The 1990s: From Rage to Riches
Coming off a decade of decidedly chaotic vampire cinema, the nineties were primed and ready for a resurgence of a nosferatu that could bring the world of the undead back to its roots. Fortunately, we received just that. If there's one film of the nineties that fits the bill, it's Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, a stylish and taut retelling of Stoker's masterpiece with an exceptional cast and stellar performance by Gary Old-man, who as Prince Vlad is arguably one of the best vampires ever to grace the silver screen (see Chapter 15).
In its telling, Dracula begins in 1462 in Transylvania with Vlad the Impaler's tragedy and transformation before moving to the late 1800s to imprison Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) and embark to London to pursue Harker's fiancé Mina, the reincarnation of Vlad's beloved wife Elisabeta. Along the way, Vlad must deal with the traditional Stoker characters and match wits with Abraham Van Helsing, a role that would've suited no other actor than the brilliant Anthony Hopkins. It should also be noted that Tom Waits's performance as Renfield is perhaps one of the most underrated of the film. With its stunning visual appeal, tense storyline and action sequences, and strong sexual undercurrent, this rendition is a must for all vampire aficionados.
Two years later, in 1994, yet another blockbuster bloodsucker arrived in the long-awaited film adaptation of Anne Rice's best-selling novel Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles. Much ado was publicly made by Rice herself when the final casting was announced, but she later recanted her comments after viewing the film. Whether one agrees with the casting of Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt or not, it must be said that what resulted was a lush if not accurate portrayal of Lestat, who aside from Stoker's Dracula, is the best-known vampire in this and other worlds (see Chapters 13 and 15). Coming in third on the all-time box office vampire gross with a take of over $105 million, as compared to Coppola's fourth-place ranking at over $82 million, Interview is faithful to the novel and rife with the interplay of Lestat's arrogance matched up against Louis's pensiveness and the wicked countenance of their daughter Claudia, played by Kirsten Dunst.
The casting of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire was a matter of speculation since its publication in 1976. During the late seventies it was John Travolta who was said to have been slated as the film's star. Rice herself over the years made mention of Rutger Hauer, Jeremy Irons, and Daniel Day-Lewis taking part. It's also said that for the big-screen version, Johnny Depp was also offered the part.
The nineties also gave us our first glimpse of the popular franchise that would become Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A feature film in 1992, it stars Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, and Rutger Hauer. In the top twenty all-time grossing vamp flicks, the film launched the popular television franchise and star Sarah Michelle Gellar (see Chapters 13 and 18). Yet another trio of vamp flicks hit the big screen in the nineties, with the original and both sequels produced in rapid succession. Robert Rodriguez's 1996 flick From Dusk Till Dawn gave new meaning to the term “blood bar,” as an unsuspecting Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, and Quentin Tarantino attempt to fight their way out of a Mexican boondocks watering hole. Both sequels followed in 1999.
The year 1998 marks the arrival of one of the more innovative and popular vampire/human hybrids, who kicks some serious bloodsucker booty. As with most vampires, he's known by a single name — Blade — and he's a force to be reckoned with (see Chapters 15). Starring Wesley Snipes, Blade is adapted from the character who first appeared in Marvel Comics in July of 1973 in Tomb of Dracula (see Chapter 19). In Blade, his fight against an evil underground network of hard-core vampires casts him as somewhat of a necessary but reluctant hero that carries through both sequels, Blade II in 2002 and Blade: Trinity in 2004. That said, we now introduce you to the films of the nineties:
Carmilla (1990) Roy Dotrice, Meg Tilly, Ione Skye, Roddy McDowell
Daughter of Darkness (1990) Mia Sara, Anthony Perkins, Robert Reynolds
Nightlife (1990) Ben Cross, Maryam D'Abo, Keith Szarabajka
Pale Blood (1990) George Chakiris, Wings Hauser, Pamela Ludwig
Rockula (1990) Dean Cameron, Toni Basil, Bo Diddley, Thomas Dolby
Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1990) David Carradine, Morgan Brittany, Bruce Campbell, Maxwell Caulfield
Transylvania Twist (1990) Robert Vaughn, Teri Copley, Steve Altman
Children of the Night (1991) Karen Black, Peter DeLuise, Ami Dolenz
Kingdom of the Vampire (1991) Matthew Jason Walsh, Cherie Petry, Shannon Doyle
My Grandfather Is a Vampire (1991, New Zealand) Al Lewis, Justin Gocke, Milan Borich
Son of Darkness: To Die for II (1991) Michael Praed, Jay Underwood, Scott Jacoby
Subspecies (1991) Anders Hove, Angus Scrimm, Laura Mae Tate
Bram Stroker's Dracula (1992) Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer
The term Buffyverse is commonly used today to encompass the amazing franchise spawned by the 1992 film
Innocent Blood (1992) Anne Parillaud, Chazz Palminteri, Anthony LaPaglia, Robert Loggia
Tale of a Vampire (1992) Julian Sands, Suzanna Hamilton, Kenneth Cranham
Blood in the Night (1993) Reggie Athnos, Mark Moyer, David Laird Scott
Bloodstone: Subspecies II (1993) Anders Hove, Denice Duff, Kevin Blair
City of the Vampires (1993) Matthew Jason Walsh, Anne-Marie O'Keefe
Cronos (1993) Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook
Darkness (1993) Gary Miller, Michael Gisick, Randall Aviks
Dracula Rising (1993) Christopher Atkins, Stacey Travis, Doug Wert
Love Bites aka The Reluctant Vampire (1993) Adam Ant, Kimberly Foster, Roger Rose
Project Vampire (1993) Myron Natwick, Brian Knudson, Mary Louise Gemmil
To Sleep With a Vampire (1993) Scott Valentine, Charlie Spradling
Bloodlust: Subspecies III (1994) Anders Hove, Denice Duff, Kevin Blair
Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst
Addicted to Murder (1995) Mick McCleery, Laura McLauchlin, Sasha Graham
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) Leslie Nielsen, Peter MacNicol, Harvey Korman, Amy Yasbeck
Embrace of the Vampire (1995) Alyssa Milano, Martin Kemp
Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett, Allen Payne
Bordello of Blood (1996) John Kassir, Dennis Miller, Erika Eleniak
Karmina (1996) Isabelle Cyr, Robert Brouillette, Yves Pelletier
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino
Vampirella (1996) Talisa Soto, Roger Daltrey, Richard Joseph Paul
An American Vampire Story (1997) Trevor Lissauer, Johnny Venokur, Adam West
The Vampire Journals (1997) David Gunn, Kirsten Cerre, Starr Andreeff
Addicted to Murder: Tainted Blood (1998) Sasha Graham, Mick McCleery, Sarah K. Lippmann
Blade (1998) Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Kris Kristofferson
John Carpenter's Vampires (1998) James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee
Modern Vampires (1998) Casper Van Dien, Rod Steiger, Kim Cattrall, Udo Kier
Subspecies 4: Bloodstorm (1998) Anders Hove, Denice Duff, Jonathon Morris
Teenage Space Vampires (1998) Robin Dunne, Mac Fyfe, James Kee
The Wisdom of Crocodiles (1998) Jude Law, Elina Löwensohn, Timothy Spall
Bats (1999) Lou Diamond Phillips, Dina Meyer, Bob Gunton
Cold Hearts (1999) Marisa Ryan, Robert Floyd, Amy Jo Johnson
From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) Robert Patrick, Bo Hopkins, Duane Whitaker
From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter (1999) Marco Leonardi, Michael Parks, Temuera Morrison
Carmilla aka J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla (1999) Stacia Crawford, Marina Morgan, Bootsie Cairns
John Carpenter's 1998 film Vampires (usually cited as
