Since Bram Stoker’s groundbreaking novel ‘Dracula’ shook the horror world in 1897, vampires have proven themselves as “dramatically generational” survivors in popular culture, as noted by Nina Auerbach in her influential book, ‘Our Vampires, Ourselves.’
Our modern world is saturated with vampire lore, making it no surprise that diverse artists, from Bela Lugosi to Ryan Coogler, find themselves irresistibly drawn to these creatures. Vampires uniquely probe our deepest anxieties about transforming into something ‘other,’ even when, like the charming residents of ‘The Munsters,’ they appear to be perfectly pleasant. Horror author Grady Hendrix aptly points out, ‘Vampires are the only monster that looks like us.’
Given their pervasive presence, it’s fitting that vampires are taking center stage in theater this spring. Cynthia Erivo is captivating audiences in a one-woman ‘Dracula’ in London’s West End, while a new Broadway musical, ‘The Lost Boys,’ inspired by Joel Schumacher’s 1987 supernatural thriller, kicks off performances on March 27 at the Palace Theater. New York also hosts ‘Blood/Love,’ an Off Broadway vampire pop opera.
Image: Cynthia Erivo brilliantly tackles 23 distinct roles in her solo “Dracula” performance, currently enchanting audiences in the West End.
Michael Arden, director of ‘The Lost Boys,’ suggests that vampires maintain their grip on pop culture because they compel us to ponder a profoundly tempting question: “Is it better to live a never-ending life or is the meaning of life predicated on its brevity?”
So, how exactly have these bloodsuckers managed to embed themselves so deeply into the fabric of popular culture? The answer, it seems, boils down to their essence: blood, and the diverse types of vampires that have emerged.
Evil
True Bloodsuckers
The most compelling vampires are those beyond redemption, driven by fundamental, insatiable appetites. This primal urge was perfectly embodied by Count Orlok, the iconic, rat-faced figure in F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent masterpiece, “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror.” Ruthless and devoid of remorse, Max Schreck’s portrayal of Orlok established a formidable standard for all subsequent vampires. Filmmakers continue to be drawn to this dark tale, with notable remakes including Werner Herzog’s 1979 “Nosferatu the Vampyre,” starring a chilling Klaus Kinski, and Robert Eggers’s 2024 vision, which presented Bill Skarsgard as a grotesque, hulking vampire in “Nosferatu.”
A less beastly yet equally malevolent presence was Bela Lugosi in Tod Browning’s “Dracula” (1931). Lugosi’s signature cape-draped portrayal became a monumental influence on subsequent pop culture vampires, from Bauhaus’s 1979 Goth anthem “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” to the beloved Count von Count on “Sesame Street” and even Count Chocula cereal.
The 1979 CBS mini-series “Salem’s Lot” left a lasting mark on Generation X, delivering terrifying bedroom scenes featuring unsettlingly grinning, hollow-eyed vampires clawing at windows. These “stranger-danger” vampires were so impactful because the series, based on Stephen King’s novel, was directed by Tobe Hooper, the visionary behind “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” – a film that redefined horror.
Vampires appear in all forms, such as Eli, the merciless creature inhabiting a 12-year-old’s body, who transformed “Let the Right One In” (2008) into such a profoundly brutal love story.
Sex and Romance
Thirst Traps
The seductive evil and sophistication of vampires make them a “dream antagonist,” according to Stephen Graham Jones, author of the upcoming 2025 vampire novel “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter.”
Jones elaborated, “The vampire possesses a duality, capable of fighting fiercely with tooth and claw, yet also engaging in a calm, calculated conversation with its intended prey.”
Christopher Lee remains the quintessential vampire sophisticate, portraying Dracula with a “noble, ravenous” aura that “exuded a certain lascivious sex appeal,” as described by The New York Times, across Hammer Studios films from 1958 to 1973.
Another captivating portrayal came from Frank Langella, who famously starred in the acclaimed 1977 Broadway production of “Dracula” and its subsequent film adaptation two years later. His intense, ravenous gaze upon his butler’s accidental finger cut is an unforgettable moment.
Modern vampires often exude a more blatant sexuality than their forebears, though not always coercively. While opinions vary on the 1994 film adaptation of Anne Rice’s “Interview With the Vampire,” Brad Pitt delivered a strikingly handsome Louis to Tom Cruise’s Lestat. Similarly, Jacob Anderson’s portrayal of Louis as a debonair gay man in the 2022 adaptation captivated audiences. And who wouldn’t desire eternal life if they could look as alluring as Alexander Skarsgard’s Eric on “True Blood”?
Female vampires have also embraced this sensuous transformation. Salma Hayek’s iconic snake dance in Robert Rodriguez’s adrenaline-fueled “From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996) stands as one of horror’s most electrifying moments. Crucially, her character, Santanico Pandemonium, transcended the passive “cheesecake” tropes of older female vampires, wielding her supernatural power to command men as her devoted minions.
Vampire fashion—characterized by form-fitting black leather and dramatic, floor-sweeping silhouettes—has consistently ignited runways at houses like Viktor & Rolf, offering an aspirational, darkly alluring aesthetic. If there’s a contemporary vampire muse in fashion, it’s undoubtedly Lady Gaga, who epitomized bloodsucker elegance in a black corseted Vivienne Westwood ensemble at last year’s Grammys.
Yet, few could match the iconic “va-va-voom” appeal of Vampira (Maila Nurmi), a pioneering 1950s television horror host. Drawing inspiration from Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'” evil queen, Nurmi’s signature fitted black gowns and long, flowing hair profoundly influenced generations of villainous vixens, from Morticia Addams to Elvira.
Queerness
Shadow Dwellers
For many vampires, the act of feeding transcends gender, embodying an “equal-opportunity approach to bloodsucking” that resonates strongly with queer themes, as explained by film scholar Payton McCarty-Simas.
Jonathan Frid’s refined Barnabas Collins in ABC’s supernatural soap opera “Dark Shadows” (1966-1971) stands as one of the earliest queer-coded vampires. Horror historian Jeff Thompson points out that Barnabas’s influence stemmed from his ability to connect with young viewers who, even without understanding the term “homosexual,” recognized a shared sense of difference in him.
Thompson observed, “When they watched Barnabas struggle with his strange desires, gay youth took notice.”
The representation of queer vampires extended beyond male characters, though not always favorably. Female queer vampires were frequently depicted as purely predatory, a problematic trend exemplified by “Dracula’s Daughter” (1936) and further perpetuated by lurid lesbian vampire films of the 1970s like “The Vampire Lovers.”
Bisexual characters, often overlooked in cinema, found more nuanced representation in the incredibly stylish vampire love triangle portrayed by Catherine Deneuve, Susan Sarandon, and David Bowie in “The Hunger” (1983).
Warriors
High Stakes
During the latter half of the 20th century, vampires evolved beyond simply male predators. They transformed into “carriers of social anxieties and metaphors for the things we fear or are told to fear,” as horror scholar Leah Richards articulated.
Their eternal craving for mortal connection often casts vampires as both the instigators and victims of tragic, forbidden romances, famously seen with Buffy and Angel in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” On a deeper, metaphorical level, the “Twilight” films pulsated with the themes of suppressed desires and adolescent longing, expressed through vampiric narratives.
Black vampires emerged as key figures in portraying the tragically misunderstood monster. William Marshall’s titular vampire in the 1972 Blaxploitation film “Blacula” unleashed chaos across Los Angeles in his desperate quest to reunite with his beloved wife. Later, Wesley Snipes’s half-vampire hunter in “Blade” (1998) carved out justice, righting wrongs with fierce determination.
However, not every battle can be won. Addiction is a powerful, recurring metaphor in vampire narratives, a theme Bill Gunn explored over five decades ago in “Ganja & Hess,” his groundbreaking treatise on African-American identity. This theme has since driven some of horror’s most emotionally raw vampire films, such as “The Addiction” (1995) and “My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To” (2020).
The 1980s saw vampires reflecting widespread anxieties surrounding AIDS, symbolizing both blood-borne illness and a way to confront the “inescapable reality of death at an early age,” as film scholar David J. Skal detailed in his book “The Monster Show.” Two powerful examples from 1985 include Ping Chong’s play “Nosferatu,” unfolding at the outset of the crisis, and Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire Western “Near Dark,” serving as a potent allegory for the American experience with AIDS.
And let’s not forget the valiant vampire slayers, particularly the Black heroes in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” a profound exploration of race and vampirism that garnered a phenomenal 16 Oscar nominations.
Humor
Fangs a Lot
It’s no laughing matter—or perhaps it is! Vampires have been comedic gold since at least 1948, when Bela Lugosi humorously parodied his own “Dracula” in “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” This is the cathartic magic of horror comedy: transforming fear into harmless amusement.
Comedic vampires entertained diverse audiences, from Roman Polanski’s slapstick Hammer horror spoof, “The Fearless Vampire Killers” (1967), in art houses, to the grindhouse’s “Dracula: The Dirty Old Man” (1969), a sexploitation film featuring a vampire with a Borscht Belt comedian’s voice. This tradition of playful vampirism continues, with Adam Sherman’s action-comedy “Vampires of the Velvet Lounge,” starring Mena Suvari, set to hit theaters on March 20.
Television has also been a haven for lighthearted vampires, notably in the Emmy Award-winning mockumentary series “What We Do in the Shadows,” which chronicles the antics of its endearingly clueless vampire housemates.
Even adorable vampires have played a role, teaching children that not all monsters are to be feared. The 1960s sitcom “The Munsters” presented a loving, unconventional family with a vampire mother and grandfather, demonstrating to audiences of that era that “different” can still be delightful. More recently, the animated “Hotel Transylvania” films have shown the TikTok generation that even tough-guy dads can have a soft side.
Ironically, it’s often in Broadway musicals where the “vampire’s curse” takes its most unintentionally comedic turn. Theater has a notoriously challenging history with horror on stage, and vampires, in particular, have faced dismal luck, appearing in notable flops like “Dance of the Vampires” (2002) and “Lestat” (2006).
Arden, however, expresses optimism that “The Lost Boys” will break this theatrical vampire curse.
“It’s not Victorian lace and candelabras,” he shared about the upcoming production. “It’s squirt guns filled with holy water and kids dressed up like Rambo.”