If 2007 was the year of the sequel and 2008 was the year of the superhero then so far 2009 is definitely the year of the vampire. From the drawling smut of HBO’s fantastic True Blood to the sanitised mopefest of the immensely successful Twilight franchise, it seems that vampires are everywhere. But why are our fanged friends suddenly so popular again? And did they ever really go away?
The answer to the latter question is, in many ways, a resounding no. The vampire film seems to be as immortal as the pale creatures that it features; Dracula has appeared in more films than any other fictional character and vampire films are almost old as cinema itself (the first vampire film, Vampire of the Coast came out in 1909). But, even though vampires have always been popular this still does not quite account for the sudden explosion in popularity over the last year.
It seems that a generation-defining vampire film emerges every ten years (along with a few pretenders) and this would go some way to explaining the current vampire craze. The late ’80s had the Lost Boys which, with it’s themes of a fear of growing up, brat pack actors and gothic fashion, perfectly encapsulated the thoughts and feelings of the adolescents of that most materialistic of decades. The ’90s produced Joss Whedon’s brilliant TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer which gave vampires a postmodern twist as well as subverting the horror film cliché of the dumb blonde who gets killed first and paving the way for more strong female characters in genre films. It’s not entirely clear yet which vampires will be credited with holding a mirror up to the noughties (after all, True Blood seems to be here to stay) but if I had to bet on it I would say that the Twilight franchise will, regrettably, probably snatch that crown.
Twilight is something of a first; it’s the first innocent vampire film. The themes of virginity and sexuality that have been so important to the history of the vampire film are presented very differently – there is almost no bloodsucking and, as the two are so inextricably linked, absolutely no sex. I can’t say why people in the noughties have been drawn to such a sanitised piece of escapism but I don’t think it would be too farfetched to suggest that the economic downturn coupled with the ever present and elusive threat of terrorism has left people longing for something safe and comfortable. There is an expression that says that the best art is borne out of troubled times. Unfortunately, Twilight seems to be the exception to that rule.
The Lost Boys is one of my all-time favourite films. Jason Patric remains one of my favourite actors.