The Evolution of Vampires In Film
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Vampire films have been around for close to a hundred years. During this time one of horror’s greatest monsters has undergone many changes, although some may be small changes, these fierce creatures of modern day film are not your grandma’s dashing, tall, pale and handsome beings from the past.
Stories of vampires have been in the conscious of man for thousands of years. Everything from goddesses like Lillith of Mesopotamian mythology, to southern European bloated shape shifting entities have terrorized the people with thoughts of a creature that could suck you dry of blood.
These beings have even managed to manifest there way into reality with historical titans such as Vlad the impaler, who although is a hero in his own country, is well know to us as the man who impaled his enemies on pointed poles outside his castle for the world to see.
Also the lesser know psycho Elizabeth Bathory who thought eating young peasant girls was a delicacy.
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But where the art of capturing these nightmares on film actually begins is when director F.W Muranu sunk his teeth into the novel “Dracula”, by Bram Stoker.
He illegally made the silent masterpiece Nosferatu in 1922 before being shut down by Stoker's widow for copyright infringement.
The major importance of Muranu’s vampire was a mixture of high contrast lighting making even his shadows terrifying, and a truly ghoulish appearance being hairless, pale skinned, with pitch black holes for eyes, and thin bony fingers with extremely long nails.
Muranu’s film was also the first time an audience got to see this undead being raised from a coffin.
We jump ahead in time to 1931, when Universal Studios let director Todd Browning put his spin on the classic vampire in Dracula. He clearly ripped out a page in Muranu’s book with a story line quite similar to the 1922 film but unlike the ghoulish figure Nosferatu portrayed a vampire to be, Browning took a different route, casting Bela Lugosi to play this incredibly suave yet dangerous man. With only a cape and two long fangs in his mouth he managed to convince audiences everywhere that all vampires have a Romanian accent
For the next forty years Browning’s version of the vampire spawned what seems like a hundred spin offs like “Curse of the Vampire”, comedies like “Abbot and Costello Meets “Frankenstein”(which Bela Lugosi appeared in), and even a vampires of other ethnicities such as “Blacula”.
There were films that even seem to, at least in the makeup department pay tribute to Muran’s vampire; movies like the “Nosferatu” remake, and Steven Kings “Salem’s Lot”.
And of course with the invention of the TV even the small screen could not escape the vampire’s curse with the great long running series “Dark Shadows”.
The very first episode aired on June 22, 1966 on ABC with a couple of grave thieves finding a hidden opening behind the wall in the wealthy Collins family grave yard, and accidentally awakening vampire Barnabas Collins (played by David Selby) from a long sleep.
Anyone that still remembers his coffin door very slowly creaking open should still have chills running down their spine.
By the time the film industry rolled into the 1980’s the quality of special effects makeup had increased ten fold. With movies like “The Lost Boys” we get to truly see the evolution of the vampire. Kiefer Sutherland played David with appearance of a punk rock star in a long coat, and his 80’s hair band-looking crew right off the bat gave vampires a whole new look. Their transformation is even cruder with larger razor sharp canines, monstrous foreheads, and freaky contact lenses. Hell, they even hang from their toes like bats in a huge cave that is, as Corey Feldman put it “One giant coffin”.
As we move through the 80’s and 90’s we see a lot of romantic vampires as if to go back to a Dracula format but more sexually charged with movies like “Lifeforce”, “Vamp”, “The Hunger” and “Bram Stokers Dracula”.
Throw a little dramedy into the horror mix and you get films like “Fright Night” and “Once Bitten”.
At first placing drama, sex, and even love to the vampire characteristics was intriguing but let’s face it, after a while it kind of got on your nerves.
The 1990’s slowly left with their romantic vampires while 2000 came rushing in with movies like “Blade 1-3” (played by Wesley Snipes) bringing action, and violence back into genre while adding a few more little vampire details:
-You can kill a vampire with a silver sword and he’ll turn into ash.
-Also beware of vampires trying to lore you into parties with sex and drugs.
And then there was “30 Days Of Night” where vampires with shark like teeth and faces slightly twisted by computer editing with black eyes made a bit smaller and spaced further apart, that screech at the top of their lungs before taking you out. And get this, they don’t even kill to eat, they kill just for the hell of it.
Vampires have gone through rollercoaster like changes; they started out ghoulish, and then became romantic and suave, then back to being ghoulish and vicious all over again. But some things stayed the same. You can still kill them with sunlight, and all of mankind admires their immortality.
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Comments
I know what you mean, but to be fair hollywood only has 120 pages to get it right. Novels have a lot more space to explore which is great! I wish Anne rice was still writing.
Why do women seem to love vampires?
Hey Logan. I think I like that comment. Can we do it?
Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, more commonly known as Vlad the Impaler (Vlad ?epe? in Romanian), or simply Dracula (November/December 1431 – December 1476), was a Wallachian (present-day southern Romania) voivode. His first reign as crown prince took place at age 17, during the same year of his release from Turkish captivity, in 1448. His main reign took place in 1456 and ended in 1462. His final reign was accomplished with the aid of the Hungarian throne in 1476 and he ruled until his assassination months later within the same year. Vlad the Impaler is known for the exceedingly cruel punishments he imposed as ruler of Wallachia, however the people of Romania refer to Vlad as a savior to their nation and continue to justify his method of torture as not uncommon for that period in history.[1] Impalement was ?epe?'s preferred method of torture and execution[2], however the exact number of enemies executed cannot be relied on for they are documented by Vlad's rivals, therefore are most likely exaggerated to an extent.
In the English-speaking world, Vlad III is perhaps most commonly known for inspiring the name of the vampire in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.[3]
As prince, Vlad maintained an independent policy in relation to the Ottoman Empire[4] and was a defender of Wallachia against Ottoman expansionism.
Contents[hide]1 Names 2 Biography 2.1 Early years 2.2 Hostage of the Ottoman Empire 2.3 Brief reign and exile 2.4 Turning tides 2.5 Main reign (1456–1462) 2.6 Personal crusade 2.7 In captivity 2.8 Family 2.9 Death 3 Methods of execution 4 German stories about Vlad ?epe? 5 Russian stories about Vlad ?epe? 6 Vampire legend and Romanian attitudes 7 Adaptations of the Legend 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links
[edit] Names
His Romanian surname "Dr?culea" means "Son of the dragon" and is derived from his father's title, Vlad the Devil (see Vlad II Dracul); the latter was a member of the Order of the Dragon created by Emperor Sigismund. The word "Dracul" means "the Devil" in modern Romanian but in Vlad's day also meant "dragon" and derives from the Latin word "Draco", also meaning "dragon". The suffix "-lea" can be translated as "son of".
The old Romanian word for serpent (Cf. "drat") is nowadays the most common and casual reference to the devil[citation needed]—the people of Wallache gave Vlad II the surname "Dracula" ("Dracula" being the more grammatically correct form). His son Vlad III would later use in several documents the surname "Dr?culea". Through various translations ("Draculea", "Drakulya") Vlad III eventually came to be known as "Dracula" (note that this ultimate version is a modern invention).
His post-mortem moniker of "?epe?" ("Impaler") originated in his preferred method for executing his opponents, impalement—as popularized by medieval Transylvanian pamphlets. In Turkish, he was known as "Kaz?kl? Bey" (pronounced [k?z?k???]) which means "Impaler Prince". Vlad was referred to as "Dracula" in a number of documents of his times, mainly the Transylvania Saxon pamphlets and "The Annals of Jan D?ugosz".
[edit] Biography Plate honouring Vlad Dracul in Sighi?oara (marking the house where Vlad the Impaler was allegedly born)
[edit] Early years
Vlad was very likely born in the citadel of Sighi?oara, Transylvania in 1431. He was born as the second son to his father Vlad Dracul and his mother, a noblewoman, possibly princess of Moldavia, known locally by the name of Cneajna. He had an older brother named Mircea and a younger brother named Radu the Handsome. Although his native country was Wallachia to the south, the family lived in exile in Transylvania as his father had been ousted by pro-Ottoman boyars. In the same year as his birth, his father was living in Nuremberg, where he was vested into the Order of the Dragon. At the age of five, young Vlad was also initiated into the Order of the Dragon.
[edit] Hostage of the Ottoman Empire
Vlad's father was under considerable political pressure from the Ottoman sultan. Threatened with invasion, he gave a promise to be the vassal of the sultan and gave up his two younger sons as hostages so that he would keep his promise. Vlad developed a well-known hatred for Radu and for Mehmed, who would later become the sultan. According to McNally and Florescu, he also distrusted his own father for trading him to the Turks and betraying the Order of the Dragon's oath to fight them.
Bust of Vlad the Impaler near the birthplace plate
[edit] Brief reign and exile
Vlad's father was assassinated in the marshes near B?lteni in December 1447 by rebellious boyars allegedly under the orders of Hungarian regent John Hunyadi. Vlad's older brother Mircea was also dead at this point, blinded with hot iron stakes and buried alive by his political enemies at Târgovi?te. To protect their political power in the region, the Ottomans invaded Wallachia and the Sultan put Vlad III on the throne as a puppet ruler. His rule at this time would be brief; Hunyadi himself invaded Wallachia and ousted him the same year. Vlad fled to Moldavia until October 1451 and was put under the protection of his uncle, Bogdan II.
[edit] Turning tides
Bogdan was assassinated in 1451 by Petru Aron, and Vlad, taking a gamble, fled to Hungary. Impressed by Vlad's vast knowledge of the mindset and inner workings of the Ottoman Empire as well as his hatred of the new sultan Mehmed II, Hunyadi pardoned him and took him in as an advisor. Eventually Hunyadi put him forward as the Kingdom of Hungary's candidate for the throne of Wallachia.
In 1453, the Ottomans, under Mehmed II, took Constantinople after a prolonged siege, thus putting an end to the final major Christian presence in the eastern Mediterranean. Ottoman influence began to spread from this base through the Carpathians, and began to threaten mainland Europe.
In 1456, Hungary invaded Serbia to drive out the Ottomans, and Vlad III simultaneously invaded Wallachia with his own contingent. Both campaigns were successful, although Hunyadi died suddenly of the plague. Nevertheless, Vlad was now prince of his native land.
[edit] Main reign (1456–1462)
Vlad III's actions after 1456 are well-documented.
After the death of his grandfather (Mircea the Elder) in 1418, Wallachia had fallen into a somewhat chaotic situation. A constant state of war had led to rampant crime, falling agricultural production, and the virtual disappearance of trade. Vlad used severe methods to restore order, as he needed an economically stable country if he was to have any chance against his external enemies.
The early part of Vlad’s reign was dominated by the idea of eliminating all possible threats to his power, mainly the rival nobility groups, i.e. the boyars. This was done mainly by physical elimination, but also by reducing the economic role of the nobility: the key positions in the Prince’s Council, traditionally belonging to the country’s greatest boyars, were handed to obscure individuals, some of them of foreign origin, but who manifested loyalty towards Vlad. For the less important functions, Vlad also ignored the old boyars, preferring to knight and appoint men from the free peasantry. A key element of the power of the Wallachian nobility was their connections in the Saxon-populated autonomous towns of Transylvania, so Vlad acted against these cities by eliminating their trade privileges in relation with Wallachia and by organizing raids against them. In 1459, he had several of the German settlers (Saxons) and officials of the Transylvanian city of Kronstadt who were transgressing his authority impaled.[2]
Vlad III was constantly on guard against the adherents of the D?ne?ti clan, and some of his raids into Transylvania may have been efforts to capture the clan's would-be princes. Several members of the clan died at Vlad's hands. Vladislav II of Wallachia was murdered soon after Vlad came to power in 1456. Another D?ne?ti prince, suspected to have ta
Whitney05 says:
2 years ago
Vampires are by far my favorite mythological creatures! I think that vampire books tend to do the better justice than vampire movies.