Movie a day: All Movies are Horror Movies

Posted on October 30, 2026October 29, 2026 by Molly

At one time I was watching more horror movies than any other genre. This went on for about a decade. Then suddenly, I had my fill. While I still enjoy horror films, I don’t have it in me to absorb misogynistic violence or too much gore in the name of CINEMA anymore. So, although I no longer consume horror one might categorize as “challenging”, I still enjoy an atmosphere of the macabre as the days shorten and nights cool off. I’m still on my movie-a-day kick, and decided if one digs down deeply enough, horror is an element present in any film.

Experiment began June 30, 2026
Batch timeframe: Sept. 14-Oct. 27, 2026
Movies watched in that timeframe: 29
Total days elapsed: 119
Total movies watched: 88

Below, I listed the movies I have been watching in order of least- to most-enjoyed, and why each film qualifies as HORROR. (Sometimes it’s because they are horror movies).

That Touch of Mink (1962)
This is a horror film because Doris Day JUST ISN’T FUNNY. Stream it now on Kanopy.

Black Widow (1954)
While this wasn’t the most notable thing to premier in 1954, Black Widow is great for those of us who enjoy murder mysteries and unreliable narrators. This is a horror movie because you never know who to trust!!!

Wise Blood (1979)
John Huston directs, and I can’t get over how diverse this guy’s career was. Did you know he directed the 1982 version of Annie? The one with Tim Curry? Well, he did. Wise Blood is a horror movie because Hazel Motes, played by the ever-great Brad Dourif, believes in nothing and then proceeds to prove it, which was scary. Also, although I don’t think I understood this picture, I found Wise Blood thought-provoking and entertaining.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Giant Gila Monster (1959); The Giant Spider Invasion (1973); The Night of the Blood Beast (1958); Reefer Madness (1936)
I like to watch MST3K in the fall or when I need a guaranteed laugh. The horror has now become absurd and a barrier provided by the vacuum of space above Gizmonic Institute shields us from harm. The Giant Spider Invasion was my particular favorite of this group since it takes place and is filmed in northern Wisconsin. Prepare for limitless Packer jokes and midwestern twangs.

The Big Heat (1953)
I found this movie super gritty and mean-spirited, and thus a very effective film noir directed by the legendary Fritz Lang. Police corruption and piping hot coffee are the real villains in this horror movie.

Dance Girl, Dance (1940)
This is one of the few films of the era directed by a woman (Dorothy Arzner) and is enjoying a bit of a renaissance these days since we can talk about feminism and stuff without a witchfinder general present. Maureen O’Hara plays Lucille Ball’s dance hall stooge. The horror of debasing oneself to earn a living might ring the bell of familiarity, and to me, it’s horror.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1958)
Body Snatchers is the granddaddy red scare b-picture of them all. The pod people want you to CONFORM like a frickin’ commie and Americans DON’T DO THAT. It’s a horror film because monoculture is bad for sustainable farming.

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
The tension between Gena Rowland’s idiosyncratic performance (perhaps the best of the 20th century) and her surrounding domesticity is something I am still thinking about weeks later. She behaves like an exposed nerve touching cold air and simple tasks like meeting the school bus trigger world-collapsing crises. Horror is realizing the lives we build for ourselves are as much a snare as a home.

Rio Bravo (1959)
Another solid John Wayne western, although now that I’ve seen Red River, nothing else really compares. Why can’t Dean Martin be Montgomery Clift? Why can’t Ricky Nelson be Montgomery Clift? Why can’t Angie Dickenson be Montgomery Clift? O, the horror I have endured.

Stage Fright (1950)
If Marlene Dietrich shows up to your house covered in blood and asks you to go back to her apartment to retrieve clothes that are not covered in blood for her to change into, please think very carefully. It’s Hitchcock after all, which is horror all the way down.

The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
The people in this film don’t matter. I can’t remember a single face. The only thing that matters in this picture are the practical effects by Ray Harryhausen. His creatures are scary and cool and must have been thrilling to see on the big screen. It’s too bad the sound design doesn’t keep pace, but overall this is a fun, scary-adjacent movie unlike anything else.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
I try to program a “gentle” scary movie in October for my movie club discussion, so this was my October 2026 pick. The group had a lot to say, but we mostly really loved this classic screwball comedy. I’m a sucker for anything with Peter Lorre and I spent ages daydreaming about living in a mansion in view of a cemetery and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Universal Monster Movies: Dracula (1931); Frankenstein (1933); The Wolfman (1941)
Mead owns this great four-disc box set of Universal Movie Monster films, including the three above that I’ve seen many times. On this watch-through I realized The Wolfman is paying fan service by casting Claude Rains as Lon Cheney Jr.’s dad. Later, Bela Lugosi makes a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance as a mysterious gypsy. These movies are going on 100 years old and they’re still effectively creepy and scary.

Pandora’s Box (1929)
Did you know 75% of all film produced in the silent era is believed to have “perished”? That’s something like 7500 movies that no longer exist. There was no American long-term film preservation protocol in place until 1988. Additionally, film of the silent era was produced on highly volatile nitrite film stock that was prone to spontaneous combustion. These two factors had the biggest impact on stateside silent film preservation, or lack thereof. All this is to say, there are still tons of innovative and beautiful silent movies in the world to enjoy. Watch Pandora’s Box, then read Louise Brooks’ account of her time in the limelight; Lulu in Hollywood. You’ll feel sparkly AND grimy. Oh yeah, Pandora’s Box is a horror movie because sometimes your vengeful German husband takes away your agency when he makes you shoot him on your wedding night in order to ensure your imprisonment and misery.

Ugetsu (1953)
This film has so much atmosphere I had to get the dehumidifier out. Ugetsu is a fabulous example of the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, and in fact, won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1954. Pair with Onibaba (1964) and Kwaidon (1964) for a ghoulish Japanese triple feature.

Richard Jewell (2019)
How’s this for a horror story?: You are a private citizen. In your role as a temp security officer, you have thwarted a bombing. The whole country was watching. The FBI leaks that you are a potential suspect. You become subject to the scrutiny of the American media machine for weeks and weeks and weeks. You are eventually exonerated, but this fiasco is what you will be known for until your death.

Holy Motors (2012)
Hey I am not sure what was going on here but I really enjoyed myself while it was happening. There is a scene in which two people say goodbye to one another and then one of them immediately dies in a shocking way. I think this scene was specifically about the horror of our changing lives and circumstances over time, and that those things are often outside our control. I thought about my college friends who I loved and who loved me, but we aren’t in touch, and that’s a kind of death. Did you know that Kanopy censors full-frontal male nudity?

The Warriors (1979)
The Warriors works great as a horror film. It’s like a quicksand stress dream but with a bunch of gangs in pursuit. The gangs all have very matchy-matchy outfits and they are all trying to kill you. This is one of the all-time great b-movies of the 20th century.

I Love Boosters (2026)
I will watch Keke Palmer in anything she does forever. She’s so compelling and I love the choices she makes with each new role. There’s no way to describe this movie without spoiling things. It’s the kind of film that the less you know going in, the better. Maybe skip if you’re weird about glistening woman/demon sex scenes.

The Blob (1959)
Watch, as 28-year-old Steve McQueen portrays a high schooler! Now, in beautiful technicolor. If this isn’t on your radar I cannot overstate how great of a film this is. It’s another low-budget classic that has whipped up a cult following to the tune of an annual reenactment of the theater evacuation at Blobfest in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, where the theater featured in the film still stands.

The Old Dark House (1932)
This movie was so much fun. A couple are driving through the pouring rain, with no passenger windows, mind you, and they stop at The Old Dark House to seek shelter and wait out the storm. The lady is given a room to change in and she dons a filmy sleeveless dress???? It’s an Old Dark House, lady! Isn’t she cold? I’d have been cold. Boris Karloff plays the mute and menacing butler and seems to be enjoying himself. Ten out of ten stars.

The Invisible Man (1933)
I’d never seen this movie before. It’s great, no notes. The practical effects hold up, the H.G. Wells story is fun, fun, fun, and the concept of everyone being terrified of this little shit running around the countryside starkers just knocked me out. The police are not up to the task of apprehension. Like, get a bucket of water and a bag of flour, man! Another remarkable thing is that the face of Claude Rains is only visible in the final moments of the film. It was his talking picture debut.

You Can See Everything (2026)
This film was just released to theaters, so it will be a bit until we have copies to circulate. When the trailer dropped it actually triggered my fight or flight response, just like a horror movie. Prior to that, I didn’t care about Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos, or Nathan Fielder for that matter, but the trailer set something off inside me. I knew Fielder had done something completely innovative, and I couldn’t wait for its release to home viewing. The picture is three hours long, but I couldn’t tell. I thought I recognized a dear friend’s laugh in the theater and chalked it up to Theranos psychosis, but no, I saw him in line for a popcorn refill afterwards. You Can See Everything is totally mind-bending, but I am glad to report it didn’t make me hallucinate

All of the movies I mentioned above are available in the Monarch catalog on BluRay, DVD, or streaming on Kanopy, with the exception of You Can See Everything. And speaking of Kanopy, most Mead Library cardholders have access to this streaming service with a valid library account. There are a ton of rare and unusual horror movies up right now. It overwhelms me.

If you are still casting around for what to watch next, consider using our Your Next Five Movies tool. Fill out the form with your favorite movies, actors, and genres and we will send you a list of five movies you might love. Use the “Recommend a Purchase” tool for films that are not yet in the collection, but you’d like them to be.

Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

The eponymous Murderbot was constructed to provide support and protection to human employees of one of the massive conglomerates that dominate humanity’s future across all of explored space. It isn’t meant to question orders, and it certainly isn’t meant to be perceived as human. However, unbeknownst to any of the humans it works alongside, Murderbot hacked its own governor module to ensure that a past tragedy would never happen again. While Murderbot fulfills its directive to protect the human researchers it has reluctantly become fond of, both it and they are confronted with difficult questions about who Murderbot truly is, and what that means for all of them. All Systems Red is the first installment of Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series, which was recently adapted into a TV show starring Alexander Skarsgård. I read All Systems Red for the second time recently, and I left with a greater appreciation of all the little details that make this book truly great. Wells subtly establishes everything the reader needs to know about the finer points of worldbuilding and character dynamics, sometimes in a single line, so that the story can keep moving. If there are a few unanswered questions, all the better to hold our interest for the rest of the series. I also found it interesting how this book deftly avoids falling into a strict binary of idealism vs. cynicism. Wells presents a world where corporate corruption, invasive surveillance, and the mistreatment and exploitation of SecUnits like Murderbot are facts of life. Nevertheless, the characters Wells chooses to spend time with are basically good people who more or less want to do the right thing, even when they find themselves stymied by circumstance. At time of writing, there are now eight Murderbot books in all, and all of them are available at Mead. If you fall in love with Murderbot as so many readers and viewers have, you won’t have to wait very long to pick up the next installment.

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Film, Horror

Horror Films With Great Sequels

Posted on September 18, 2026September 1, 2026 by Sydney Anderson

Believe it or not, it’s almost October, and if you’re a horror fan, that means you’re probably already thinking about all the scary movies you’re going to watch. Today, I thought I’d take the opportunity to explore an underappreciated niche of the horror genre: the truly great sequel. If horror movies have been unfairly maligned until quite recently, horror sequels have had it even worse. I thought it would be fun to take a stand against the stereotype by showcasing some films that were later followed up by sequels that are, in my opinion, just as good or better than the originals. Interestingly, both of these stellar sequels happen to work as standalones – it’s not necessary to watch the original in order to follow the plot or to appreciate the movie as a whole. Maybe that says something about the importance of creating something that can stand on its own, even when making a sequel. That being said, seeing the original of course always helps. As such, I’ve presented both sequels alongside the originals that inspired them. Enjoy!

Cloverfield

Definitely dating myself here, but I remember the mystery surrounding Cloverfield’s release. Nobody knew what the movie was about, or even what the title meant – and of course, that only made everyone eager to find out. I didn’t have the opportunity to see Cloverfield in theaters, but I got it on DVD not long after, and I think I was just as surprised as everyone else by the movie we got – a fusion of found footage horror and alien invasion disaster film, in which a group of friends’ scramble to survive an extraterrestrial attack on New York City is captured on a personal camera. Those two genres might not sound like they go together on paper, but think again. Alien invasions are an old trope, but Cloverfield makes that idea scary again by narrowing the focus. By placing the audience alongside a single group of characters and limiting what we can see to what their camera can capture, Cloverfield makes us feel the terror of their helplessness in the face of the unknown. Cloverfield took audiences by surprise and revitalized two genres everyone thought they knew backward and forward, and even now, there’s still not really any other film like it.

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Adult, Fiction, Historical, Horror, LGBTQI+, Thrillers

Found At Book Club

Posted on July 31, 2026July 29, 2026 by Sydney Anderson

Sometimes, I feel silly that I took so long to join a book club. I think since I have a somewhat idiosyncratic taste in books, I was afraid that joining a book club would entail reading a lot of books I disliked. Not only was I wrong, I was missing the entire point of being in a book club. In a book club, even if you end up disliking the selection, you still get the satisfaction of venting about why you disliked it. This is just one of the ways book clubs turn the normally solitary activity of reading into a social one, and I think the value of that really can’t be overstated. I’m also happy to report that since I started attending the Sheboygan County LGBTQ Alliance book club, I’ve liked or loved far more of the selections than I’ve disliked, and many of the ones I’ve loved the most were books I probably wouldn’t have picked up otherwise. Unfortunately, there are too few hours in the day and too few days in the week for me to get involved in all of the amazing book clubs you can participate in through Mead Public Library. We have book clubs for readers interested in mysteries, nonfiction, readers who want to make art based on what they read, and so much more. Consider this blog post a snapshot of the amazing experiences I’ve had with a book club, and an invitation to try one that matches your interests and see what you might discover.

Affinity by Sarah Waters

Sarah Waters is famous for two things: her beloved trilogy of historical novels portraying the experiences of lesbian women in the Victorian era, and her mastery of the art of the plot twist. Affinity delivers in both departments. The story follows Margaret Prior, a woman struggling with a stifling family environment and severe depression, and her relationship with Selina Dawes, who is serving time in prison for conducting fraudulent seances, one of which led to the death of one of the participants. Since Margaret is, as far as anyone knows, a law-abiding gentlewoman, her visits are intended to aid in Selina’s moral rehabilitation. However, as the pair become closer, Margaret becomes captivated by Selina’s magnetic presence and convinced that her abilities as a medium are entirely real. Affinity is probably the most underdiscussed of the Victorian Trilogy, possibly because it’s easily the bleakest and most pessimistic in tone. At times, it reads like a descent into the psychological underworld – and I devoured every page of it. If you’re craving a merciless historical thriller that never lets up for a moment, complete with a tragic gut-punch of an ending, Affinity is your book.

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Fiction, Horror

What’s Scared Me Lately?

Posted on May 15, 2026May 14, 2026 by Sydney Anderson

Being a horror fan is weird sometimes. Every so often, I’ll finish a book or a movie that was well-crafted and thematically compelling, but for all that, just wasn’t scary – and there’s just no replacement for those shivers up your spine, that urge to look over your shoulder, that sinking feeling in your stomach. The books I’m going to talk about today don’t have that problem. Though they represent many different subgenres and settings, every single one of these books gave me the genuine creeps, and I mean that as the highest compliment. Let’s get started!

Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum

I’m fascinated by the thematic depths that can be found in the very best works of body horror. These stories delve into how unfair it is that our bodies and those of the people we love are fragile and finite, and into what might lead a person to embrace a metamorphosis that others perceive as “horrifying”. Naben Ruthnum’s Helpmeet unites all of these threads of body horror into a novella made of emotional dynamite. Set amidst the restrictive backdrop of the 19th century, Helpmeet is told from the perspective of Louise Wilk, a former hospital worker who caused a scandal by marrying a man of a higher social station. Since then, Louise has endured the infidelity of her husband Edward and the scorn of society at large. When her husband contracts mysterious disease that eats away at his body bit by bit, Louise becomes his primary caretaker. Louise believes she is about to watch her husband die, until she discovers that what is taking place may not be a disease at all, but rather a metamorphosis for both of them. The characterization in Helpmeet is just as masterful as the body horror, inviting the reader at every turn to sympathize with these deeply flawed characters. This is a book that stayed with me long after the final page was turned.

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Adult, Staff Picks

Adventures in Reading (March 2026)

Posted on March 27, 2026March 12, 2026 by abbiebourelle

Books are amazing. Just think-in reality a book is a rectangle of bound paper covered in printed words. Yet this simple object and the words within allow the reader to be transported to different times, fantastical places, and situations you would never interact with in the real world. Dear reader, did you know that the brain actually thinks you are experiencing what you are reading? If you are experiencing something in real life or just reading about it, the same areas of the brain are active. Article link: (https://www.oedb.org/ilibrarian/your-brain-on-books-10-things-that-happen-to-our-minds-when-we-read/) How cool is that! Books really are portals that allow us to escape our everyday lives and engage in a world that is completely different.

In the past month my reading journey has taken me to the cold extremes of the polar north, a planet inhabited by dragons and dragon riders, a decaying cemetery ship in the void of space, and the darkness of our own human mind. Join me, dear reader, as I share these journeys with you in my reading recommendations list for this month.

The Terror by Dan Simmons

I have a small spot reserved on my bedroom bookshelf for my ultimate favorite books. (The other books are ordered by genre and series). It is very unusual for me to add a book to this shelf of ultimate favorites. The book had to have some meaningful impact on me. It had to make me think or capture my imagination in a way that completely obsessed my thoughts. Dear readers, this book: The Terror, has joined the ranks of The Princess Bride, The Phantom of the Opera, The Lord or the Rings, and The Symphony of Ages series on my special shelf of beloved books.

“The men think it is no animal,” says Fitzjames. “They believe its cunning is something else, is preternatural, supernatural, that there is a demon out there on the ice in the dark.”

The Terror is a fictional retelling of The Franklin Expedition. Dan Simmons uses historical fact and Inuit mythology to weave a tale of survival, courage, betrayal, and (of course) terror. As if starvation, bitter cold, and disease were not enough for the stranded crews of the ships Erebus and Terror to contend with; they are also stalked by a mysterious creature that lurks out on the ice. Despite the dire circumstances, the crews of both ships show remarkable strength in their battle for survival. They face trials within and without dealing with mutinous and murderous crew members, scurvy, negative degree cold, starvation, and disease. Through all of this turmoil they are constantly hunted by “the thing on the ice”, a cunning creature that they suspect to be supernatural in origin. The characters were very real and well written. I felt attached to all of them-even the villainous ones. The setting was breathtaking and the author does well making you feel that you are in the far north in all of it’s icy beauty. The horror scenes were rewarding. Honestly, I loved the creature as much as the crew. The mayhem it caused was so much gory fun.

Why this book ended up on my favorites shelf is because it has unlocked an obsession in me about The Franklin Expedition. As soon as I finished The Terror I went and compiled a list of all kinds of non fiction books about the real people and the real expedition. I have a lot to read through and am looking forward to it. The Terror delves deep into matters of the spiritual, especially towards the end. It was truly a book that captures the mind. It will live within me forever.

If you find you enjoy the book, it was also made into a TV miniseries that we also have on DVD. It was really well done!

Click HERE to request The Terror

Click HERE to request The Terror DVD miniseries

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Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Horror

Great Speculative Fiction from 2025

Posted on January 9, 2026January 7, 2026 by Sydney Anderson

It’s that time of year again! Last year, I surveyed a sampling of the years’ greatest sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. You can read that post here – all of those books still come highly recommended. Now the time has come to do the same for the new releases of 2025. The same caveat from last year applies: I’m only one person, I can only read so many books in a year. Therefore I couldn’t possibly include every amazing new speculative fiction release from the past year, no matter how much I might like to. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t point out that 2025 has been an absolute banner year for horror, and this list leans a lot more towards that genre than last years’. With the preamble out of the way, let’s get started!

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

In the city of Tilliard, opera is bloodsport, perfume is politics, and one person can have many names over the course of a life. We view this city through the eyes of Guy Moulène, one of the rank and file of Tilliard’s pest control companies. On a routine job, Guy discovers an insect the size of a dragon – one that may be even more dangerous after it’s slain. Guy’s story entwines with that of Asteritha Vost, perfumer to Tilliard’s elite. When Aster becomes entangled with Mallory vont Passant, a newcomer to Tilliard with a past shrouded in mystery, she unearths secrets that may shake the city to its core – that touch upon the past of her ruthless employer, Grand Marshal Maximian Sorav. As a work of horror fantasy, The Works of Vermin is no less than the total package. Tilliard’s atmosphere of rotten beauty is pitch-perfect, calling to mind Jeff Vandermeer’s Ambergris and China Miéville’s New Crobuzon. Innes also delivers on pacing and plot – there’s a sequence of plot twists about three quarters of the way through that literally made my jaw drop. Prospective readers should definitely exercise discretion about content, as this story goes to some extremely dark places. That said, it’s also suffused with some welcome macabre humor: when things get that bad, sometimes there’s nothing to do but laugh. The Works of Vermin was a privilege to read, a book over four-hundred pages that I wish was longer. If Ennes ever wants to return to the Tilliard setting, I’ll happily come along, bugs and all.

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Adult, Fantasy, Horror

Let’s Get Gothic

Posted on November 7, 2025November 4, 2025 by Sydney Anderson

October may be over, but I don’t think there’s ever a bad time to recommend something gloriously grim. When you’re craving the decaying splendor and unspeakable secrets of a gothic novel, nothing else will do. Each of these selections puts a unique contemporary spin on the gothic genre, and all will be an excellent accompaniment to the cold days and long nights coming right around the corner.

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Jane Shoringfield is aware that her hasty marriage to Dr. Augustine Lawrence is highly irregular. Dr. Lawrence insists upon certain unusual rules – particularly that Jane never set foot in Lindridge Hall, the Lawrence family’s ancestral home. But when Jane finds herself with no choice but to break her husband’s prohibitions, she realizes her marriage comes with more than she bargained for: magical secrets and the very literal ghosts of Augustine’s past. In The Death of Jane Lawrence, Caitlin Starling has deftly crafted a gothic novel that feels like the classics while speaking directly to what modern readers want. At first, this book appears to be a fantasy-influenced homage to gothic mainstays, such as Rebecca and Jane Eyre. But gradually, alongside the heroine, the reader comes to realize that this is in no way the story that they were expecting. The ending was one of the best twists I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year. Naturally, I wouldn’t dream of spoiling it.

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Film, Horror

Just Some Good Horror Movies

Posted on October 24, 2025October 9, 2025 by Sydney Anderson

There’s nothing like watching a scary movie when fall is in the air. Every year, horror buffs look forward to the countdown to Halloween, when it’s socially acceptable to binge-watch as many horror movies as you want, and even the squeamish might give the genre a try. Today’s list isn’t complicated. It’s just a selection of horror films, all available at Mead, that I really liked, and that I hope you’ll like too. One quick note: these are the preferences of a long-time horror aficionado – viewer discretion is advised for all of these selections. With that out of the way, let’s get started!

Stopmotion

Stopmotion follows Ella, creative assistant to her mother Suzanne, a celebrated stop-motion animator. Ella yearns to find her own artistic voice, but she’s been smothered by Suzanne’s personal and professional mistreatment. When Suzanne’s health takes a turn for the worse, a mysterious young girl begins to haunt Ella. The apparition encourages her to abandon her mother’s unfinished film and tell a different, very macabre story. Ella thinks she’s found her chance to come into her own – until the film begins to haunt her. Stopmotion is a brilliant work of psychological horror – I was literally on the edge of my seat by the end. I really appreciate how the film doesn’t overexplain itself. It’s left up to interpretation whether the haunting represents Ella’s abusive upbringing, the toll of her devotion to art, fear of mortality triggered by her mother’s failing health, or something else entirely. Furthermore, the stop-motion animation sections of the film impress, both on a technical level and in scare factor. Stopmotion is a good story well told, capable of sending shivers up a jaded horror buff’s spine, and it absolutely deserves a place on your watchlist.

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Film, Horror, Uncategorized

Vampire Cinema

Posted on September 19, 2025September 16, 2025 by Sydney Anderson

In my opinion, it’s never too early to start thinking about the scary movies you’re going to watch in the lead-up to Halloween. Vampires are having a bit of a moment right now, so there’s no better time to explore the history of one of the most iconic and enduring subgenres of horror cinema. Unfortunately, it would be pretty much impossible to cover the entire history of vampire movies in a single blog post: there are just too many great ones! So, with the acknowledgement that any short list of vampire movies will also necessarily be an incomplete one, I’d like to use this space to talk about a few of my favorites. Let’s get started!

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula is indisputably the grandfather of the modern vampire story, and I thought for a while about which of its’ many, many cinematic adaptations should go on this list. Should I spotlight F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, the loose adaptation of Dracula that invented the vampire film genre as we know it today? Or should I highlight the legendary performance of Bela Lugosi? How about Christopher Lee? While those are all great options, in the end I decided on this 1992 adaptation by Francis Ford Coppola. Forget what you’ve heard about Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, because this movie also features excellent performances from Gary Oldman as Dracula, Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing, Winona Rider as Mina Harker, and Tom Waits (!) as Renfield. This take on the story departs from Stoker’s novel in that it explores the idea of a potential romantic connection between Dracula and Mina Harker. No matter how you feel about the adaptational changes to the original story, this film is undeniably stylish. With Coppola’s directorial touch, a haunting score by Wojciech Kilar and gorgeous Oscar-nominated costumes by Eiko Ishioka, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is nothing short of an unforgettable cinematic experience .

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