Vampires, and Wolves, and Zombies OH MY!!: TOP 5 Creature Features Of All Time

I remember when I was just a young'n and I'd grab a large bath towel, and would dart about the house pretending to be Dracula.  That guy was so cool.  He had an eloquent style about him that I try to emulate today.  Well, like so many things I've fancied in the course of my life, they seem to grow in popularity down the road (once I've tired of them).  Creature features has been the stuff of Hollywood for quite some time, though lately it seems that our fascination with zombies, vampires, and werewolves has risen substantially.  Is it an indicator of the current zeitgeist? I'll have to ask my colleague, Cornelius (the Trend Specialist) if the Trend Forecasting firm he interned with has incorporated this admiration for the living dead in with future forecasts.  I'm afraid these days we are in creature over kill!  Every vampire story has a different list of vampire do's and don'ts and so forth.  In the midst of this supernatural craze, I've decided to list the top 5 Creature features of all time to help you sift through the garbage that's out here.

1. Bram Stokers Dracula
The biggest bad ass of all vampires, Dracula shows us he is "the" vampire to know.  Francis Ford Coppola produces the best rendition of Bram Stoker's book to date.  This is the true vampire story for those of us that love the blood, fangs, and gothic overtones.

2. Van Helsing
First of all, Hugh Jackman is a very hot man indeed.  You'll never see a sexier werewolf (sorry Taylor Lautner, but next to Hugh Jackman, you're more of a pup than a wolf).  The ongoing battle between werewolves and vampires is explained in this film, and is visually depicted well in my opinion. No sappy "Twilight" teeny bopper b.s. in this film (or bad acting).  No, this is a movie for those that have a true appreciation for vampire vs. werewolf films.

3. The Lost Boys
Before "Twilight" and "True Blood" there were the Lost Boys.  This 80's film is certainly the predecessor of the aforementioned.  You won't see any pretty boys here, or any nampy pampy sickeningly sweet romance.  No, this film ditches the melodramatic romance, and prefers to unsettle you instead.  Sweet!

4. Night of the Living Dead
This movie made brains a delicacy.  I've never laughed while looking over my shoulder at the same time as I did when I watched this film.  Zombies are not nice people, and this remake has proven the fact that a lesson in etiquette is in order.  Damn radiation!  When will people ever learn?  The remake is good, and the original is even better!  Don't watch this alone.

5. Interview With The Vampire
I love Anne Rice as an author.  Movies that are based on books sometimes fall short of the former.  Not in this case.  Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt are amazing in this film, as is Kirsten Dunst (you'll likely not hear me say that again).  This rather progressive tale about vampires dismisses some of the myths that we have learned about vampires (see "Warding off Vampires 101").  Well, forget everything you know, and run for it in this film that is set in Louisiana.








Burnthecloset wants you to share you favorite vampire, zombie, or werewolf films.  Leave them as a comment to this post, or email it to me, and I'll post it on the site.