Vampires are, of course, the most romantic creatures in the celluloid canon. If you’re “cursed” with eternal life and an insatiable hunger for blood for who knows how many hundreds of years, there had better be something else going on to keep you amused.
The current vampire trend caps a century of films about the chicer-than-ever razor-toothed nightlifers. Comedies, action films, coming-of-age tales — vampires are the most genre-friendly creatures to ever stalk the big screen.
So there were a lot of films to consider when we at Disc Dish sat down to consolidate our top three Most Romantic Vampire Movies. Feel free to tell us what other flicks might have warranted a slot … but don’t be a pain in the neck…
Here are our top 3, plus an honorable mention:
3. The Hunger
Catherine Deneuve (The Last Metro) is an immortal vampire queen, David Bowie (The Sacred Triangle) is her not-quite-immortal bloodsucking lover and Susan Sarandon (The Greatest) is the mortal that Deneuve sets her sights on in Tony Scott’s (Unstoppable) 1983 directorial debut. Mostly remembered for its decadent Manhattan atmosphere, Scott’s then-fresh, razzle-dazzle style and cool casting (in 1983, Deneuve, Bowie and Sarandon doing an arty vampire flick was very cool), The Hunger works best for us as a romantic tragedy about endless love that isn’t quite endless — unless you’re the aforementioned immortal vampire queen, who lives forever and loves those that she bites for centuries, until the day they suddenly enter a phase of eternal old age. Deneuve’s love for Bowie and then, possibly, Sarandon, is impassioned and all-too-real, even if it does wreak havoc on a bunch of innocent New Yorkers.
Available on DVD from Warner Home Video
2. Underworld
Len Wiseman’s fun update of the vampire myth, giving them guns and making them face-off against the dreaded Lycans, also is star-crossed love story. When black-leather-clad Kate Beckinsale (Everybody’s Fine) goes against her own kind to save werewolf Scott Speedman (Barney’s Version), we know they’re in love. But there’s more love in the franchise, in the third movie Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, actually a prequel, in which werewolf Michael Sheen (Tron: Legacy) and Rhona Mitra (TV’s The Gates), the daughter of the head vampire (Bill Nighy, Pirate Radio), must keep their love a secret, until the say it’s discovered and, well, you know the rest. Your star-crossed lover killing to keep you safe? Can’t get more romantic than that.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Underworld: Rise of the Lycans also on DVD and Blu-ray)
Let’s face it, the Twilight movies are more romance than vampire. The wonder of films, which are based on the novel series by Stephenie Meyer, is that a sophisticated, MUCH older man (Robert Pattinson, The Bad Mother’s Handbook) can fall for a seemingly ordinary girl (Kristen Stewart, The Runaways). Add that he’s cute and has skin that sparkles in the sun, it’s like a boyfriend with great jewelry all rolled together. But the romance is in the actions, and what’s more romantic than lieing together in a meadow, running to the top of trees with your girl on your back or baring your teeth to stop another vampire from sucking her blood?
Twilight on DVD and Blu-ray, Eclipse on DVD and Blu-ray and New Moon on DVD and Blu-ray from Summit Entertainment
Honorable Mention:
The newest vampire we considered didn’t quite make it into our top 3, but Matt Reeves’ Let Me In is definitely deserving of an honorable mention. An unconventional romance, Let Me In tells the story of a boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road) who meets a girl (Chloe Moretz, Kick Ass) and finds out she’s a vampire. This time, she’s the one protecting him — she is the vampire, afterall — from the bullies who won’t leave him alone. The film also has a second romance, with the girl “father,” a mortal man (Richard Jenkins, The Visitor) who has been with her since he was a child and has given his life to be her companion, all the while knowing that she will never age even though he will. It’s bittersweet love, but love nonetheless.
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