10) THE NIGHT FLIER

Okay, I admit that this one will be considered a very controversial choice. Mostly because a lot of people didn’t like it – not so much because it’s Stephen King (again), but because basically there are no “good guys” to root for or “bad guys” to boo against. There are just a lot of miserable people all round, and the most ‘decent’ one might be the villain himself! Miguel Ferrer (CROSSING JORDAN) does what he’s really good at; playing an evil bastard.

This one is a sleazy tabloid reporter for an even sleazier rag, who will stop at nothing to get a story. Tracking down a serial killer who turns rural airport terminals into slaughterhouses, he finds out that part of the guy’s M.O. is the fact that he’s a pilot, and he uses his private plane to get to and from each scene of carnage. But as he digs deeper, he discovers a tale of terror with a price tag that’s too steep to pay for any by-line, no matter how good it is…If this movie just settled for splattering extra gore all over the place (which it does), it would be no different from a gazillion other movies like it. But it goes a little bit further into disturbing territory, which plays a lot more effectively at times than just gory horror.

The title character is pretty evil, no doubt about it, but there are hints that he was once human, and that a terrible tragedy sent him careening over to the ‘dark side.’ Having a serial-killing plasma drinker who may be at the core of his black heart more “human” than the man pursuing him is not something that’s been done before, and it’s an icily refreshing change from the usual stuff. If you’re looking for a movie with a happy ending or at least an easy resolution, you might want to steer clear of this one

9) VAMP

9. VAMP – Behind Joel Schumacher and Tom Holland, Richard Wenk took a third stab at teenage vampire terror in a low-budget romp that starred Chris Makepeace (MEATBALLS) and Robert Rusler (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 2). But both guys kind of faded into the woodwork because of the real star, singer Grace Jones. If you thought she was scary enough just as a performer, wait until you see her “vamp out.” THE LOST BOYS had a cakewalk by comparison

8) FROM DUSK TILL DAWN

The first real collaboration between directors and best budz Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, and well worth a revisit before the release of their next gonzo gorefest, GRINDHOUSE. I loved this flick the first time and love it still, because it starts off as a kind of NATURAL BORN KILLERS-type crime thriller, with George Clooney and QT as brothers who are bad to the bone when it comes to robbery and carnage, simply because they can’t help themselves. (Well, actually, it’s Quentin’s deranged character who can’t help himself.)

After their latest blood-soaked caper goes very wrong, they kidnap preacher Harvey Keitel and his two kids and head South of the Border to hide out. When they stop for the night at a sleazy strip bar called “The Titty Twister,” things rapidly go from bad to mind-bendingly worse. If you think you know Salma Hayek and you have never seen this movie, brace yourself. You will never walk into a strange titty bar quite the same way again, and you sure as hell won’t do it without thinking of her!

7) SALEM'S LOT

Not surprisingly, Stephen King makes the list twice, first with his “retelling” of the Bram Stoker classic, directed by horrormeister Tobe Hooper. I’m still mad at CBS for jerking it out of his hands and re-editing it because it was “too intense” (wasn’t that SUPPOSED to be the whole fucking idea??? Sorry…it just really chaps my ass!!!)

A later cut restored it somewhat to its original creepiness, and even in the ‘edited’ version, there are still scenes that will give people nightmares for generations to come. James Cameron’s DP Mikael Salomon directed a remake for TNT back in 2005, but frankly, I watched five minutes’ worth and took a pass on that one. I dunno – maybe you’ll watch it and feel differently about it, but for me, James Mason and Reggie Nalder…brrrrrrr! Now THAT’S scary!

6) THE HUNGER

No list of Top Ten Vampire Movies would ever be complete without including Tony Scott’s art-directed-to-death-and-then-some classic? Bad points: not enough David Bowie, not enough of the backstory provided by Whitley Streiber’s superb novel, and for some people, not nearly enough gore.

Good points: it’s the only movie to make the most effective use of a band in the title credits, ever, (electro-goth rockers Bauhaus) and it has possibly one of the hottest girl-on-girl scenes ever featured in a vamp film, (Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon). And considering that Hammer laid the groundwork for those kind of scenes, that’s saying something!

5) NEAR DARK

5. NEAR DARK – Adrian Pasdar has gotten a great second wind lately, as part of an ensemble cast on one of the hottest series on television, HEROES. But who remembers when he started out with a heart-warming role as a simple farmboy caught up in a boy-meets-girl, girl-bites-boy, boy-gets-kidnapped-by-deranged, serial-killing, nomadic-vampire-clan story?

Aside from the script co-written by Eric Red (THE HITCHER) and a slam-bang directing job by Kathryn Bigelow, the casting couldn’t have been more brilliant, as three of the most memorable actors from ALIENS – Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton and Jennette Goldstein, got to make history again as the oddest family this side of the Addamses, the Munsters OR the Clampetts.

4) FRIGHT NIGHT

You’d never think with LOST BOYS hogging all the street cred, that there would be room in the vamp universe for two outstanding teen-horror comedies featuring bloodsuckers…until writer/director Tom Holland gave us his take on the genre. Horny teen horror buff against hungry single vamp-about-town living next door? Sign me up!

Stars William Ragsdale and Stephen Geoffreys became unfortunate victims of creeping obscurity, but co-star Amanda Bearse went on to a long-running stint on MARRIED WITH CHILDREN, and kept on going as a successful TV director. Chris Sarandon is still hard at work and Jonathan Stark is a producer, but even with multiple viewings, the late, great Roddy McDowall still walks off with the entire movie as the cynical and world-weary horror ham “Peter Vincent”, who soon learns that life really does imitate art after all.

3) INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE

From the very first moment that Warner Brothers announced that Anne Rice’s seminal vamp epic was being adapted for the screen, fans got a bone-on from excitement. Then they announced the casting. Brad Pitt…okay. Antonio Banderas…okay, we’re a little worried, but still cool. Christian Slater…still okay. Kinda. TOM CRUISE…WTF???

From that moment on, even with Neil Jordan as the director, it seemed doomed to become one of many horror fiascos, possibly even the “GIGLI” of horror movies. Even Anne got good and pissed at first. But then, miracle of miracles, we finally saw it, and Tom…actually…did not…suck! (Well, not in the acting sense, anyway.) Best line: “Claudia…you’ve been a very…naughty…girl!!!” Hey, look on the bright side…at least Stuart Townsend didn’t play Lestat…until later!

2) THE LOST BOYS

It’s only number two because ‘Drac’ will always be Numero Uno Hombre with the economy-sized incisors. This is the movie that gave us the Coreys and Joel Schumacher (uh-oh…) But it also managed to make Kiefer Sutherland into a star, Barnard Hughes into the coolest grandpa ever, MTV-videography into a cinematic style, and put Gerard McMann on the map with one of the most wicked/creepy goth-rock themes ever (“Cry, Little Sister”).

1) DRACULA

It really doesn’t matter which version you choose, you can never go wrong when you go back to the basics. The one-and-only original, Bela Lugosi, still gives a lot of people the creeps. For the romantic take, Frank Langella stars in the ‘lush’ version. For sheer, irresistible evil, you can’t go wrong with Christopher Lee in a lot of Hammer’s “stake” in the competition.

Film history buffs can compare the German silent version of the tale with NOSFERATU, and the latter-day interpretation starring Klaus Kinski. Though it borders on (and often crosses the line of) camp, Francis Ford Coppola’s version does offer a delightfully over-the-top Gary Oldman vs. Anthony Hopkins. And if you can find it, check out the unforgettable version starring Jack Palance.

Anything from Hammer starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing; LET’S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH; HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS; VAMPYRES: DAUGHTERS OF DRACULA; THE VAMPIRE LOVERS; VAMPIRE CIRCUS; JOHN CARPENTER’S VAMPIRE$; BLACULA and SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM; COUT YORGA, VAMPIRE and THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA; MARTIN; THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS; THE LAST MAN ON EARTH; VAMPIRE HUNTER D, BLADE and BLADE 2

Special thanks to Don for this awesome contribution!