untimely death, it’s a very disjointed and clumsy movie but I can’t get over the costumes, effects, and, most of all, the music by Jonathan Davis. I was a huge Korn fan in high school and thought it was so cool that he was doing the music for an entire movie, not just a single entry on a soundtrack. Hearing Jonathan Davis’s voice come out of Stuart Townsend’s body is only one of many laughable ‘so bad it’s good moments’ that can make this one a giant gigglefest. 

Blade (1998)
dir. Stephen Norrington. Starring Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff. Runtime 2h

Now, it’s time to rewind back to the film that gave birth to the previous two entries, and, in my opinion, the entire Marvel Universe as you know it today. X-Men (2000) wasn’t the beginning and the only reason I think Blade was never given credit was because it was an R-rated action-horror movie. I think it’s just as much popcorn fun today as it was almost twenty-five years ago. Leather, gore, cyberpunk, guns, swords—sunglasses. I’ll never not love it.

John Carpenter’s Vampires (1998)
dir. John Carpenter. Starring James Woods, Daniel Baldwin. Runtime 1h 48m

Based on the novel Vampire$ by John Steakley. No, I’m not kidding. James Woods seems to be a pretty despicable human being but that’s one of the reasons I love watching this movie. Apparently, he wanted to be an action star so badly and he hoped this role would catapult him into that world. From time to time, I imagine movies like Mission Impossible starring James Woods and it makes me giggle. If nothing else, you get gore effects from the legendary team of Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, which is good, because you don’t get much else by way of plot, story, character, etc. I think the concept is cool but the execution is definitely off. At this point in his career, John Carpenter seemed to be mostly phoning it in. Doesn’t matter to me. I’ll watch Escape from L.A. and Ghosts of Mars anytime, anywhere. 

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
dir. Robert Rodriguez. Starring George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino. Runtime 1h 48m

Speaking of Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, how about this gorefest co-starring none other than the master himself, Tom Savini? Again, I think this is one of those perfect movies, if for no other reason than the rope-a-dope. It starts out as a neo-noir-ish crime thriller and in the middle transforms into a full-tilt vampire movie. The cast is stacked with talent, even the smaller parts, it’s a visual feast, and the soundtrack kicks fucking ass. 

Total Runtime: ~19h

This will take you an entire weekend, but I can’t think of a better one. Pair with themed cocktails, grab some BBQ and beer, and ENJOY!

There are so many possible honorable mentions but I’ll offer just two: Suck (2009) which I saw for the first time just a year or two ago and fell in love with. And, the Dracula series on Netflix. So much to love about it, namely, it’s one season and tells a complete story.