Vampires: how do we like them?

[Beorning]

A query, somewhat inspired by the World of Darkness thread: what is your favourite way of portraying vampires, if any?

Do you like them sympathetic or not? Gifted with natural sophistication - or freakish like Max Schreck in Nosferatu? Really undead and literally damned - or just victims of peculiar addiction? Inherently evil - or being the same folks they were before they became vampires? Vulnerable to sunlight or not?

Discuss, people :)

[Moraline]

World of Darkness Vampires are my favorite version. They come in flavors and run a full range of appearances and personalities. Best of all, none of them sparkle.

[Chris Brady]

Staked, sun-baked and charbroiled.

They make great villains, but sexing up corpses is disgusting to me.

[Skynet]

I like to portray them as powerful, mysterious entities which can blend in with society yet are always apart due to their cursed natures.

They are not monsters so much as humans who can either overcome their lust for blood or fall to it, becoming little more than crazed beasts.

Vampires are best done in shades of grey, capable of being heroes, villains, or something in between.

I do have a bias in favor of "human-looking" vampires over bestial ones, due to my above preferences.

[Kunoichi]

I like the quirky, comedic vampires like Count von Count from Sesame Street or the undead portion of the cast of Hellsing Abridged. ^^

[Jag]

I used to say I liked all vampires, but Twilight changed that. I'm all up for a writer or storyteller putting a new spin on what a vampire is. If they can get a massive amount of society to agree and like their version, good for them. But that doesn't mean I have to like it. This is my list so far...

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Anne Rice:
Lestat is a whiny brat, but sexy.
Louis is a whiny bitch, but he still has humanity within him.
Armand is a whore, but he still a whore.
Marius is a slut, but he's sophisticated.
Nicolas is bat-shit crazy, but he played the violin so well till he lost his hands.
Gabrielle is a wild bitch, but she's a damn strong woman going after what she wants.

Angel/Buffy:
Angel is king of the dust bunny vampires, but he's still a badass.
Spike is annoying as hell, but sexy.

Midnight Predator:
Jeshickah is a sadist, but he can use a whip in all the right ways.

The Twins Effect (also known as The Vampire Effect):
Kazaf is a pitiful teenager, but he knows how to feed in style.

Sookie Stackhouse Novels/True Blood:
Eric is too full of himself, but who doesn't love a Viking?
Bill is a whiny bitch, but he's a big whiny bitch.

So yeah, I love vampires in almost all their incarnations. I've not done much tabletop gaming, so I can't really comment on that.

Generally, I prefer my vampires to be undead and unable to partake in sexual interactions. I want them strong and to be feared for what they are, not lusted after.

None of this:



I prefer monsters. Not whiny brats who spend eternity whining about not having love and crap. I would prefer them to throw people into walls and crush their skulls after feeding. They don't even need to seduce their victims into a dark alley. Just grab, drag, feed, and crush...though I will make small exceptions for specific people when it comes to roleplaying.

[Kunoichi]

I prefer monsters. Not whiny brats who spend eternity whining about not having love and crap. I would prefer them to throw people into walls and crush their skulls after feeding. They don't even need to seduce their victims into a dark alley. Just grab, drag, feed, and crush...though I will make small exceptions for specific people when it comes to roleplaying.

It sounds like you would greatly enjoy a series called Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation, then. ^^ The vampire villain for the first part of the series is a bit of a pretty-boy, but he's about as evil as they come.

[Callie Del Noire]

I prefer monsters. Not whiny brats who spend eternity whining about not having love and crap. I would prefer them to throw people into walls and crush their skulls after feeding. They don't even need to seduce their victims into a dark alley. Just grab, drag, feed, and crush...though I will make small exceptions for specific people when it comes to roleplaying.

This sort of vampire perhaps?

[Jag]

It sounds like you would greatly enjoy a series called Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: The Animation, then. ^^ The vampire villain for the first part of the series is a bit of a pretty-boy, but he's about as evil as they come.

Googled that. Eh, not really my thing. Not too big on the anime/manga stuff anymore.

This sort of vampire perhaps?

*purrs* Yesssss.

[Kunoichi]

Googled that. Eh, not really my thing. Not too big on the anime/manga stuff anymore.

Awww.  Oh well.

[Jag]

Awww.  Oh well.

I do still, though rarely, read manga, but it usually boarders on highly sadistic and violent. >.<

[Callie Del Noire]

Googled that. Eh, not really my thing. Not too big on the anime/manga stuff anymore.

*purrs* Yesssss.

You know what I like BEST about that movie.. not ONCe was the 'V-word' said. NOT ONCE.

[Kunoichi]

I do still, though rarely, read manga, but it usually boarders on highly sadistic and violent. >.<

Hmm.  Well, the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure manga does have violence in spades, but that's more a case of it having started back in the 80s, when punching people until they explode was popular.  Though, it has remained pretty consistent with its violence, even into the present day.

I guess you probably wouldn't like the anime adaptation, though.  They censor a lot of the violence. ^^;

[Jag]

You know what I like BEST about that movie.. not ONCe was the 'V-word' said. NOT ONCE.

*nods*

Agreed.

Hmm.  Well, the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure manga does have violence in spades, but that's more a case of it having started back in the 80s, when punching people until they explode was popular.  Though, it has remained pretty consistent with its violence, even into the present day.

I guess you probably wouldn't like the anime adaptation, though.  They censor a lot of the violence. ^^;

Punching people till their heads exploding wasn't the sort of violence I was referring to. Vampires in anime/cartoon/manga/comics are just dull. Even Alucard is somewhat boring to me. The violence I look for in manga these days is more along the lines of sadistic.

As for anime, just don't watch much anymore. I have all the DBZ on dvd and I love them dearly...but mostly just for nostalgic reasons.

[Kunoichi]

Ah.  Oh well.

[bubby]

I like the monsters too. teeth and blood and scary and powerful.

And this:  ;D

Jim Carrey - Dracula meets Wanda

[Starlequin]

Can't believe no one has mentioned Mick St. John yet. A vampire with common sense. How freakin' rare is that?

[bubby]

Oh lord I remember that show..LOL.

[Beorning]

To throw in my 5 cents...

My favourite version of vampires is Bram Stoker's Dracula. The movie got so many things right:

- vampires' twisted sexuality,
- the overall weirdness and inhumanity of vampires,
- vampires changing into wolves,
- vampires *not* burning in sunlight!

Of course, the novel its based is very right, too (and still scary, even if over a century old).

When it comes to the versions I didn't like, I'm not too fond of vampires in Buffy (what's up with the warped faces?) and in the original Fright Night (too much teeth!). I also hated the way they were presented in Van Helsing. But that's an awful movie overall...

[Starlequin]

Van Helsing may have sucked, but any film that can contain the combined sexy of Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale (damn, that leather, ungh!) deserves its props.

Also, yes, the whole Fright Night franchise rawks.  Yes, even the reboot. Yes, even with Colin 'I'm sexy, but I'm also a tool' Farrell.

Oh, and while I'm feeling ranty, the Dresden Files' Vampire Courts are pretty frickin' cool, too. The two that aren't extinct, anyway. >:)

[Beorning]

Van Helsing may have sucked, but any film that can contain the combined sexy of Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale (damn, that leather, ungh!) deserves its props.

I don't know. The leather didn't impress me at all, as I kept thinking that no people in 19th century dressed like that... It was silly.

Also, I plainly don't think that Kate Beckinsale is *that* hot.

Finally, the movie just annoyed me by changing... well, *everything* about Van Helsing's character. It pains me to think that there might be people who take this travesty as a faithful representation of the literary material... The only other movie with this kind of disregard is an utterly stupid movie Stay Alive, which claims that Elizabeth Bathory was a plantator from New Orleans  ::)

[Starlequin]

Meh, I can honestly say she never once inspired me to contemplate the historical or cultural inaccuracies of the film's costume department. Just an appreciation for their flagrant disregard for giving a damn. :P
...
(But Stay Alive did forcefully inhale primate testicles. You ain't wrong on that one. Ugh.)

[Beorning]

Meh, I can honestly say she never once inspired me to contemplate the historical or cultural inaccuracies of the film's costume department. Just an appreciation for their flagrant disregard for giving a damn. :P

Oh, it's not only about the costumes. The whole "Gabriel Van Helsing" bit really annoyed me...

And overall, it was simply an awful, idiotic movie. I found it literally painful to watch.

(But Stay Alive did forcefully inhale primate testicles. You ain't wrong on that one. Ugh.)

The sad thing? There are reviews over at the IMDB that praise this movie as "based on a real story". One review even praised the details as accurate... It makes me want to scream. Making a Hungarian noblewoman into a New Orleans plantation owner is *accurate*???

[Jag]

The sad thing? There are reviews over at the IMDB that praise this movie as "based on a real story". One review even praised the details as accurate... It makes me want to scream. Making a Hungarian noblewoman into a New Orleans plantation owner is *accurate*???

I forgot about that movie. >.<

I remember the first time the hubby went to watch it. I heard Elizabeth Báthory and Plantation Owner and just went: O_o

[Lilias]

Elizabeth Bathory and Gilles de Rais are that class of 'monster' that one can (try to) claim they were anything. >_>

I think of vampires in WoD terms as well. It's interesting to think which living qualities would be enhanced in unlife and which ones would atrophy. The process of degeneration is fascinating - whether it goes down the detachment or the rage path.

[Beorning]

I like the "Elizabeth Bathory was a vampire" idea, as she was a niece of one of our kings. Which means, we had a king with a vampire connection :)

[Beorning]

And coming back to Van Helsing... compare, please. The movie's CGI Brides of Dracula:

Van Helsing (3/10) Movie CLIP - Here She Comes! (2004) HD

versus Coppola's take:

Bram Stoker's Dracula (8/8) Movie CLIP - Dracula's Brides (1992) HD

I mean, no contest, right? These harpies with expandable jaws were supposed to be the Brides..?

[Lilias]

Not to mention one of Coppola's Brides was a rookie Monica Bellucci. ;)

[Beorning]

Indeed! Although it took me years to realize that :)

And I do love this scene. This is how you make creepy vampires... That over-the-top stuff from Van Helsing is just distasteful.

BTW. Did anyone here read G.R.R. Martin's vampire book, Fevre Dream? It was interesting...

[Lilias]

I haven't, but I will, once I run out of ASoIaF. ;)

As for the creepiest vampire I've seen on screen, that has to be Elina Löwensohn in Nadja. Massively understated, as well. Fer realz.

[Chris Brady]

Not to mention one of Coppola's Brides was a rookie Monica Bellucci. ;)

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

[Beorning]

As for the creepiest vampire I've seen on screen, that has to be Elina Löwensohn in Nadja. Massively understated, as well. Fer realz.

Nadja! I remember that this movie was in some cinemas a looong time ago. Never got to see it, though...

How about the Australian Thirst? I may need to watch it some day...

Thirst (1979) Australian vampire trailer

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

Hm. Good point, actually...

But I do judge the movie on its own merits. Hey, it had Keanu Reeves and I'm not bashing it in spite of it  ;)

[Lilias]

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

We're not judging the whole film, only the portrayal of vampires in it. :-) Stoker's novel wants the Brides to be seductive of Toreador class; they are monsters and Harker feels it, but they never show their monstrous side physically. Hence the drop-dead gorgeous Monica &co.

On the other hand, Oldman's Dracula was very far from what Stoker wrote, but you won't catch me complaining. He was absolutely riveting.

[Starlequin]

Totally off tangent, but...  Why does it matter who it had as an actress?  Why can't we judge the movie on it's own merits, rather than who was/is in it?

Because a film's cast is one of its merits (or liabilities, in some cases), and is as integral to the film's success or failure as the writing or the set design. To argue otherwise would be akin to saying 'Oh, what a beautiful painting, let's discuss it...but let's not bother talking about the colors used, they don't really matter.' Sure, you can still have the discussion, but you're going to be  ignoring a fundamental aspect of the work.

[Chris Brady]

Because a film's cast is one of its merits (or liabilities, in some cases), and is as integral to the film's success or failure as the writing or the set design. To argue otherwise would be akin to saying 'Oh, what a beautiful painting, let's discuss it...but let's not bother talking about the colors used, they don't really matter.' Sure, you can still have the discussion, but you're going to be  ignoring a fundamental aspect of the work.

Usually when someone mentions an actor by name, in a particular movie, it's usually to excuse it for being bad (it's got Ben Affleck or Keanu Reeves in it, of course it'll suck!) or to raise it above what it is (Can't be that bad, Megan Fox is in it!) or as an excuse to see the movie sight unseen, or immediately avoid and bash it without having to watch it.

I don't get that.  No matter who is in the movie, the writing and direction of it matters as much as those on screen, and there have been bombs made by the 'good' actors, and some pretty decent films made by the 'bad' ones.  But no one seems to care about that, all they care is if Hugh Jackman or Megan Fox will be undressing in it...

[Lilias]

With trailers, teasers and reviews left, right and centre, movies today are hardly sight unseen. Most cinema-goers have a pretty good idea of what they're going to see beforehand, although that doesn't preclude pleasant or unpleasant surprises.

I find ogling the lead actors a perfectly legitimate reason to watch a movie (and so do movie business executives). At the very least, it provides a point of satisfaction, even if the rest of the package sucks.

[Torch]

Like this:



The way they should be. Non-sparkly.

[Silverfyre]

Those are my kind of vampires. Where are those ones from, Torch?

Also, I like how V:tM handled the different "clans" of vampires.  It was a nice mythos. 

[Jag]

Those are my kind of vampires. Where are those ones from, Torch?

I think those are from 30 Days of Night.

[Torch]

Those are my kind of vampires. Where are those ones from, Torch?

30 Days of Night

One of my favorite vampire movies, because there is no sparkly romance. The creatures are pure bloodthirsty evil.  ;D

[Jag]

I liked the vampires in that one too. Mostly their fangs. It makes more sense for them to have a mouth full of fangs, rather than two little fangs. *nods*

[Silverfyre]

/adds it to the movie que.  Thanks!

[Torch]

I liked the vampires in that one too. Mostly their fangs. It makes more sense for them to have a mouth full of fangs, rather than two little fangs. *nods*

Agreed.

My favorite scene? When the crying female victim tries to elicit pity by whining "Oh God....!!!", and the head of the clan (played by Danny Huston) just looks at her, shakes his head and says..."No God." right before the clan begins to devour her.

It's awesome!  XD

Edit: OOOPS, prolly should have spoilered that. My bad!  :-[

[Deamonbane]

*Looks at the title, and looks down* Uh... dead... *grins*

[Cyrano Johnson]

The Standard Western Grimoire of Horror Monsters is getting pretty played-out. I like vampires on the classic Bela Lugosi / Count Dracula model, but that can really only be done so many times before it deteriorates into campy schlock (as in fact happened to Dracula for most of the 20th century, except his brief revival / reinvention in Coppola's hands). I didn't mind the Anne Rice / Vampire Lestat approach to vampires for a while, but Rice has a lot to answer for in that she really started vampires on the road to sentimental, pretentious pseudo-eroticism that gave us World of Darkness, Blade and Underworld along the way before arriving at the awful nadir that is Twilight. 30 Days of Night is a game attempt at resurrecting the vampire as a primal threat, but its feral approach would make just as much sense (perhaps more) for werewolves. I think the next reinvention of the vampire will need to be something completely different from the Eastern European legends (there are plenty of candidates in other parts of the world).

(For that matter, zombies have pretty much jumped the shark, too. Too much of Standard-Issue Zombie Mythology makes no sense, and you know a Horror Monster is descending into the hell-realms of CampSchlock when it starts turning up in rom-coms.)

[Avis habilis]

I think the next reinvention of the vampire will need to be something completely different from the Eastern European legends (there are plenty of candidates in other parts of the world).

Next up - penanggalan!

[Beorning]

I seem to recall that there is a movie featuring this creature...

In any case, I challenge SMeyer to sex *that* up!  ;)

[Chris Brady]

So...  Tentacle porn then?

[Avis habilis]

In any case, I challenge SMeyer to sex *that* up!  ;)

Or whatsherface from Fifty Shades.

"I met my Inner Goddess ..." *shlorp* "She's nothing but intestines!"

[Cyrano Johnson]

Next up - penanggalan!

Thaaat's the stuff...

[Lilias]

Next up - penanggalan!

Because the Berbalangs are already kinda done.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Because the Berbalangs are already kinda done.

Never did make use of the Berbalang back in my twenty-sided days. What a lost opportunity... now that is a vampire I could get behind.

The Indonesians really had a thing about entrails.

[Beorning]

Oh, if we're talking RPGs, then I can tell you that my a copy of Night Horrors: Wicked Dead (a sourcebook for Vampire: the Requiem) arrived this evening. Lo and behold, among many vampire-like creatures, it features the penanggalan! The book even gives rules for playing them...  ;D

[Solstice]

Carmilla.

That is all.

<_<

[Skynet]

Oh, if we're talking RPGs, then I can tell you that my a copy of Night Horrors: Wicked Dead (a sourcebook for Vampire: the Requiem) arrived this evening. Lo and behold, among many vampire-like creatures, it features the penanggalan! The book even gives rules for playing them...  ;D

Wicked Dead is a great resource for variant vampires, as well as monsters tangentially related to them.  I highly recommend it if you're a WoD player, even if you don't use the Requiem books.

[SinXAzgard21]

I like my vampires well done on a pyre at dawn.