Movie Vampire Packs: Which Are the Most Frightening?

The movie “30 Days of Night” showed vampires in a very unusual light, one that is certainly uncommon at least among movies of vampires, which are often celebrated for being sensual, as well as terrifying. Vampires in a pack formation is very unusual for a vampire movie, especially modern ones. As far as having an actual “pack” of vampires, there are only two other recent movies that give a good comparison to “30 Days,” which are “John Carpenter’s Vampires” and “From Dusk Till Dawn.”

The dignity and class really set these citizens of the night apart from most monster counterparts, but that dignity doesn’t exist in “30 Days,” as the vampires are almost like the way a traditional pack of werewolves work, and far less human than most other interpretations.

This allows an interesting comparison between the three movies. The pack of vampires in “30 Days” is definitely an aggressive and vicious predatory pack, while “Vampires” has a more traditional “pack” of vampires. There is a definite leader, and vampires falling in behind as a group, but each individual has human level intelligence. In the movie “From Dusk Till Dawn,” they look like they are half way between “Vampires” and between “30 Days,” but even in “From Dusk Till Dawn” they don’t seem to be much of an organized group so much as individuals all doing their own thing.

So which group of vampires is scarier? That’s hard to say and maybe depends on what scares you the most. Are you more afraid of the conscious group of these monsters who at least appear human in basic actions and thought and thus can reason and outwit you? Or does the sheer savagery of the “30 Days of Night” pack hit you as a far worse and scarier?

In John Carpenter’s “Vampires,” the vampire is Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), who is the intelligent and resourceful leader of a brood of vampires who used one colony as a distraction to lure the vampire hunters out, then came out at night and took out the entire group. These vampires are smart and appear like more traditional vampires: human like and intelligent with superhuman strength.

In the movie “30 Days of Night,” the vampires are led by Marlow (Danny Huston), the lead vampire of the pack who speaks an ancient language. The rest are like a pack of wild animals, but animals with a very high intelligence, as they even use survivors for bait. This adds a definite shock value, but there seems to be evidence that a smart person who survives the initial onslaught could hide. These vampires seem more vicious, but less supernatural.

In the movie “From Dusk Till Dawn,” there is somewhat of a pack mentality, and a “queen vampire,” but even then they don’t seem like an organized pack, but just a large group of individuals who are all going ballistic in the same small area. The being trapped is what makes the terror in this movie work best, but these seem to be the least frightening vampires of all three groups.

So which pack of vampires is more frightening? Is it the one that seems to have conscious thought and intelligence among every single one of its members, or is it the one that acts like a pack of the most savage predators in world history? Or is it half way, with a brutal chaotic group inside a closed space?

It’s an interesting debate, and one that I think will help reinvigorate interest in a group of monsters who were in anger of becoming stale.

The best vampire movies of all time – Part 2

Vampires are the sexy, sinister, charismatic branch of the horror genre. They are the only monsters that have to have your permission to enter your domain so they are forced to be seductive. I like vampires; not the weak whiny ones (think Louis in Interview with the Vampire played by Brad Pitt) with identity crises who are too conflicted to drink blood and a disgrace to vampires the world over. I prefer the magnetic yet creepy ones who draw you to them, filling you with dreadful terror as you welcome their embrace. Working toward my favorite, we can start with an interview.

Interview with the Vampire

Even though the vampire telling the story is whiny, he is sexy. And he does live with Lestat who deliciously embraces the vampire lifestyle. The vampire being interviewed is Louis. He tells of the death of his wife and child. Wallowing in self-pity and unable to recover from their loss he wishes for death. A clear case of “be careful what you ask for,” Lestat appears to grant this wish. When asked, Louis assures Lestat that he does want to be changed then immediately and forever thereafter is horrified at what he has become. He chooses to drink the blood of rats instead of tasty, life-enhancing human blood. If not for Lestat I would have been wishing with all my heart that someone would stake Louis through his pathetic heart just to end his whining.

As Louis recounts his life to Daniel, a young journalist, we learn of Claudia, a little girl he finds clinging to the decaying body of her dead mother. Even though she turns out to be the exact opposite of Louis, a ruthless killer willing to take human blood any and everywhere, he finds himself loyal to her and increasingly disgusted by Lestat.

He allows himself to be manipulated by Claudia eventually helping her kill Lestat. They leave Lestat in New Orleans, full of blood sucked from a dead body given to him as a peace offering from Claudia. She cuts his throat. Louis sets him and their home on fire and the lovely pair set out to find other vampires. Discovered by vampires in Paris, they find out that Claudia has committed the cardinal sin of killing another vampire, her own maker. They throw in a tower with no protection from the sun, which turns her to a pile of ashes as it passes over. Louis is locked in a coffin to starve in everlasting undead. Rescued by Armand he destroys every Parisian vampire he can find, the opera house that is their home, and returns to America to tell his whiny story to Daniel,

Poetry: Demons – Part 7

We speak of demons as things without

It’s the ones within I write about

For it’s these that grip our souls

Leaving damage; price untold

What secret hells we do delve

When we ignore demons in ourselves

We speak of demons as monsters being

When it’s us we aren’t seeing

For it’s us that grip our souls

Leaving damage; price untold

In our secret little hells

Ignoring demons in ourselves

Aliens and Demons

There is always a big difference between these two types of beings. The thing is, sometimes we are mixed up between aliens, demons, and God. Just because we cannot see God does not mean that he doesn’t exist! Without God, there is no order in the Universe and reality as we know it would be chaotic. You may have seen how Hollywood interprets aliens in movies: always with tentacles, monsters and other forms I don’t even know. For demons, it’s always a monster with horns that resides in Hell and things similar to that. But I know that you understand what all this means. I have always wondered what aliens and demons looked like in reality. Demons by definition, are alien species also. From my prior knowledge, demons of course will always look unpleasant to a human being and the same thing goes for extraterrestrials. Lots of people claim to be contactees or simply people who had an experience with an advanced alien being from another civilization but I don’t believe them fully because I haven’t seen a UFO or a USO in my life. I was always fascinated by them and what sophisticated design they carry. Some of my friends don’t believe in aliens or demons but no matter what, I always tend to look up information about these mysterious beings like who are they or where did they come from or why do they visit earth (aliens and demons). I know aliens are advanced but demons who were once angels might also have the ability to travel freely in space without the need for technology. The fact that today, some scientists have become so fascinated by this alien subject that they left God out and same thing goes for demons. Well these beings are high beings but they are not at the point of Supreme where God is. But I am not going to go out there and tell people what to believe. That’s why we have choices.

I also believe in demons. You have heard the stories in the Bible and the Koran and you think these might be fairy tales. Well for the fact that demons have left ”finger prints” or took over people’s bodies is a proof that they exist. I am surprised to know that demons cannot hunt down and take over Muslims. This is a very important thing that Christians should know.

As I have said above that they are advanced, you can take information from sources like books to find out if some facts told by some people are true. There is this book called: An Overview Of Extraterrestrial Races: Who is Who in the Greatest Game in History; written by Robert Waeber. It costs about $20.00 and it’s like a an amazing dictionary with facts about non-fiction alien races and information that you have never heard before. It also includes stuff about demons. Finally I conclude that the aliens-demons topic should be left alone for readers to ponder at it. Remember that they truth will be revealed in December 21, 2012. if you know what the date represents.