22 Delicious Vampire Movies You Should Bite Into Right Now

Ever since the release of Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror in 1922, humanity has gotten to enjoy the vampire movie. Like Nosferatu, most of the early vampire movies were within the horror genre, but nowadays, you can find pretty much any kind of vampire movie. Vampire romantic dramas, vampire teen comedies, vampire b-movies, and even vampire superhero movies have found a passionate audience.

Want to watch one (or ten)? Here are some of the absolute best vampire movies ever made. There's a bit of everything (and from all over the world!), so you're bound to find something you'll want to, ahem, sink your teeth into.

Each movie's IMBb summary is included, so you'll have a relatively spoiler-free taste of the plot. But also, mild spoiler warning ahead.

1. Renfield (2023)

"Renfield, Dracula's tortured henchman, is forced to capture prey for his master and do his every bidding. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there is a life outside his boss's shadow."

Even if it sucked, Renfield would be worth watching for giving Nicolas Cage the role he was born to play: Dracula. It's such inspired casting that you'll regret every second he's not onscreen. That doesn't take anything away from Nicholas Hoult as Dracula's long-suffering familiar, Renfield, whose use of modern therapy to break out of this toxic relationship is hilarious, endearing, and occasionally gruesome.

2. Van Helsing (2024)

"The famed monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula, who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for nefarious purposes."

I won't argue that Van Helsing is a good movie; the dialogue is cheesy, it has no internal logic, and it unsuccessfully tries to squish four monster stories into two hours. But I will always argue that Van Helsing is fun. The scene of Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale fighting Dracula's three wives, who were perhaps the three most perfectly cast vampires in history, is worth the rest of the nonsense it throws at you. It's also the only Van Helsing movie that exists to date, so it'll have to make do until someone is brave enough to try again.

3. Vampires vs. The Bronx (2020)

"A group of young friends from the Bronx fight to save their neighborhood from gentrification...and vampires."

Screenwriters Oz Rodriguez and Blaise Hemingway use vampires as a metaphor for gentrification, but you might not even notice the social commentary amid the rapid-fire jokes. The young cast delivers them perfectly with help from some comedy veterans in supporting roles, particularly The Kid Mero as bodega owner Tony. But the kids are the stars of the show in this original take on a well-trod genre. 

4. 30 Days of Night (2007)

"After an Alaskan town is plunged into darkness for a month, it is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires."

Alaska's long days and nights are famous, and the northern Alaskan town of Utqiaġvik experiences sixty days every year during which the sun doesn't come up at all. If vampires were real, it would be their ideal vacation destination, which is why it was the perfect setting for 30 Days of Night. The creepy, desolate vibes don't let up for the whole movie, and while the ending certainly isn't happy, you'll heave a sigh of relief when it's over.

5. Interview with the Vampire (1994)

"A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger."

Tom Cruise summons his inner diva as Lestat de Lioncourt, whose codependent relationship with Louis de Point du Lac (Brad Pitt) is the basis for two hours of gothic horror that made Oprah walk out of a screening in 1994. Vampiric drama kings aside, it also boasts a star-making turn from Kirsten Dunst as Claudia the child vampire.

6. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

"Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts."

If The Office and Shaun of the Dead had a baby, and that baby had a baby with a vampire, the result would be something like What We Do in the Shadows. 

7. Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

"A depressed musician reunites with his lover. However, their romance, which has already endured several centuries, is disrupted by the arrival of her uncontrollable younger sister."

Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston are absolutely wonderful as vampires who have gotten tired of the world after being alive for hundreds of years. Their plight, though entirely unrelatable, ends up being quite moving. It's also refreshingly subdued for a monster movie; these bloodsuckers only show their fangs once.

8. Twilight (2008)

"When Bella Swan moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest, she falls in love with Edward Cullen, a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire."

The later installments get a little ridiculous, but the first Twilight movie is actually a perfect teen vampire romance. The mood in Forks, Washington is appropriately gloomy, and while the Cullens aren't your typical coven, their final showdown with James is the necessary amount of violent.

9. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

"Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror."

A lot of vampire movies predicate the idea that vampires are enticing, ethereally beautiful creatures that humans can't help but be drawn to. Not Nosferatu the Vampyre, though. No disrespect to Klaus Klinski, whose makeup took several hours to apply every day, but Nosferatu looks like a scary little weirdo.

10. Blade (1998)

"A half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires."

Blade is the badass cinematic intersection of vampires, superheroes, and horror, and it's as cool as it sounds — the first one, at least. How could it not be, with Wesley Snipes at the center in one of his most beloved roles? It was also Marvel's first truly successful movie franchise, so the modern MCU probably wouldn't exist without it. It's pretty light on blood and gore for a horror movie, but it makes up for it with the profanity.

11. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (1922)

"Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife."

The first vampire movie ever made was a silent, unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's seminal novel, Dracula. The plot of the movie closely follows the novel, but key details like character names and the appearance of Dracula (called Count Orlok in this version) are different. As it turns out, vampires are particularly well-suited to the silent film treatment. Just imagine that guy mutely slinking around your house. Spooky.

12. Ganja and Hess (1973)

"After being stabbed with an ancient, germ-infested knife, a doctor's assistant finds himself with an insatiable desire for blood."

You might expect a movie about Black vampires from the early 1970s to be your typical blaxploitation flick, but Ganja and Hess isn't quite that. The movie exists somewhere in between the arthouse, horror, and blaxploitation genres and uses vampirism as a metaphor to explore themes like religion, cultural assimilation, addiction, and imperialism. And it's a romance, too. In a genre that is over-saturated with white, pale protagonists, a sexy Black vampire story is can't-miss.

13. Cronos (1993)

"A mysterious device designed to provide its owner with eternal life resurfaces after four hundred years, leaving a trail of destruction in its path."

Describing Guillermo del Toro's Cronos as a vampire movie feels like an oversimplification, but what else would you call a movie about a man who discovers an ancient device that grants him eternal youth, a thirst for blood, and sensitivity to sunlight? Del Toro's take on the vampire myth results in one of his most disturbing movies, made all the more impressive by the fact that it's his first feature film.

14. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

"In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire."

The title alone will strike fear in the hearts of many, but in this case, the girl in question is a nameless vampire who uses her powers to embark on various feminist crusades. She spends the rest of her time skateboarding and chilling at her house. A queen! Director Ana Lily Amirpour crafted a horror/romance/western that is somehow equal parts calming and haunting, and a unique entry to the vampire genre.

15. From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

"Two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results."

Written by Quentin Tarantino and directed by Robert Rodriguez, From Dusk Till Dawn features the tasteful restraint both directors are known for in their work. Just kidding! It's a gore fest. George Clooney and Tarantino play criminal brothers, Salma Hayek plays a vampire stripper named Santanico Pandemonium, and the vampires don't just burn in the sun, they burst into fleshy chunks. If loud, unserious, b-movie hijinks is what you want in your vampire fare, this one's for you.

16. Thirst (2009)

"Through a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways."

This South Korean horror drama came out at the height of the Twilight frenzy, but the two could not be further apart on the vampire movie scale. They do share some surface-level similarities, though: vampires and a love triangle. The first half of Thirst is a tense, romantic drama in which a priest-turned-vampire struggles with his lustful feelings for his friend's wife. The last 40 minutes are much bloodier and showcase the kind of vampire you're used to: evil, rampantly sexual blood-suckers who can manipulate humans at will.

17. Let The Right One In (2008)

"Oskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl."

For a movie that includes the bloody murders of many people, including several teenagers, Let The Right One In is surprisingly sweet. Oskar and Eli's relationship has an us-against-the-world vibe that'll have you rooting for them, even though Eli is the one causing most of the havoc. That said, this is a proper horror movie in tone and content, in which two lonely, desperate kids are relentless in their vengeance.

18. The Lost Boys (1987)

"When a recently divorced mother and her two teenage boys move to a coastal town to stay with her father, it doesn't take long for the brothers to realize the area is a haven for something much more sinister than party-going surfers."

Kiefer Sutherland is almost unrecognizable as David, the bleach-blond, leather-clad leader of a vampire biker gang that terrorizes the town of Santa Clara, California. The Lost Boys has everything you'd want to see in an '80s teen comedy but with vampirism thrown in. Consider it the sexier older brother to Mom's Got a Date with a Vampire.

19. Vampyr (1932)

"A drifter obsessed with the supernatural stumbles upon an inn where a severely ill adolescent girl is slowly becoming a vampire."

Vampyr isn't technically a silent movie (it has a few lines of dialogue). Still, you'll be grateful that the action is explained via title cards because it will give you a break from the disturbing, trippy imagery. This is one to watch if you're looking for spooky vibes and a creepy mood over a clear plot and character arcs. 

20. Dracula (1931)

"Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night."

Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula was so iconic that he became the definitive version of the famous vampire: dark hair, widow's peak, tuxedo, and a cape. FYI, Bram Stoker's novel described Dracula as an old man with long white hair and mustache, pointy ears, and sharp teeth and nails. But such was the power of Bela Lugosi and director Tod Browning, who combined horror and melodrama to timeless results.

21. Fright Night (1985)

"Fright Night sees a teenager believing that the newcomer in his neighborhood is a vampire. He turns to an actor in a television-hosted horror movie show for help to deal with the undead."

What's a young man to do when he learns that his neighbor is a vampire? Ask for help from an actor, obviously. That's the kind of silly, fun logic you can expect in Fright Night. It's still a horror movie, so expect the requisite grotesquerie, particularly from the monsters, which are actually upsetting to look at (mainly vampires, but also a zombie and a werewolf). But don't worry: the cheesy '80s-ness of it all keeps things from getting too scary.

22. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

"The centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land."

This version of the Dracula story is probably the most faithful adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, although that isn't a very high bar to clear. But Gary Oldman's Dracula does resemble Stoker's description the most out of any other movie, at least when he's in his true form (not the curly-haired diva with the sunglasses). Bram Stoker's Dracula also boasts the best movie version of Van Helsing in Anthony Hopkins and the always excellent Winona Ryder as Mina Harker.