Exploring the vampire in cinema

Humans have always been fascinated by Vampires. It is possible that Vampires mythology began as an ancient storytelling creation used to frighten children and women into not wondering into unsafe areas at night. Of course, it is also possible that Vampires are real. Whether Vampires truly exist or not is unknown and what myths exist are constantly being challenged and changed. But in today’s world of reality television and live action comedy, is it possible to still believe in a creature presented on film, which mythologically is not supposed to have a reflection?

Throughout the centuries, myths about Vampires have transformed, as can be demonstrated by looking at a chronology of Vampire movies through the past century. One of the most famous and earliest Vampire movies was the adaptation of Bram Stokers “Dracula” to a movie entitled “Nosferatu”. This Vampire movie was a silent one and followed many of the old myths regarding Vampires such as the ability to turn into a bat, the lack of a reflection in a mirror, the need to sleep in a coffin, and the need to drink human blood. Other early Vampire movies with titles such as “The Vampire Bat” and “The Devil Bat’s Daughter” hold to the early myths of vampires. Even movies made in the early 80’s and 90’s hold to the more traditional view of Vampires such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in which she fights of Vampires using a wooden stake and crosses.

However, as our own culture has changed over the years, so has Vampires culture. One of the main myths about Vampires that has been so challenging to overcome is explaining how to catch a Vampire on film when the creature is not supposed to have a reflection. The myth regarding a Vampire’s reflection dates back to ancient belief that your reflection in water, a mirror, or even in a photograph, is actually a reflection of your soul. Vampires are evil and have no soul and hence, no reflection. But in order to create a film which allows the viewer to feel as if they are part of the action many producers and writers have moved away from the myth that Vampires have no reflection and have, in a sense, given them back their soul. In movies such as Underworld, Vampires are blatantly shown looking into the mirror. This not only changes what a Vampire is, a mythological evil monster, but what they represent.

No longer are Vampire’s just creatures of the night. In “Blade” the main character is a daywalker, which challenges the most fundamental myth of Vampires, that sunlight is lethal to them. Not only have Vampires become more humanised by regaining their reflection and being able to step out into the sun, Vampires have also turned to drinking cloned blood, or blood donated to blood banks, as happens in both the “Blade” Trilogy and “Underworld”. Not only does avoiding killing humans make Vampires more human and loveable it keeps the Vampires “safe” from diseases such as AIDS, Hepatitis, and West Nile (whether a Vampire is susceptible to these diseases is yet to be addressed, though since Vampires are already dead most people assume it to be no).

Whether Vampires are real is highly debatable, but the fact that Vampires are becoming more real and more human on the theatre screen is definite. Not only has it been vital for the myths of Vampires to change to stay relevant to current day belief and fears, it has helped spawn a new generation of entertaining anti-heroes to cheer for on the big screen.