7 Vampire Movies Better Than Twilight

The Twilight saga continued on-screen in theaters with it's new installment, "New Moon" released on November 20th, 2009. The first film, "Twilight" caused a divide in the audience of film; Twi-hards and Twi-haters. Most of the horror crowd went into the Twi-hater group (though I'm sure some secretly are Twi-hards). On August 26th, 2009, the Twi-haters gained another celebrity voice: Lauren Bacall. Classic actress from movies such as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), and Shock Treatment (1964), spoke out about the film after seeing the first one with her granddaughter. She responded to all the Twi-hards saying,

"Yes, I saw Twilight - my granddaughter made me watch it, she said it was the greatest vampire film ever. After the 'film' was over I wanted to smack her across her head with my shoe, but I do not want a (tell-all) book called Grannie Dearest written on me when I die. So instead I gave her a DVD of Murnau's 1922 masterpiece Nosferatu and told her, 'Now that's a vampire film!' And that goes for all of you! Watch Nosferatu instead!"

So, in agreement with the former screen siren herself, here is my list of vampire movies you should watch instead of Twilight.

A vampire movie list is not complete without this 1922 silent classic. Directed by F.W. Murnau, this film is one that will only be appreciated by a certain type of person. If you're looking for a modern-type, action-packed, blood n' gore horror movie, then this is not your movie. Nosferatu is, first of all, a silent film. Meaning you see the actors playing their parts with the only sound being the symphony soundtrack, and then a clip of a screen has text telling you what they're saying.
This sounds bad, and extremely boring, but these films allow you to look at today's cinema differently. You begin to read the actors body language. And in Nosferatu the actors' talent is amazing. Facial expressions, body movement, everything is as dramatic as it needs to be. What also makes this a great vampire movie, is you're always waiting for the vampire, Count Orlak. His character has such screen presence, and is the base of the iconic scenes from the film. The screen cap most viewed from Nosferatu is of his mere shadow on the wall. These minor scares are what make this film one of the best vampire movies out there.

Not many people (outside of horror fans) know that George A. Romero actually does step away from his zombie apocalypse genre once in a while for things like killer monkeys, a faceless man, and a traveling motorcycle-jousting renaissance fair troupe. Another one of his non-zombie films is Martin. It follows a young man, Martin, who lives with his superstitious uncle, Tada Cuda, and his niece in the little old Pennsylvania town of Braddock. Martin has picturesque dreams of vampire seductions, and translates them into his reality by becoming a vampire himself... sort of. He injects women with narcotics and slits their wrists to drink their blood, all while being unsuccessfully vanquished by his uncle, who tries garlic bulbs and the like.
This film is very dark and tragic. It is a movie that could be seen as one of those "alienated teen" type films. An R rated Twilight, even. Both use vampirism as a metaphor for something else. The idea that madness is usually closer to our hearts than the limits of modern life, and that we are cursed with certain inhumane aspects of our essence that can never be wholly purified.

Toning it down a notch, is this classic Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez film. Very violent, but also very entertaining and funny. Again, classic Tarantino and Rodriguez. It's about two brothers who just robbed a bank in Houston, Texas, and are taking refuge in a seedy bar in the middle of nowhere. However, the bar turns out to be the resting place of a huge pack of vampires.
The script is great; from the characters (a preacher who lost his faith, the Gecko brothers, and Razor Charlie), to the humorous lines ("I have six little friends, and the all run faster than you"). Give this movie a watch if you like vampire movies, and the two creators' styles.

Another movie that can act as an alternative to Twilight is The Lost Boys. This movie is a rebellious teenage movie, where the rebellion is being a vampire. Two brothers, Sam and Michael, move to a new town and join their own groups; Michael, after meeting a girl, joins her group of friends who turn out to be vampires, and Sam becomes involved with the Frog brothers who own a comic book shop and are also vampire hunters.
You can see where this ends up going. As for a teenage vampire flick, this should be up near the top. Definitely above Twilight.

Not a teenage vampire movie, just a good normal horror vampire movie. Well, not normal, but an actually good reimagining of them. The funny thing here is that the director, David Slade, is also the director of the upcoming film in the Twilight saga, Eclipse. In 30 Days of Night, the Alaskan town of Barrow is preparing for their annual "30 Days of Night"; during which the sun will not be seen for 30 days.
It is such a genius concept for a vampire film! What better setting for one than a town with no sun! Plus, it's actually a setting that isn't totally out of the blue! It's one of those 'Why didn't I think of that..." moments. Either way, this film pulls it off. You become connected to the characters before the vampire invasion, and like I said, the concept is just amazing. Watch this and compare it to Twilight: Eclipse and then tell me which David Slade vampire film you like better.

Across the seas over in Sweden, a great vampire movie was made... and it was called: Let the Right One In. Seriously. Amazing. It follows 12 year old Oskar, who is bullied a lot because of being such a loner. He falls in love with the girl next door, Eli. Pros - he gains the ability to stand up for himself. Cons - She is a 200 year-old vampire. And she doesn't just feed on animal blood. Let the Right One In tells the true story of what a relationship with a vampire would be like.
Unlike Edward and Bella.

Now, if you really want to watch a movie with a vampire/human love story... watch Queen of the Damned. Based off of ex-vampire queen, Anne Rice's novel of the same name; this film is a great adaption. THE vampire, Lestat, becomes the lead singer of a rock band, using his vampire hotness and seduction to woo the crowd while Jesse Reeves, a girl who is part of a supernatural group figures out from his lyrics that he is a vampire. And yes, they end up getting together in that vampire/human way.
For the finale of this list, I recommend an alternative vampire/human relationship. This is a more gritty Twilight for you. It's an MTV music video type movie, just darker like The Crow.

So, check these 7 films out instead of watching Twilight again. See a real vampire movie. See a better love story, even. See how making glittery vampires isn't the way to go when it comes to the new vampire generation.