Out of every classic horror movie monster decorating the Halloween season, one creature of the night has staked (quite literally) its claim as a popular figure. Clad in black cloaks and sporting sharp teeth, it’s time to take a look at the origins and cultural meanings of the vampire.
Welcome back to the Modern Monster, a biweekly column about everything the world finds scary. It’s time to stock up on garlic and pick out your favorite neck-concealing scarf, because when we go out hunting, it’s for vampires.
Vampires have had an interesting evolution since the pop culture version of the monster was born in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” The titular Dracula himself is described in a very human manner, but his big eyebrows and sharp nails are a far cry from the Edward Cullens of today.
While “Dracula” is often credited as being the basis for our current day understanding of vampires, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” not only pre-dates “Dracula,” but features some of the themes associated with modern bloodsuckers. The titular character of “Carmilla” is a vampire who has found herself fixated with Laura, and Carmilla’s obsession with Laura and aversion to Christian symbols are ideas that have held true even today.
The idea of a vampire becoming obsessed with a mortal is certainly not a new one. Carmilla serves as an example of many of the cultural traits that modern vampires possess. She can be seen as alluring, but as the story continues, her more monstruous side consumes any positive perception the reader may have once had.
The 1985 film “Fright Night” follows in Carmilla’s ancient footsteps with the character of Jerry Dandridge. Dandridge is the adult next-door-neighbor to teenager Charley Brewster, who begins to suspect that his neighbor is no ordinary man.
Dandridge, portrayed by Chris Sarandon, is immediately presented as an attractive and charismatic young man living in a very nice house. Even when Dandridge terrorizes Charley around town, he upholds this dashing mask before, in the climax of the film, his face twists into that of a horrifying monster.
Many older vampire films rely on this “monster face” reveal in the same way that “Fright Night” does. The vampire is attractive and charismatic, able to lure in their victim, until they reveal their monstruous side: a snarling face, long teeth and often reddened eyes. They lose their conventionally attractive nature and become animalistic.
The 1987 film “The Lost Boys” takes the note from “Fright Night” when creating the vampire. Teenager Michael moves to a new town and meets the alluring Star, only to find out she’s a thrall to a gang of vampires led by a young man named David.
David and his crew are a picture-perfect depiction of the classic ‘80s greaser: jeans, heavy coats, wild hair and plenty of belts. They’re cool and edgy, like an over-the-top vision of “The Outsiders,” and it’s no wonder Michael begins to fall for their trap. Just like Carmilla’s romantic hold on Laura, the vampire boys are exactly the kind of person Michael wants to be when he moves into town. It’s a different kind of allure and companionship, but one that speaks to a universal teenage understanding. Everyone just wants to feel accepted.
Just like Jerry Dandridge before them, David and his team do eventually reveal their vampire side, as eyes turn red and teeth grow large. The vampire films of the ‘80s held true to the standard monster-movie idea: the monster has to scare you by the end. There becomes a point where David’s blond hair just isn’t the shocker the directors of the ‘80s needed, and that final gut punch of the film is when the vampires begin to go all-out in their bloodlust. But this isn’t how vampires remained.
Anne Rice’s 1976 novel “Interview with the Vampire” may have been the start of the “overly sexy” vampire that we know today. Vampires have been written as intentionally sexy and alluring for hundreds of years, but they have always remained villains, whereas Rice began to open the door for a sympathetic vampire.
The 1994 film adaptation of “Interview with the Vampire” introduced the world to hot vampires with Lestat de Lioncourt, played by Tom Cruise. While Lestat is the attractive vampire villain we all know and love, he never achieves the “vampire face” that previous movies always used. Furthermore, the main hero of the story is Brad Pitt’s Louis — another vampire.
Rice opened the door to sympathetic vampires by presenting a world where vampires didn’t like being vampires. Louis hated it, and his entire character arc is about escaping from his vampire life with Lestat. Vampirism is a curse placed upon normal people, not a trait of monsters.
Both “Fright Night” and “The Lost Boys” feature a character who nearly becomes a vampire. On both occasions, the (attractive) character can break free of the curse when the vampire who bit them is killed. However, these movies never considered what would happen if these good guy characters did turn into monsters.
With sympathetic vampires finally being an option on the table, “Twilight” has easily become the blueprint for our current day vampire. Edward Cullen fans of the world can finally rejoice, knowing that the timeline of vampires has perfectly led to Cullen.
Vampirism has also become very connected to the idea of “otherness.” The original “Carmilla” book certainly featured homosexual themes in its portrayal of Carmilla and Laura. Whether or not you interpret their relationship as loving or predatory (knowing vampires, probably both) there are certainly queer themes surrounding it.
“Fright Night” surprisingly follows the same path. Dandridge’s thrall, a man named Billy Cole, lives in Dandridge’s house and is fiercely protective of him. Cole and Dandridge are never labeled as queer, nor do they behave romantically, but Cole’s supernatural obsession with Dandridge and their status as housemates presents them as out-of-the-ordinary. Why are these two men living alone together, in the 1980s? They’re either gay or vampires.
“The Lost Boys” easily lands in this category as well. Whether or not Michael had any interest in David is up to viewer interpretation, but the entire vampire gang is made up of boys who simply don’t fit in with society. They’re punks.
The vampire’s status as a tragic figure is ultimately what connects vampires with this “otherness” theme. Just as Michael in “The Lost Boys” and Charley in “Fright Night” know, no one wants to be left on the outskirts.