Page 14 - Film
P. 14
THE TIMES ®
AUSTRALIA
A Vampiric Death (no pun intended!)
By Jade Manly
Before Twilight’s (2008) Edward Cullen graced our screens with gold body glitter and a poncy
haircut, there was a time when vampires were actually scary! According to myth and legend
vampires are undead, reawakened corpses with a penchant for violence and human blood. How
could Hollywood get it so wrong?
Back in 1922, the silent horror flm Nosferatu was created by German flmmaker F.W. Murnau.
Nosferatu was based on the famous novel Dracula (1897) written by Irish author Bram Stoker.
However, Murnau did not seek permission from Stoker’s estate and as a consequence all copies
of this flm were destroyed (well...almost all copies!). Despite the controversy behind this flm,
Nosferatu is both frightening and engaging. Unlike the handsome, polished vampires of today,
the villain of this flm, Count Orlok is a traditional vampire with pale white skin, sharp fangs,
pointed ears, beady eyes and an emaciated appearance.
Some years later, Stoker’s original novel was adapted into the flm Dracula (1931) by director Tod
Browning with Bela Lugosi in the title role. In 1958, Dracula was resurrected again by Hammer
Horror Films, starring British actor Christopher Lee. These flms portrayed Dracula as being suave,
cunning and hypnotic whilst still maintaining an element of fear and suspense.
During the 1980’s, vampires swapped their fangs for sunglasses appearing in horror-comedies
such as Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987). The traditional vampire had been replaced
by Fright Night’s Jerry (Chris Sarandon), the smooth guy next door and The Lost Boys’ David
(Kiefer Sutherland), with his gang of punk blood-suckers and a platinum blond mullet.
It wasn’t until the 1990’s that the vampire genre became soppy and romantic, largely due to
the flm adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994),
starring Brad Pitt as Louis and Tom Cruise as the diabolical vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Although
this flm does have some redeemable features, the “poor” vampires are portrayed as brooding,
misunderstood, pretty-boys! Maybe it is just me but I have always found it hard to empathise
with blood-thirsty killers!
In recent times vampires have been watered down and domesticated to such a point that they
are no longer the bad guys. As much as I loved Bufy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series 1997-2003)
during my teenage years, Angel (David Boreanaz) and Spike (James Marsters) have a lot to
answer for with their killer fashion sense and perfectly styled hair.
Despite lacklustre flms such as: Twilight (2008), Van Helsing (2004) and Priest (2011), the
vampire myth has survived and continues to grow and change. Hopefully we will see a shift away
from the well-groomed, sweet talkin’ vamps of today to the more traditional (and frightening!)
vampires of decades past.
14 Independent Media Inspiring Minds
AUSTRALIA
A Vampiric Death (no pun intended!)
By Jade Manly
Before Twilight’s (2008) Edward Cullen graced our screens with gold body glitter and a poncy
haircut, there was a time when vampires were actually scary! According to myth and legend
vampires are undead, reawakened corpses with a penchant for violence and human blood. How
could Hollywood get it so wrong?
Back in 1922, the silent horror flm Nosferatu was created by German flmmaker F.W. Murnau.
Nosferatu was based on the famous novel Dracula (1897) written by Irish author Bram Stoker.
However, Murnau did not seek permission from Stoker’s estate and as a consequence all copies
of this flm were destroyed (well...almost all copies!). Despite the controversy behind this flm,
Nosferatu is both frightening and engaging. Unlike the handsome, polished vampires of today,
the villain of this flm, Count Orlok is a traditional vampire with pale white skin, sharp fangs,
pointed ears, beady eyes and an emaciated appearance.
Some years later, Stoker’s original novel was adapted into the flm Dracula (1931) by director Tod
Browning with Bela Lugosi in the title role. In 1958, Dracula was resurrected again by Hammer
Horror Films, starring British actor Christopher Lee. These flms portrayed Dracula as being suave,
cunning and hypnotic whilst still maintaining an element of fear and suspense.
During the 1980’s, vampires swapped their fangs for sunglasses appearing in horror-comedies
such as Fright Night (1985) and The Lost Boys (1987). The traditional vampire had been replaced
by Fright Night’s Jerry (Chris Sarandon), the smooth guy next door and The Lost Boys’ David
(Kiefer Sutherland), with his gang of punk blood-suckers and a platinum blond mullet.
It wasn’t until the 1990’s that the vampire genre became soppy and romantic, largely due to
the flm adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994),
starring Brad Pitt as Louis and Tom Cruise as the diabolical vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Although
this flm does have some redeemable features, the “poor” vampires are portrayed as brooding,
misunderstood, pretty-boys! Maybe it is just me but I have always found it hard to empathise
with blood-thirsty killers!
In recent times vampires have been watered down and domesticated to such a point that they
are no longer the bad guys. As much as I loved Bufy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series 1997-2003)
during my teenage years, Angel (David Boreanaz) and Spike (James Marsters) have a lot to
answer for with their killer fashion sense and perfectly styled hair.
Despite lacklustre flms such as: Twilight (2008), Van Helsing (2004) and Priest (2011), the
vampire myth has survived and continues to grow and change. Hopefully we will see a shift away
from the well-groomed, sweet talkin’ vamps of today to the more traditional (and frightening!)
vampires of decades past.
14 Independent Media Inspiring Minds
