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Vampires! Sometimes they turn into bats, sometimes they live in a remote European castle. Sometimes they even sparkle.
Not on this list, though.
Here we are steering our movie boat away from the mainstream and heading down the indie inlet, so to speak. This is a celebration of underrated vampire movies for those who are sick of tired tropes, thick “Transylvanian” accents and insufferable love triangles.
So go ahead and sink your teeth into these lesser-known gems!
SPOILER WARNING for the movies on this list! Sometimes just the knowledge that vampires will appear at some point will take the fun out of some of these movies – you have been warned.
And if all vampires are too mainstream for you, you might find something more to your liking on our list of totally unexpected B-movie monsters!
Wondering where to watch?
We have done our best to list buying – and sometimes viewing options – for the following films. But as streaming services vary greatly from country to country and we probably don’t live where you do, we just can’t cover them all. However, we 100% recommending checking if the show is available on your favourite viewing platform(s).
As digital nomads we don’t always have access to some of the MANY options only available in countries like the USA and UK. So outside, of the powerhouses like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime, these are the services we recommend:
• Shudder: This one is for all our fellow horror fans out there!
• KweliTV: Find 500+ Black TV shows, films, documentaries and more from around the world
• Viki: A must for those who love East Asian cinema. An absolute treasure trove of Korean, Japanese and Chinese media.
• Mubi: Perfect for anyone who enjoys indie and arthouse cinema from around the world. If you feel overwhelmed, they do a film of the day recommendation.
• SovietMovies: If you haven’t gotten into Russian cinema, you’re missing out! They have a great range of old and new Russian films available with many subtitle options. And, they offer a lifetime, unlimited subscription option for $100!
With that having been said, here are some options to find where to watch or buy in your country:
• uNoGS will tell you in what countries a film or show is available on Netflix.
• JustWatch & PlayPilot can help you find additional streaming and buying options in several countries around the world. Those located in the USA and UK can also use ReelGood.
Need to unlock content?
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) allow you to unlock content from around the world. AND they keep your information safe while browsing online (essential if you use public WiFi).
We literally couldn’t do our jobs without a VPN. We personally use & recommend ExpressVPN
Near Dark (1987)
After meeting Mae, a beautiful drifter who turns out to be a vampire, small town resident Caleb has been turned. However, while the other vampires in Mae’s group regularly kill to feed (and in some cases very much enjoy doing so), Caleb struggles to come to terms with this new un-life, as he doesn’t want to kill anyone.
Near Dark is the solo directing debut of Kathryn Bigelow – before she went on to become history’s first female winner of the Best Director Oscar (in 2008 – come on, people) with The Hurt Locker – and she also co-wrote the film, choosing to focus on the seldom-seen moral quandary angle of vampirism.
Add in some good old 80’s style thrills such as vehicle action scenes and incredibly loud gunshots, and you’ve got yourself one of the most cult-style underrated vampire movies. There are also some comfortingly recognisable 80’s character actor faces to be seen, such as Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton, fresh off the back of working in Aliens.
The Lost Boys (1987)
When they move to the new beach town of Santa Carla, California, two brothers find there’s a sinister reason for a slew of recent disappearances: the local biker gang members are vampires! Younger brother Sam befriends two would-be vampire hunters, and enlists their help to rescue his older brother Michael, who is rapidly becoming one of them.
Ok, I’ll admit it – this may be one of the least underrated vampire movies on this list. It’s iconic, and loads of people have seen it. But that may not always be the case! Times change, and things that were considered classics become less and less well-known. I’ve found myself talking about some films that were giants in their day but no one else in the room has heard about. So, to be safe, here it is.
The soundtrack alone marks this film for serious viewing consideration. That and the fact that the setting – a Coney Island-esque funfair/amusement arcade town – is one not usually seen in movies, let alone with the addition of vampires with mullets (it’s the 80’s again – the styles on display are equally outstanding). It’s a retro feast for the senses.
Cronos (1993)
When an old antiques dealer finds a metal device hidden inside a statue he is restoring, he is alarmed when it attaches itself to him and injects him with an unknown substance. He then starts to appear younger and stronger, but also develops a taste for blood. The device – the eponymous Cronos – has turned him into a vampire! But there are others who will stop at nothing to take it from him.
This is some excellent, inventive horror from pre-Pan’s Labyrinth writer/director Guillermo del Toro, who puts a twist on the classic vampire narrative by having the transmitter be a machine as opposed to another vampire.
(To see del Toro try his hand at vampires in the medium of television, check out our list of world-ending post apocalyptic TV series!)
Many of the now-expected del Toro traits can also be seen here – quite literally in the case of actor Ron Perlman, who would go on to work with del Toro in Hellboy II: The Golden Army, who plays the “heavy” sent to acquire the Cronos and bring it to his ailing master.
In a way, of the foreign vampire movies available (it’s del Toro, so it’s in Spanish), this is one of the most semi-steam/cyberpunk adaptations. When will handlers of ancient artefacts learn not to touch things?
The Hunger (1983)
Vampiress Miriam has kept a string of lovers over the centuries, and cellist John is the most recent. While her vampiric gift has kept him “alive” since the 18th century, he is starting to physically age very quickly all of a sudden. Things get more complicated when he goes to Dr. Sarah Roberts to help stop the process, as she quickly becomes involved with the both of them.
The Hunger explores the dramatic/social subject of how vampires keep relationships over the course of centuries, while tying in themes of addiction both to substances (i.e. blood) and to people. Thanks to being made in the 80’s, there’s a lot of style added to the substance here. We’ve got Dutch angles, blowing drapes, gothic architecture and some heavy uses of dramatic slow motion.
Oh, and cellist John is played by David Bowie, which is an instant plus for a shameless fanboy like me.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
What might it really be like to be a vampire today? After several hundred years, would “life” have become boring? Or empty?
That’s the main thing troubling suicidal musician/creature-of-the-night Adam, whose necessity for anonymity is at odds with his growing fanbase, meaning he must soon choose between discovery or rapid relocation.
On the plus side, his vampire soulmate Eve returns to sooth his soul. On the down side, unbeknownst to them both, Eve’s unruly niece is coming to stay as well, which can only mean trouble.
I love the vibe of this film. The feeling of world-weariness that Tom Hiddleston gives off as Adam really works well with the laid-back, slow-burning feel of Jim Jarmusch’s characteristically unusual take on the vampire trope.
The music that Adam makes serves as the soundtrack to much of the visuals; the highly distorted electric guitar notes with long, drawn-out reverb helps melt the characters fully into the backdrop of deserted cities late at night.
Only Lovers Left Alive, like its protagonists, is not afraid to take its time. This is a slow film, but in a really good way.
Mystics in Bali [Leák] (1981)
Mystics in Bali isn’t your usual underrated vampire film, instead it features the Leák (also spelled Leyak), a vampiric creature in Balinese folklore.
Leáks are disembodied heads that still attached to their original body’s entrails and organs. They fly around looking for pregnant woman or newborn babies as they survive off of their blood.
In Mystics in Bali American (or Australian depending on the dub) Cathy Kean (Ilona Agathe Bastian) is studying the Leáks and Balinese black magic with the help of her boyfriend Mahendra (Yos Santo).
But after meeting an old woman (Sofia W.D.) who claims to be the queen of the Leáks, Cathy is tricked into becoming one herself.
This film is one of the most loved cult classics of Indonesian horror movies. And it will quickly become one of your favourites, too, if you love really bad horror movies!
Watch Mystics in Bali: YouTube | Archive
Buy Mystics in Bali
Let the Right One In (2008)
Oskar is a social outsider, and is regularly bullied by other kids at school. When Eli and her older male companion move in next door, he might have a chance at friendship for once. But Eli, as she tells him, is “not a girl”, and local residents start dying.
Don’t bother with the English language remake Let Me In – European vampire movies are great, and this Swedish language original is no exception. It’s a revenge morality tale, it’s a love story.
But with children. Sort of.
There’s a lot going on in Let the Right One In, with a lot of adult choices and quandaries weighing heavily on young Oskar.
Director Tomas Alfredson adapted the film from the original book of the same name with the help of a screenplay by original author John Ajvide Lindqvist, with Alfredson moving the focus away from the traditional vampire conventions and onto the relationship of the young protagonists. But don’t worry; there’s still plenty of bloodsucking and gore to enjoy.
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Seth and Ritchie Gecko have just robbed a liquor store, burned it to the ground, and killed a Texas Ranger in the process. They’re heading across the Mexican border to meet their contact and escape the law.
Surely they’ll be safe laying low in a harmless strip club for a while?
What starts as a standard crime thriller suddenly pivots into a demented battle for survival. The rug-pull in From Dusk Till Dawn has similarities with Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, with its hard left turn in tone partway through. Suddenly the Gecko brothers are surrounded by vampires, and it’s all guns and gore courtesy of action aficionado Robert Rodriguez.
If you’re watching with someone who knows nothing about this movie, see how they take it. Because it’s quite the reveal.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
Hard-working Arash lives in a desolate town and struggles to take care of his heroin-addict father while dealing with the harassment of a local drug-dealer. Little does he know that salvation may have arrived in the form of a shrouded young woman who wanders the streets at night.
This film proudly bears the mantle of being the first Iranian vampire Western, and it’s easy to see why.
The nameless shrouded lady is almost a perfect substitute for the “man with no name” gunslinger trope, so familiar to us in the form of Clint Eastwood in his poncho. She also works above the law, and sets her mind to dealing with the unsavoury characters she finds in this apparently lawless town.
So if you’re in the mood for a Western, but you’re tired of the same old horse-riding men chasing bandits out of town, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is the movie for you.
Buy A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Thirst (2009)
After contracting a fatal virus following a failed test of a new vaccine, Catholic priest Sang-hyun is about to die when he suddenly makes a full recovery.
However, he soon starts to crave blood and needs shelter from the sun. As he tries to reconcile his new vampirism with his faith and his morals, his devout congregation flock to him as a miraculous healer.
But the craving for blood is increasing.
Following on from his success with the “Vengeance” trilogy of films (which includes the internationally notorious Oldboy), director Park Chan-wook’s fresh take on the ethics of being a vampire serves as a good study of the human moral compass.
Instead of giving in to base instincts, protagonist Sang-hyun tries to use his newfound situation for good, or at least as much good as being an unholy creature can bring. I highly recommend checking it out!
Daybreakers (2010)
The vampires have taken over! Unfortunately, this means that there’s hardly enough genuine human blood to go around. So haematologist Edward Dalton is trying to find a replacement before the lack of food leads to riots and anarchy. But then Edward meats Lionel “Elvis” Cormac, who claims to have a cure for vampirism, because he used to be a vampire himself.
This is an intriguing twist on the vampire dystopian future idea. Usually, the vampires spend the movie causing the downfall of humankind and taking over the world. With Daybreakers, that world is already established, complete with sun-proof coverings for previously exposed public walkways and take-out coffee with shots of blood already added. It’s a great world-building effort.
While it does suffer from being set in the “near future” of 2019 (this kind of thing almost immediately dates any movie – why do they keep doing it?), Daybreakers otherwise holds up pretty well to today’s standards. And the population-running-out-of-resources theme is always relevant.
What We Do in the Shadows (2015)
A documentary crew are given crucifixes and are allowed access to the house and lives of four vampires living in the suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand. As we learn more about these vampires (one of whom is thousands of years old), we see their nightly struggles with luring victims, divvying up housework and getting into nightclubs.
This is mockumentary at it’s peak, and it’s one of the more light-hearted underrated vampire movies on this list.
Writer/directors Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement originally made What We Do in the Shadows as a short film, and only expanded the idea to feature length seven years later, where they used a much more improvisational technique and ended up with around 125 hours of footage. They then had to spend over a year editing it down to a reasonable length for release in cinemas.
It should also be noted that, despite this being a semi-spontaneous and downright silly movie, the special effects in the film are surprisingly good, with a great attention to detail being given to each supernatural occurrence. But what else would you expect from the people who made Thor: Ragnarok and Flight of the Conchords?
If you love the film, there is also a TV show which is equally fun and absurd.
The Addiction (1995)
Philosophy grad student Kathleen is attacked and bitten one evening, and becomes a vampire. As she struggles with the idea of drinking blood to sustain herself, she encounters another vampire (played by Christopher Walken) who may be able to help her avoid losing herself to her desire for blood.
Director Abel Ferrara created the film as an allegory for drug addiction, and on the way created a film that’s a blend of horror and philosophy, with characters talking at length about the idea of the self and the nature of existence (the main character is studying for a philosophy doctorate, after all).
Filmed in black and white (as many indie vampire movies are, I’m sure), this is somewhat highbrow material compared to some of the other underrated vampire movies listed here, and The Addiction and has received much critical acclaim, including being nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards. Not bad for something made in less than three weeks.
30 Days of Night (2007)
In the Alaskan town of Barrow, residents are preparing for the annual 30-day period where they will get no sunlight. When a stranger sabotages the town’s means of communication and transport, cutting them off from help from the outside world, a group of murderous vampires attack, killing most of the townsfolk.
The survivors, hauled up inside the attic of a boarded up house, must now survive until the sun returns and they can escape.
Isolation, constant danger, dwindling resources … it’s your classic survivalist horror movie. There’s an increasing level of brutality to the proceedings as well.
30 Days of Night is a tense film; the look of the vampires in particular is quite feral and animalistic, which comes straight from the pages of the comic book miniseries that it’s based on. Extra props go to lead vampire Danny Huston, who brings some excellent menace to every scene he’s in.
This is a great pizza-night with friends option!
Vampire’s Kiss (1988)
A yuppie publishing executive is bitten in the neck and he thinks he’s becoming a vampire. Filter that premise through Nicholas Cage’s characteristically over-the-top performing potential, and there’s your movie.
Home to the face that launched a thousand memes, and a cultural benchmark in the phenomenon that is Nicholas Cage, Vampire’s Kiss is a vampire movie like no other. There’s even an argument to be made that it isn’t a vampire movie at all (it is though).
Supposedly, this is Cage’s favourite movie that he has made. If you keep that in mind, and you manage your expectations accordingly, you’re sure to be entertained!