The 90s were a great decade for vampire films. With imaginative stories, cool special effects, and charismatic characters, these flicks helped fuel the popularity of vampires in pop culture. Here are 10 of the best vampire movies from the 90s:
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Francis Ford Coppola’s visually striking adaptation of the classic 1897 novel by Bram Stoker features Gary Oldman as the seductive Count Dracula. It follows the vampire as he travels to London in search of his reincarnated lost love Mina, battling her friend Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins). Coppola’s elaborate Gothic style and Oldman’s menacing yet sympathetic performance became iconic for the 90s vampire genre.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
Joss Whedon’s original Buffy film introduced the world to Sarah Michelle Gellar as Valley girl cheerleader Buffy Summers, who learns she is the Chosen One destined to slay vampires. The movie combines teen comedy with vampire action and horror. Despite middling success, it spawned the hugely popular Buffy TV series. With clever pop culture references, it helped make vampires mainstream.
Cronos (1992)
Inventor Jesús Gris accidentally transforms into a vampire after a scarab-like mechanical device embedded with a vampire’s tooth latches onto him. This Mexican horror film by Guillermo del Toro uses vampirism to explore themes of mortality, greed and sacrifice with emotional depth and beautiful Gothic visuals.
Innocent Blood (1992)
French actress Anne Parillaud stars as Marie, a vampire with a conscience who only feeds on mobsters and criminals. But when she turns a local gangster into a vampire, he starts turning his entire crime family. Directed by horror master John Landis, this stylish horror-comedy puts a fresh spin on mob and vampire genres.
Interview with the Vampire (1994)
This stylish Gothic drama adapted from Anne Rice’s novel tells the epic tale of Louis, a man transformed into a vampire in 1791 New Orleans. After the loss of his wife and child, Louis is approached by the enigmatic Lestat, who offers him immortal life through vampirism. Initially repulsed, Louis eventually accepts, beginning an endless journey through centuries haunted by existential dread. Cruise is magnetic as the cunning Lestat, while Pitt portrays Louis as a tragic, soulful figure burdened by immortality. Elegant photography and set design transport us to neon-lit Miami, 19th century New Orleans and 18th century Europe. Director Neil Jordan masterfully brings Rice’s melancholy vision to life, exploring the dark gift and curse of vampirism. A defining vampire film of the 1990s.
The Addiction (1995)
This avant-garde black-and-white film by Abel Ferrara follows NYU philosophy grad student Kathleen (Lili Taylor) as she is bitten by a vampire and slowly transforms into one herself. With philosophical voiceovers and academic vampires, Ferrara crafted a cerebral, art house examination of evil and violence.
The Fear (1995)
An experimental indie vampire film, The Fear follows a group of eccentrics brought together for a weekend of debauchery in a cabin in the woods. Their partying is interrupted when a mysterious young girl starts killing them off one by one. Eddie Bowz stars as a scientist researching the paranormal.
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
Eddie Murphy plays Maximillian, a Caribbean vampire who heads to Brooklyn looking for the half-vampire detective Rita (Angela Bassett) to help continue his vampire bloodline. Directed by Wes Craven, this horror-comedy combines Murphy’s trademark humor with creature effects and vampire lore.
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Robert Rodriguez’s pulpy crime thriller takes a hard left turn into vampire territory when bank-robbing brothers (George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino) take a family to Mexico as hostages. They all get trapped in a rowdy desert bar full of vampires. With crazy camerawork, splattery gore, and Salma Hayek as the sensual vampire queen, Dusk is a bloody good time.
Blade (1998)
Wesley Snipes is the title character, a half-human, half-vampire hybrid who hunts vamps as revenge for murdering his mother. With stylized fighting choreography, hard-pumping techno music, and cool Matrix-esque cinematography, Blade became a new archetype of the vampire action hero.
—
Check out the other entries in our ongoing fright fest:
