Camera Obscura - A Monday Vampire Roundup

Halloween approaches and since vampires ruled the movie box office this weekend, why not start your Monday with vampires?

The vampire movie "30 Days of Night" opened this weekend and claimed the top spot in box office dollars. Based on a comic book, the story is about an Alaskan town which is about to endure a month without daylight. Something which happens in Alaska, so why, I wonder, did vampires never settle there long ago? Maybe it's the cold.

Josh Hartnett is your hero in the movie, but the real star is the leader of the vampire pack, Danny Huston. As for the Washington Post writes:

"And while Hartnett and Melissa George (as his estranged wife) make functionally appealing characters, the real star of "30 Days" is Danny Huston. As the animalistic leader of the pack, he's as disturbing as he is compelling, a feral creature with all senses at full capacity. If there's an action figure, I'm ordering one."

Newscoma also watched the movie and has a review too:

"If you dig horror movies, go see it for Huston’s performance and the way the movie is shot when the monsters are on the screen."

I like vampire movies, meaning they do not scare me. I enjoy them. A movie which scares me is something like "Steel Magnolias". The thought of having to watch that movie makes me shiver with revulsion.

And this leads to a question for all of you -- what is your favorite vampire movie? Who has done the best job onscreen of being a vamp? A quick search for 'vampire' at IMDB reveals thousands of movies to pick from.

Here are some of my choices.
Dracula (1931) -- Tod Browning's movie remains the vampire icon of movies. Bela Lugosi's face, voice and costume are still known around the world. He even inspired a character for Sesame Street and a box of cereal. The movie, stilted somewhat by today's standard, still has fantastic scenes.

Horror of Dracula (1958) -- British mega-star Christopher Lee made a fantastic Count Dracula, though he surely tired of the role and the work offered by Hammer Films. But this first one is still a great movie, and Lee knows how to scare you.

Blade and Blade 2 (1998, 2002) -- Wesley Snipes is both vamp and vamp hunter, and these first two movies are mighty fine. The opening "blood rave" party in the first movie is a jaw-dropping nightmare of vampires in a club scene. The third Blade movie is a joke. The first two, however, are fine fun.

Fearless Vampire Killers; or Pardon Me But Your Teeth Are In My Neck (1967) -- Director Roman Polanski's horror-comedy is a must-see. Gorgeous location shooting, packed with excellent characters both funny and scary, the movie is moody and dark and funny all at once. Polanski also plays part of a bumbling vampire hunter team, and Ferdy Mayne is like the sleaziest Goth of all time.

Now just for laughs in recent years, it is hard to top the very awful Wes Craven movie "Dracula 3000". It's on a spaceship and you get to see such performers as Coolio and Tiny Lister as vampires. That makes for some cringe-inducing comedy.

And since I am a massive fan of the TV show "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", I must mention just how much fun it is to watch Spike and Dru as vampire villains. They really shine in Season Two.

What are your choices?