Since the release of Universal Pictures’ Dracula in 1932 starring Bela Lugosi, vampires have been depicted as sexy, mysterious, and downright beautiful, a portrayal continuing through the 1980s with vampires like Grace Jones’ Katrina in Vamp and The Lost Boys, advancing into the 1990s with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt’s turn in Interview With The Vampire and David Boreanaz as Angel in Buffy The Vampire Slayer right up until the Cullen clan in the Twilight series.
However, with the recent releases of The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield plus Robert Egger’s impending Nosferatu remake, vampires seem to not only be experiencing somewhat of a Hollywood revival, but there also appears to be the return of the vampire as a monstrous creature as opposed to suave sex-symbol, and to celebrate this return to monstrosity, here are horror’s scariest vampires.
Count Orlok, Nosferatu (1920)
No list of terrifying vampires is worth its salt if the OG monstrous vamp isn’t included. The German expressionist horror film Nosferatu directed by F.W Murnau was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s gothic novel Dracula. The silent black and white film depicts estate agent Thomas Hutter (Gustav Von Wangenheim) as he visits the Transylvanian castle of Count Orlok (Max Schreck) to settle the sale of a property in Hutter’s hometown. Hutter falls victim to the Count after he discovers his vampiric tendencies. After Orlok moves to his newly purchased home, the vampire becomes enthralled with Hutter’s beautiful wife Ellen.
Schreck’s Count Orlok is hideous and grotesque. With bat-like features including long pointed ears, sharp and elongated incisors, and spindly claws, Count Orlok would go on to become the inspiration behind other movie vampires such as Barlow from Salem’s Lot (1979)as well as Petyr from What We Do In The Shadows (2014).
Ralphie Glick, Salem’s Lot (1979)
Salem’s Lot revolves around a small town upended by the arrival of Straker and his vampiric master Barlow who have taken up residence in the supposedly haunted Marsten House. Successful author Ben Mears returns to his hometown and after discovering the true nature of the local antiques shop owners, sets out to rid the town of its vampire problem. Whilst Barlow is the prominent antagonist of the 1979 television adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name, no one can deny the long-lasting traumatic effects of seeing little Ralphie Glick surrounded by mist and eyes aglow knocking at the window of his older brother Danny.
Lestat, Interview With The Vampire (1994)
Released in 1994, Interview With The Vampire is the cinematic adaptation of the Anne Rice novel chronicling the undead life of sulky vampire Louis (Brad Pitt) and his sire Lestat (Tom Cruise) as they traverse the world through the centuries. While the vampire Lestat is more romantic dandy than ferocious monstrosity, there is a glimmer of pure vampiric horror during the film’s two-hour runtime.
As the child vampire Claudia becomes increasingly filled with rage towards the arrogant Lestat, she poisons him with the blood of a dead child before slitting his throat. Thinking he is dead, Claudia and Louis dispose of his body in the Louisiana swamps. Yet the undead tend to have a predisposition of rising from their graves. The sight of a decayed and rotting Lestat, having only survived due to the blood of swamp creatures, playing the harpsichord is truly haunting.
The Master, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 1 (1997)
When season one of Buffy The Vampire Slayer burst onto our TV screens in 1997, fans became obsessed with the wise-cracking teenage girl who not only fought against the forces of darkness but also the perils of high school. As well as the classic monster of the week format, the season also contains the main villain in the form of The Master, played by Mark Metcalf. The Master is the oldest vampire on record in the Buffy-verse, with a direct bloodline from the ancient demons that vampires are descended from. After foregoing human features in the 17th Century, The Master took on a more demonic appearance, with bat-like features and as Buffy describes, “punch mouth”. Between his penchant for black leather outfits and the ability to kill vampires by poking their eyes out with his fingernails, The Master is the scariest bloodsucker to come out of Sunnydale.
Eli, Let The Right One In (2008)
Based on the 2004 novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, Let The Right One In depicts lonely and bullied 12-year-old child Oskar who befriends the aloof and strange Eli, another child who has recently moved into his apartment building. As their friendship develops, Eli reveals that they are in fact a centuries-old vampire. Whilst Eli may appear to be an innocent child, who can only survive with the help of her human adult handler Håkan, it is the swimming pool sequence where they truly unleash their monstrosity.
While Oskar is being held under the water by sadistic bullies, the audience views the ensuing bloodshed from Oskar’s perspective as dismembered limbs begin to dart through the water as it is revealed Eli has viciously attacked and torn apart the bullies, save for one.
Marlow, 30 Days of Night (2007)
Set against the Alaskan snowy wilderness, the town of Barrow prepares for the 30 days of night that occurs due to the winter season. The lack of daylight makes for perfect hunting grounds for a group of vampires who attack the townsfolk, who attempt to fight back led by the local sheriff Eben, played by Josh Hartnett. The leader of the band of vampires is Marlow, a black-eyed vampire with a mouthful of sharp teeth, looking not completely unlike those found in a piranha’s mouth. Marlow is completely devoid of humanity, lacking the usual suaveness that is typically expected from vampires. With an apex predator-esque ruthlessness and animalistic savagery, is terrifying enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.
Renesmee, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)
Look….listen….is this entry a complete departure from what you’d expect from a list detailing the most monstrous vampires in horror? Yes. But you can’t tell me the sight of that CGI monstrosity wouldn’t cause even the most stalwart of horror fans to get the heebie jeebies. The final installment in the Twilight franchise concludes the Bella/Edward love story as they strive to protect their half-vampire half-human child, who also ages at an accelerated rate and who has also, on a whole other level of creepiness, been imprinted on by the grown-ass wolf man Jacob. Toddler Renesmee is the stuff of nightmares, with her giant Bratz doll eyes and waxy skin making her look like the prototype for M3GAN.
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