Originating from folklore and legends across different cultures and centuries, the supernatural creatures with a lust for blood and a fear of garlic and crucifixes have become some of the most iconic figures in horror and popular culture. And some of the most popular. The Twilight film series alone grossed over $3 billion worldwide, and likely produced a generation of adults yearning for Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison) and Bella Swan’s (Kristen Stewart) toxic, undying love.
There have been countless iterations of the vampire: monstrous devils who will stop at nothing to feed (Fright Night), tragic antiheroes cursed to watch the years pass by (Byzantium) and everyone they love die over and over again, brooding lovers with skin that sparkles (The Twilight Saga), or hilarious misfits struggling to adapt their night-dwelling ways to the modern world (What We Do in the Shadows).
Narrowing down the best vampire films isn’t easy, but we’ve put together a wickedly fun list of the 12 best vampire films that shows all the different ways the vampire mythology has been adapted on screen. No matter which version you choose to sink your teeth into, you’ll have a bloody good time.