Vampires used to be seen in movies as scary, blood-sucking villains whose only purpose was to feed on the living. In 1931, Count Dracula was the first vampire movie introduced to the big movie screen who drank blood, sought world domination, and terrorized people. In the 1897 Gothic horror novel by Bram Stoker, Dracula was defeated by cutting his throat and a knife in his heart. According to Wikipedia, other adaptations of the novel include 1922s German film Nosferatu: A Symphony in Terror, an unlicensed version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, based so closely on the novel that Stokers heirs sued and won, with all copies ordered to be destroyed. Luckily in 1994, a team of European scholars painstakingly restored five prints of the movie and remade it. The vampire, Count Orlok, was destroyed by sunlight rather than the traditional stake through the heart, which proved very influential in later films and became an accepted part of vampire lore.
Todays films introduce a new type of vampire: a vegan vampire who doesnt suck blood. A prime example is Edward from Twilight who sparkles in the sun and falls in love with a human girl. These new vegan vampires are popping up quite frequently and are seen as heroes, friends, and lovers. Intrigued by the origin stories of vampires, I intended to answer this question: What other vegan vampires play a role in films and shows? Here is what I found!
Angel in 1997s Buffy the Vampire Slayer -The Forbidden Lover
[[yt:7v7Q8HOSku8]]
According to Comicvine, Angel was once perhaps the evilest vampire in the world, but he regained his soul after gypsies cursed him with remorse and a human soul for killing one of their young women. This curse gave him great personal torment and the constant decision to resist the evil impulses that came with being a vampire. He was determined to redeem himself by helping others, including Buffy, whose destiny was to fight the forces of evil. They began a complicated romantic relationship because Buffy was a vampire slayer and Angel was a vampire. Buffy and Angel's romantic relationship developed and the pair had sex in the Season 2 episode "Surprise". For experiencing a moment of pure happiness, however, the gypsy curse on Angel was revoked, unleashing his soulless alter-ego, Angelus, who reunited with his old vampire friends, Spike and Drusilla, and began terrorizing Buffy and her friends. Buffy and Angel later attempted to be friends and had a celibate romantic relationship. Unfortunately, Angel became more aware of their limitations as a couple and broke up with her in the hopes that she will be happier without him, leaving Sunnydale altogether after he attended Buffy's prom and helped her fight in their last battle together. Angel tried his best to be a hero, but he seemed to always be plagued by his evil alter-ego, but this next guy, Blade, was all hero and had very little to stand in his way.
Blade in 1998s Blade-The Hero
[[yt:yJt2N7LSptg]]
According to the Marvel Comics, Blade was immune to the bites of typical, supernatural vampires, but he lacked superhuman physical attributes and relied solely on his martial arts skills and determination until Morbius, a scientifically created vampire, bit him and Blade was turned into something resembling a hybrid vampire. Blade possessed superhuman strength, stamina, speed, agility, heightened senses, and a rapid healing factor.
In the movie, Blade was a half vampire, half-mortal who hated vampires because a vampire attacked his mother when she was giving birth to him and she died from infection. He grew up to be a vampire slayer and injected himself with a special serum that prevented him from succumbing to his desire to drink blood, which would turn him into a full vampire. He dedicated his life to destroying these highly advanced vampires, who were in search of his special blood type. They wanted to use his blood to summon an evil god who played a key role in their plan to execute the human race. Blade was a unique hero because he didnt kill humans and used his vampire born abilities and knowledge to destroy his own kind. Blade might have been a great hero but he wasnt very friendly. I would like to introduce the next blood-sucker, Rudolph, the friendliest vampire of them all!
Rudolph in 2000s The Little Vampire-The Best Friend
[[yt:XQhvp1fpYOA]]
IMDB.com tells us that Tony (Jonathan Lipnicki) was a little boy who moved into a small castle in Scotland from California because his father got a new job there. Tony had no friends as the new kid and was an easy target for bullies. As soon as he moved in, he began to have recurring nightmares about vampires and a mysterious comet. One night while playing by himself and dressed as a vampire, Rudolph mistakes Tony as a fellow vampire and flies into his room for safety from a vampire hunter. Weak and hungry from being chased all night, Tony helped the little vampire find a cow to feed from, and in return Rudolph took Tony flying. They quickly became friends. Rudolph decided to confide to Tony that his family, including his mom and dad (Richard E. Grant), his little sister, Anna (Anna Popplewell), and his big brother Gregory (Dean Cook), only drank animal blood. They wished to become human, but they were cursed to live as vampires. Rudolph helps Tony get revenge on his bullies by sneaking into the boys room and scaring the hell out of them with his bat wings! Rudolph had lived centuries, but this next guy, Godric, lived for thousands of years and truly knew how heavy a burden it was to be a vampire.
Godric in 2008s HBO Series: True Blood-The Wise Leader
[[yt:m8rvW3C-qEA]]
An ancient vampire over 2,000 years-old, Godric suffered much cruelty at the hands of the human race, which instilled so much hatred and resentment in him that he spent most of his existence hunting humans for sport. But after a millennium, Godric realized that all the senseless killing had only left him feeling detached and empty. He changed his ways and became compassionate, and even loving, towards humans and stopped killing them. Deciding that 2000 years as a vampire was enough, he chose to meet the sun, meeting an untimely demise in the Season 2 episode, I Will Rise Up.
All vampires in True Blood werent truly vegan even though some were reliant on human or synthetic blood, or Tru Blood, as they couldnt ingest normal food or drinks. Synthetic blood was comprised of a varied cellular content, and came in flavors such as O, A, B and AB, in both positive and negative varieties. Created by Japanese scientists, Tru Blood could sustain a vampire nutritionally, but it didn't truly satisfy the vampire's cravings. Because of this, many vampires opted to drink human blood. Tru Blood gave them the opportunity to reveal their existence to the world and assure the human population that vampires were no longer a threat to humanity. Vampires lived in close contact with humans and integrated themselves into human society. It was a popular show that ran for 7 seasons because it introduced not just vampires but all kinds of creatures like faeries, telepaths, werewolves, and shapeshifters in modern and exciting stories!
Vampires in movies have evolved greatly over the years since Count Dracula used his Hungarian accent and his sweeping gestures to cause terror in the heart of humans. Today, vampires have become less primal and more human like they once were before they were turned. They are more docile and have learned to love humans instead of fear them. Some are still violent in nature but they try their best to resist their impulse to drain humans of their blood. For those who dont like scary movies like me, I like vampires who arent so blood thirsty and refrain from attacking humans. Whether they are feared or loved, moviegoers are always going to flock to theaters to see a vampire movie because we have always been curious about the undead and the supernatural. Vampires will forever be embedded in movie history because they are constantly evolving, interesting and complicated creatures who could turn on you one minute and then be your best friend the next!
