My Top 10 Vampire Movies

My Top 10 Vampire Movies of All Time

Watch May 3, 2025 0 2 Add to Reading List

To mark the release of Ryan Coogler‘s excellent gothic-horror “Sinners”, I have decided to rank my ten favourite vampire movies of all time. It is a sub-genre of horror that dates back over a century, with F. W. Murnau‘s German expressionist film “Nosferatu”, released in 1922, being the first ever depiction of the supernatural being on film. Most vampire films have since taken inspiration from Murnau’s work, or its original source material “Dracula”, which was penned by Bram Stoker in 1987. While the majority of vampire films follow the now recitable rules surrounding the blood-sucking undead, including their vulnerabilities to sunlight, garlic, silver and wooden stakes, some films have gone onto create their own vampiric lore, which has kept the sub-genre fresh for all these years.

Some honourable mentions I would like to shout out before my top ten include: “30 Days of Night” (2007), “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night” (2014) , “Blade” (1998), “Cronos” (1992), “Fright Night” (1985), “The Hunger” (1983), “Interview with the Vampire” (1994), “The Lost Boys” (1987), “Martin” (1977), and of course the film that started it all, “Nosferatu” (1992).

10. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Dir: Jim Jarmusch

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi, John Hurt

Synopsis: Adam, a vampire, is depressed after seeing society plummet to the bottom. Eve, his lover of centuries past, comes to his rescue. But their relationship is tested with the arrival of Ava, Eve’s sister.

9. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

Dir: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi

Cast: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford

Synopsis: Viago, Vladislav, Deacon, and Petyr are vampires who share a flat. Deacon’s servant Jackie leaves her ex-boyfriend Nick inside. Petyr turns him into a vampire and he soon joins them as a flatmate.

8. Salem’s Lot (1979)

Dir: Tobe Hooper

Cast: David Soul, James Mason, Lance Kerwin, Bonnie Bedelia, Lew Ayres

Synopsis: A writer who returns to his hometown and discovers that its citizens are turning into vampires

7. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Dir: Robert Rodriguez

Cast: Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino, Juliette Lewis, Cheech Marin, Fred Williamson, Salma Hayek

Synopsis: The Gecko brothers are on the run from the Texas police and the FBI after a crime spree through the Southwest. Soon, they find themselves drawn into a battle with a bloodthirsty gang of vampires.

6. Nosferatu (2024)

Dir: Robert Eggers

Cast: Bill Skarsgard, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Willem Dafoe

Synopsis: In the 1830s, estate agent Thomas Hutter travels to Transylvania for a fateful meeting with Count Orlok, a prospective client. In his absence, Hutter’s new bride, Ellen, is left under the care of their friends, Friedrich and Anna Harding. Plagued by horrific visions and an increasing sense of dread, Ellen soon encounters an evil force that’s far beyond her control.

5. Thirst (2009)

Dir: Park Chan-wook

Cast: Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-vin

Synopsis: Sang-hyeon is a priest. His life changes for the worse when he willingly participates in a medical experiment and gets affected by vampirism.

4. Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Dir: Francis Ford Coppola

Cast: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Tom Waits

Synopsis: When Elisabeta commits suicide, an enraged Vlad Dracula swears to avenge her death. Things take a turn when he meets Mina and takes her to be the reincarnation of Elisabeta.

3. Sinners (2025)

Dir: Ryan Coogler

Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Bennett Miller, Delroy Lindo, Buddy Guy

Synopsis: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their Mississippi hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

2. Near Dark (1987)

Dir: Kathryn Bigelow

Cast: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, Tim Thomerson

Synopsis: Cowboy Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar) meets gorgeous Mae (Jenny Wright) at a bar, and the two have an immediate attraction. But when Mae turns out to be a vampire and bites Caleb on the neck, their relationship gets complicated. Wracked with a craving for human blood, Caleb is forced to leave his family and ride with Mae and her gang of vampires, including the evil Severen. Along the way Caleb must decide between his new love of Mae and the love of his family.

1. Let the Right One In (2008)

Dir: Tomas Alfredson

Cast: Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Ika Nord, Peter Carlberg

Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Oskar dreams of seeking revenge on his bullies. He is surprised to get help from Eli, a strange girl whom he secretly loves. But he is unaware that she is a vampire.

Let me know your all time favourite vampire film in the comments.