My Favorite Vampire Movies

The theme this month is November’s Undead Embrace. Most vampire movies feel like autumn, or winter, with the exception of The Lost Boys, which had cool summer vibes.

My list of faves is made up of all older movies. Honestly, Abigail was the last good vampire flick I’ve recently seen. Some on my list are endearing, all the Draculas, because Bram Stoker’s Dracula is one of my favorite novels. Dapper and mysterious, the hyponotizing Bela Lugosi is still the best, but Frank Lagella was sauve and sophisticated enough to make forget all about those bad disco effects. Gary Oldman was tall, dark, and handsome, but honestly, young Christopher Lee still might be my favorite, sinister and sexy. He turned me onto Hammer Horror, and no one does olde English victorian goth better than Hammer.

The original Swedish Let the Right One In, from 2008, the gruesome horror coming of age tale, had the best story of all the vampire movies I’ve ever seen (it was also based on a novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist).

And the militia controlled religious zealotry of the American apocalypse featured in Stakeland is something I very much forsee happening to our great nation, minus the vampires, well, maybe…

The other films, oh hell, I just like sleek, fun action horror monster movies.

So, here’s the list. Perfect for a Black Friday movie marathon, or you can go fight off real life vampires at the stores if that’s your thing. Bwahahaha😄

Dracula, 1931
Let the Right One In, 2008
The Lost Boys, 1987
Stakeland, 2010
Horror of Dracula, 1958
Dracula, 1979
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, 1992
Near Dark, 1987
Blade, 1998
Underworld, 2003

Honorable Mentions:
Salem’s Lot
Fright Night
Afflicted
The Hunger
Only Lovers Left Alive
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Interview with a Vampire
From Dusk til Dawn

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday or a very happy Thursday.

Wicked Art Wednesdays 2024 – Alex Ross

Today, we celebrate the one and only art master Alex Ross, as a special tribute to Halloween, with a look at his beautiful magnificent drawings of the beloved Universal monsters.

Artist: Alex Ross
Company/Studio: Alex Ross Art

Where to Purchase Goods: https://www.alexrossart.com

Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/thealexrossart

Why we love it: Alex Ross’ influence on comic book artists is unparalleled. The man’s technical artistry is awe-inspiring, with his ability to show realism and the emotional depth of characters truly makes them come alive.

I could just sit here all day describing him with good adjectives. Mr. Ross is simply a marvel. One doesn’t just look at his art, they have feelings.

Trick or Treat Tuesdays – Chocolate Candies Guessing Game

It’s our last Trick or Treat Tuesday in October with another candy guessing game.

There are between 1 and 75 chocolate candies in this jar. Guess how many and win a prize!

Rules: First person to post the correct number or closest to the exact number of chocolate candies in this pictured small square 16 oz. jar, here on WordPress or Instagram, wins their pick of one prize from the Halloween prize bag (see pics below) and some Halloween stickers.

Please see Contest Rules and Eligibility Page for more details. Sorry, contests only open to US residents this year.

Another closer look from the top.

Spooky Sundays – Week 4

Spooky Sundays are all about reading, relaxing, and recharging our brooms. Work is definitely getting in the way of celebrating my favorite holiday, but I managed to get all my posts up. Looking forward to this last week in October. Gonna carve my pumpkin, enjoy some more spooky classic movies and hopefully read some awesome entries for the Halloween Haiku Challenge. Four days left til Halloween! Here’s a visual recap of this past week.

Sinister Saturdays – Best Era for Horror Films

Horror films have captivated audiences since before Universal’s wild heyday of Horror during the 1930s. Each era has had great scary films and some so good, they spawned sequels and created franchises. Jaws, a 1975 horror adventure from a new young director Steven Spielberg gave birth to the summer blockbuster! In fact, thanks to horror, some amazing technical achievements have been discoverd, like new camera and lighting tricks and, make-up, and special fx. Horror films are truly the backbone of Hollywood.

I personally have been a horror film fan for over 40 years and I pride myself on having seen a majority of scary films and always look forward to those I’ve havent found yet. But there’s just one thing I haven’t been able to figure out, and that’s which era had the best horror. Was it Universal’s monster era or the SciFi greatness of the 50s, or how about the great slasher films of the 80s? It’s so hard to choose! Help me out!

Thursday Time Travels – Young Frankenstein

Title: Young Frankenstein
Director: Mel Brooks
Screenwriter(s): Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks
Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox
Year: 1974 Run Time: 1 hr 47 minutes

Tomorrow is Frankenstein Friday. Last Friday before Halloween in October is always dedicated to Mary Shelley’s novel about a mad scientist and his undead monsterous creation. So, in tribute and in keeping with our theme of Halloween Classic, today’s Thursday Time Travel is Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein.

Newly engaged Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of the mad scientist Dr. Victor Frankensten, learns he’s inherited his family’s estate in Transylvania. Embarrassed by his family’s legacy, Dr. “Fronkenstein” travels to Europe, where he meets his late grandfather’s staff, hunchbaked assistant named “eye-gore”, the lovely Inga, and scary housekeeper Frau Blucher.

When Frederick finds Victor’s secret laboratory and private journals, the doctor attempts to perform his own experiments on a reanimated dead corpse.

Mel Brook’s hilarious parody of the old Universal monster films of the 30s and 40s was shot in black and white and consistently shows up on all the top comedy lists of all-time. In 2003, it was deemed culturally, historically, and aestethically significant by the United States National Preservation Board and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.

You can find Young Frankenstein on Amazon Prime this October.

Wicked Art Wednesdays 2024 – Johanna Parker

Known for her whimsical folk art, Johanna Parker turned her love for Halloween into a successful, thriving world-wide business.

Artist: Johanna Parker
Company/Studio: Johanna Parker Design
Website: https://www.johannaparkerdesign.com/

Where to Purchase Goods: https://www.johannaparkerdesign.com/store

Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/jparkerdesign/

Why we love it: Johanna Parker’s name is synonymous with Halloween folk art and vintage Halloween replicas. She often partners with top retail and wholesalers, where her art and designs are featured on everything from art and clothing to Halloween decorations and home goods.

Trick or Treat Tuesday?

Copy of Trick or Treat Tues – Happy Halloween_20241022_074046_0001

Spooky Sundays – Week 2 & 3

Spooky Sundays are all about reading, relaxing, and recharging our brooms. I just realized I forgot to put up last week, so I’ll include last week too. Here’s a visual recap of this past week.

Week 2

Sinister Saturdays – Scariest classic Universal monster

Lately, I’ve been rewatching a lot old classic horror movies and the Universal monster movies are still my faves. Fans of the 1930s viewed the supernatural fantasy as an escape from the daily misery, living through the depression. The films may seem tame or not as scary or sophisticated as the films of today, but for some movie goers, the stories were based on popular cultural myths and legends, while others had never heard of these creatures at all. Swamp creatures and the reanimated dead were the super scary, particularly to those who were extremely religious.