YOUR Best Vampire Film All-time?

[ChronoGrl]

^^ Yep. Totally agree with that.

[phantomstranger]

Horror Of Dracula ( The best vampire film ever)

non-Dracula vampire film: Fright Night (original)
House Of Dark Shadows

[Sculpt]

I watched Horror of Dracula the other night. I had only seen the end of it at some point, coming in late for one of the "Monstrous Movies" on TV, no doubt. I liked it. I would have liked more interaction between Jonathan Harker and Dracula, and then Van Helsing and Dracula. I thought the first interaction between Jon and Drac was interesting, but that would be the last word Christopher Lee would speak. Having Drac no longer interact is a fine choice for the film they did, as it keeps him more mysterious. That's just a preference on my part (some of the best parts of 'Dracula 31' are the interactions between Van Helsing and Drac.) Both John Van Eyssen and Peter Cushing were excellent.

It's tough picking the one I enjoyed the most. I've only seen parts of a few of them in the poll. Of the ones I've seen, I think I'd have to go with Nosferatu 22. It surpassed all my expectations.

Both silent and talky films can done well -- but not surprisingly, I prefer talkies. Most old silent films often have the actors take unnatural posses to facilitate the coming text to read, which I don't think was necessary. I don't like being stoned, but I think Nosferatu would have been even better had it been done as a talkie -- which of course wasn't considered reliable for feature length films at the time. I can already see the posts reading, "I wouldn't change a thing!", but that's my opinion on Nos.

[Giganticface]

I'm not really a fan of most vampire films, mainly because they're usually portrayed as either gushy romantics, stilted gothics, or suave sexual predators. That's one reason why it's so common to use the concept for teenybopper TV shows and movies.

I agree with Kandarian Demon, Salem's lot and Nosferatu are the only two scary, monstrous versions I can think of, and both are excellent films. I'll vote Nosferatu for being utterly iconic and chilling, but for me Salem's lot is more re-watchable. I also thought Vampyr was beautifully constructed, albeit not a great story, and Let the Right One In is a modern day masterpiece. I like the remake too.

[Sculpt]

funny about Let the Right One In. I put it in my Netflix queue, and sat down with my dinner to check it out. Then found out it was subtitled. I can't eat a dinner and read subtitles at the same time. So I skipped it. Haven't come back to it yet.

As a sound guy, I realize much is lost with overdubbing, such as voice continuity with the rest of the sound mix, match of face with sound of voice, and most importantly, the actors artful inflection. Still, although I read books, and I'll read subtitles, I really don't like watching a film with subtitles. It's distracting, I miss some of the visuals, and there's always a subtitle that flashes too fast. Subtitles is not the way the director intended it, any less than overdubs. Especially if it's done well, I prefer an overdubbed film to subtitles. I actually have to be in the right mood for subtitles.

[Straker]

Originally Posted by Sculpt

Especially if it's done well, I prefer an overdubbed film to subtitles.

Has it ever been done well?

I can't even think of an example where an overdub is anything other than laughable. It's bad enough when you get those cheesy censored word overdubs for TV, or when they have to overdub an actor because their accent is too strong, but overdubbed movies are generally just a bad idea.

[neverending]

You should watch Hercules in New York. It's hilarious to hear another voice coming out of Schwartzenegger's mouth...

[metternich1815]

For me, it would be a close race between Dracula (1931) and Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I would have to go with Bram Stoker's Dracula. I will say I really love the vampire sub-genre and have watched and enjoyed most of the films on the poll. Those are just my top two. I also really enjoyed Fright Night (1985) and Dracula 2000 (I know not brilliant, but I thought it was entertaining).

[Giganticface]

There's a certain charm to the Spaghetti Westerns, and Italian horror films where everything was dubbed, even if it was the same voice as the actor on screen. Also, of course, Kung Fu films, that goes without saying. But ignoring charm and unintentional comedy, I can't think of an overdubbed film that didn't seriously reduce the quality of the experience. I simply won't stand for it anymore.

I agree with Sculpt though that it can cause you to miss some stuff, both visual and dialogue. I find myself doing the 10 second rewind more frequently with subtitled films. I do that with English language films too though, and that small drawback is not nearly enough for me to settle for a bastardized overdubbed version instead.

[phantomstranger]

Another good vampire movie is "John Carpenters Vampires".
plenty of scares, lots of gore and some damn fine looking women.
Has virtually nothing to do with the book it's based on, but a highly entertaining film.