Top 13 Sexiest Vampires

Okay so it's been awhile since I did an actual post here since I have been focusing on my music blog more but since my favorite holiday has rolled around I thought it would be fun to do a Top Ten of sorts. As I have made it abundantly clear I love horror films and even though they aren't always used in that genre my favorite movie monster is of course the vampire. I can not actually pinpoint the exact moment I became a vampire fan girl but it is clear that not all vampires are meant to be attractive but it certainly doesn't hurt when they are! For this list I am picking from my own attraction to both the actor portraying the vampire and the traits of the character that have them appearing here. If you have ever read any of my past posts then I may be rehashing a few vamps I have already talked about. My sources come from books, films and TV and will have faces attached to maybe a few characters you recognize and some you don't. And please this is a list based on my own personal opinion so don't judge too harshly what I find sexy. So let's proceed from 13 to 1 in my own ranking of the sexiest vampires.

#13.  Stefan Valescu Vladislas from the film Subspecies (1991) portrayed by Michael Watson

Okay so yes I start my list with a pretty boy vampire but that's why we are here right? Actually Stefan is actually what you would call a dhampyr or a half vampire as his mother was a human and his father a vampire king so I guess that makes him a vampire prince which is extra hot in my opinion! His life is of course that of a vampire who hates what he is but don't forget he wasn't turned and has had to live with this his entire life. He is the non-evil variety vampire and can walk in the sunlight but too much exposure will kill him and he does have to feed on blood. Like his father, he falls in love with a mortal woman named Michelle and tries to help her when his older, half brother the evil and hideous Radu, turns her friends Lillian and Mara into his subservient fledglings. The reason he is so low on this list is that he only appears in the first of this four part movie franchise and suffers a sudden death in the sequel (oops spoiler but it doesn't hamper the other films' storylines.) My favorite part of why I find him sexy (incoming spoiler) is because he must turn his human love interest into a vampire after Radu bites Michelle and she begs him to make her more like him and not the evil monster of his brother.

#12. Caleb Colton from Near Dark (1987) portrayed by Adrian Pasdar

Now I have already talked about Near Dark before in the past but I still retain the fact that Caleb is quite attractive! He's a good old Southern boy with charm, intense, dark looks and a kind of kitten like weakness when it comes to him having to be fed blood from the wrist of Mae, the vampire who made him. You see Caleb is turned into a vampire and is of the variety that is still just too human and filled with scruples to kill innocent people unlike the other nomadic vampires he becomes acquainted with who are very violent. His attraction to Mae is very clear but if you go after his family he will not hesitate to kick your ass! I put him very low on this list for reasons I won't spoil or explain as I still believe Near Dark must be viewed to soak in its awesomeness completely. The one part I do love is the way Mae turns Caleb and his reaction to it is the real turn on!

#11. Dimitri Denatos from Mom's Got A Date With A Vampire (2000) portrayed by Charles Shaughnessy

Yes a Disney Channel Original Movie has made it to this list but for good reason because Charles Shaughnessy is gorgeous! As you know I have a thing for older men and accents so when I saw this on TV I was like "oh my Maxwell Sheffield is a vampire...I like it!" Now unlike his role on The Nanny, Charles is not a very nice guy in this movie. Sure he still has the charm, the good looks and god the British accent to make him attractive but Dimitri has the wolf in sheep's clothing act down with a short temper when his plans don't go smoothly and that veneer slips to not a complete monster but you still loathe him. He crosses the line going after kids who are only trying to save their mom from the situation they inadvertently put her in but when he finally pulls that vampire hypnosis on our leading lady I could only wish it was me instead.

#10. Count Dracula portrayed by Frank Langella from the 1979 version.

Now I know a lot of people have stated that Frank Langella makes one sexy Dracula and you know what they are right! With his dark looks and his very sophisticated voice, the count of literary fame never looked so good! Now this film portrayal was based on a stage adaptation that I was privileged to see performed while I was in high school (where we read the book in English class and then saw at the Actors Theater in Louisville, Kentucky) so to see an actor who played the same role on stage and then the big screen makes me feel Langella really understood the character. It's been said that making Dracula appear more attractive hides the true monster that lurks beneath but some have also said that making him more romanticized takes away the true horror and suspense of the original novel. This 1979 version still has some horror and Gothic tones but being a product of the time it was made it had to have some sexuality and Langella brought it!

#9. David from The Lost Boys (1987) portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland

Yet another vampire film I have already discussed but where as you would think I would be more attracted to Michael played by Jason Patric you are wrong: I'm more of a David girl. There is no denying that both actors are attractive but I have always found Kiefer Sutherland to be more my cup of tea. With a very husky voice and a tendency to play very action oriented characters, I like seeing a younger Kiefer Sutherland honing his acting chops as David, a more mysterious character whom we know nothing about which of course makes him sexier. Not a very sympathetic vampire like some of the vampires on this list, more animal and dangerous thrown on a motorcycle appeals to the girls who have a tendency to gravitate more to the bad boys and the girls who usually go for the more clean-cut pretty boys...well they just can't help but be seduced by the dark side.

#8. Nicholas "Nick" Knight from Forever Knight (1992-1996) portrayed by Geraint Wyn Davies

For those unfamiliar, Forever Knight was a television show from Canada centered around vampire Nick who works as a homicide detective all the while trying to find a way to become human and of course with its supernatural overtone all of his cases are usually not normal ones. It is established that Nick is about 800 years old and his last name is actually a pun because well he was a knight during the Crusades in France and as most of my choices he is the more humanized type of vampire. He works in homicide as a sort of atonement for all the killing he did and he lives on cow blood and makes excuses with light sensitivity and food allergies to cover up his more blatant reasons why he can't be out in the daylight or you know eat food...obviously lying is his strong suit because no one questions this? So he is a vampire with a conscience who can kick ass and use to be a noble knight in shining armor...hot! Besides that Geraint Wyn Davies (you just have to say that whole name) is very easy on the eyes and that voice is quite compelling if I do say so myself (I think its a thing with stage actors but it may also be a trace of his Welsh origins) and to top it all off the portrayal of a man who at series end loses everything makes him so tragic.

#7. Louis de Pointe du Lac from Interview With The Vampire (1994) portrayed by Brad Pitt

Now you knew some of Anne Rice's vampires from her chronicles would reach this list and well of course I have already talked about the two film adaptations of her works. It seems the requisite for me liking vampires are the ones that seem to keep a little bit of the pathos they had when they were human and Louis is the epitome example for all the ones who came after him as I don't think any vampires before him were quite this compelling. Now when you throw of all that angst into the handsome package that was Brad Pitt in his heyday, give him these startling, otherworldly eyes and such a solemn tone to his voice you can see why I had to put him on this list. Now I give the film example of Louis this slot based on sexiness and his backstory but if you want to learn more about his character you should try reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles to fully appreciate him for more than just his looks...

#6. Julian Luna from Kindred: The Embraced (1996) portrayed by Mark Frankel

From the moment this series premiered on Fox, I watched every single one of the eight episodes in complete fascination and was so sad the show got cancelled. There was a seductive nature about the show that a thirteen year old me didn't fully understand but being older now I can see the sophistication that was present and it was the star of Mark Frankel that dazzled the most. The premise of the show was the prince of the city a vampire named Julian Luna keeping peace between the five vampire clans all the while maintaining the "masquerade" that keeps them hidden from the mortal world. It isn't easy when a police detective tries to expos.e what Julian really is, his only living and completely human relative is turned to cause a feud between clans and falling in love with a mortal woman who just happens to be a reporter. No matter what would transpire, Julian would keep his cool and only become a force to reckon with if left no alternative meanwhile being elegant and understanding. Mark Frankel had the dark looks and his British charisma was evident as he became the character critics and fans embraced. When Fox cancelled the show, Kindred was in talks of being picked up by Showtime but the plans never came to be as Frankel died in a motorcycle accident and the role of Julian was never intended to be recast such was the talent the actor possessed.

#5. Dracula as portrayed by Gerard Butler from the film Dracula 2000

Most people are not big fans of this flick but I found it to be an interesting take on the Dracula legend which provides a surprising backstory against the modern setting. Continuing the attempt to make Dracula a more attractive if still tragic yet monstrous type of vampire, Scottish actor Gerard Butler was cast and made for a perfect Dracula. Dark hair, gorgeous blue eyes when not in full vampire mode, a velvet voice just fit for seduction (even if he had to sort of hide his natural brogue) and you have a vampire that is completely ready to drive the ladies mad! This Dracula isn't afraid to get his hands dirty when it comes to killing but he still has time to round up his trio of sexy brides and charm the pants right off them! Is it any wonder he went from playing the seductive prince of darkness to a very seductive phantom? You be the judge...

#4. Edward Cullen from the Twilight franchise portrayed by Robert Pattinson

Okay please do not throw (figuratively) rotten tomatoes at me and tie me up to be sacrificed for being blasphemous towards vampires with this choice! I admit to being a Twiheart and owning the films, books and plenty of other Twilight memorabilia but who said I had to love vampires in just horror films and not appreciate more romanticized notions of vampires. I will admit the sparkling aspect is a bit silly but the characterization of Edward Cullen as a very devoted vampire shamed to be a monster and refusing to turn the human woman he loves even though her blood is quite tempting to him until he's left with no choice but to let her die or change her. Of course, being unable to sleep and watching her while she sleeps is a bit creepy and at times he is quite possessive but what vampire isn't creepy seeing as they have to drink blood in the first place? It is also quite well known that Robert Pattinson abhors the Twilight franchise and the character for most of the same reasons other people do but there is no denying that he is quite attractive if in sometimes a scruffy kind of way. Being a Brit he has the accent even if he tries to hide it as the American Edward though it shines through since the character has an early 1900s mindset and speech pattern. I usually go for older men but the dark looks of this former model are so striking that even when you make him unearthly pale you can't help but be dazzled. So even if Twilight isn't a lot of people's bag you have to realize that there had to be something in his performance that made Robert Pattinson the poster vampire pretty boy that earned Edward Cullen a place on this list and made it into my top 5 to boot.

#3. Lestat de Lioncourt from Queen Of The Damned portrayed by Stuart Townsend

If you are a fan of Anne Rice can anyone of you deny that Lestat is sexy? Now sometimes he may live up to being the brat prince  and can be a real bastard but when you have created many of your own lovers out of a slight fear of being lonely then you can't help but feel sorry for him. Now it's not that I hated Tom Cruise's portrayal in Interview With The Vampire it's just my taste in men has very well been established as tall, dark and handsome with an accent so Stuart Townsend's version of Lestat was one that really dragged me into liking the character of Lestat and trying to not see him as a villain. Being the romantic that I am I kind of like how the film created a love triangle between Akasha, Lestat and Jesse (and this is also coming from someone who read the novel Queen of The Damned and loved it!) to bring out an almost human emotion of him being seduced by something even more dark and evil than himself and while maybe not finding love but a companion that brought those once hidden human tendencies to the surface.

#2. Jerry Dandridge from Fright Night (1985) portrayed by Chris Sarandon

First thing's first yes I saw the remake with Colin Farrell and no I did not like it and no I do not think Colin Farrell even as a vampire is attractive. Sorry if I seemed so harsh and blunt but now that I got that out of the way let's talk about how much I like Chris Sarandon as Jerry Dandridge. Yes he has the dark looks so of course I find that attractive but he also has a suave charm and a sexual charisma that attracts women and almost a way of understanding people that makes him able to sway vulnerable people and gaining their trust to seal the deal just not outright taking it and going in for the kill. The original almost kind of gives Jerry a backstory because he goes after the hero's love interest because she almost resembles a past and maybe lost love of his so that makes him a much more hard enigma to figure out. Another reason I find Chris Sarandon's Jerry Dandridge sexy is well I do like older men and find that maturity a big turn on now that I myself am older and even now I still wouldn't mind having Chris Sarandon seducing me on the dance floor.

Well if we have gotten this far and you have not seen a certain name appear on this list then of course it's no big surprise who I think the number one sexiest vampire is so let's get right to it shall we?


#1. Angel also known as Angelus from the series Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and its spinoff Angel (1999-2004) portrayed by David Boreanaz

From the moment I first watched the show I was hooked on it and still regard it as the best show to ever be on television and even though I had crushes before my first hard-core TV actor crush was on David Boreanaz as Angel, the vampire with a soul. Of course you didn't learn he was a vampire at first but it didn't take a lot to figure out that a handsome guy who shows up at night out of no where is probably a vampire. Angel was snarky and witty in a dead-pan sort of way but also had a puppy vulnerability with those dark eyes and human reactions that were very noble (offering a girl a jacket because she's cold, sleeping on the floor) and of course outdated to prove he's not of the early-late 90s way most boys acted. So of course the romantic in me found the tragedy of his ill-fated romance with the human Buffy even more romantic as it was clear he cared very much for her and when they entered the arc of Angelus emerging thanks to a curse that stripped him of his soul by achieving happiness sleeping with Buffy as any couple in love would normally do, my heart sank.

 When you care that much about a fictional couple you know the writers and actors have done something right  but in a weird way I also kind of felt an attraction to this darker side of the Angel character. He may have been sadistic (but I am slightly sadistic too even if only about 10%) but he was still handsome and seductive. Vampires are meant to be seductive and maybe even slightly human and I think Angel was a good combination of the two aspects so that even when Spike entered the picture you still had a foil to Angel as the tortured nice guy versus the bad boy rebel of Spike. I could go on about my love of Angel and fan girl about how much I am a huge Bangel supporter but maybe that will be another time and another day to discuss the show and even the Angel spin-off but the fact is simple: Angel is the sexiest vampire of the small screen and my number one pick for the hottest of all vampires.

Interview With The Vampire

Once again we are back to where we first began: the vampire film. Now one of my first reviews was Queen Of The Damned which was luck of the draw but now here is where that saga began with Interview With The Vampire. This was the first novel in Rice's Vampire Chronicles written in 1973 but published in 1976 and I read the book long after I saw the film which I believe was on FOX as a world television premiere...remember those? Anyway back on track...Anne Rice is probably the reason why I love vampires and without her vampires such as Lestat and Louis I would probably have no attraction to vampire films. There are differences between the book and the film but literary and celluloid combining always leave things out but we will get to that. First, as always...

What's The Plot?

In modern-era San Francisco, a young reporter (Christian Slater) sits down with a man who claims to be a vampire and wishes to share his story. Intrigued, the young man listens and begins to record the story of Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt) who wanted to die due to the loss of a family member. In New Orleans he meets with the answers to his prayers, the angelic yet devilish vampire Lestat de Lioncourt. Lestat wishes for a companion and turns Louis into a vampire but his teachings of how vampires live does not sit well with Louis...he is still too human and does not wish to feed from humans with such a lack of compassion as Lestat does.

When the two vampires are soon chased away from Louis' former slaves at his plantation, they locate to the city where Lestat takes human victims while Louis feeds from rats. One night wondering through a plague-ridden district of the city, Louis feeds from a young girl crying beside her deceased mother but runs in horror at what he did. When he returns to Lestat, he finds that he did not kill the girl but Louis watches in horror as Lestat turns the young girl into a vampire that he names Claudia and calls her both his and Louis' "daughter". Knowing that Lestat did this to keep him from running away, Louis soon relents and begins to dote on Claudia and for years, the trio become an almost well adjusted family.

Soon Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) learns that she will never gain a woman's body due to her immortality and her adult mind begins to hate Lestat for what he has done to her and to Louis by keeping both under his thumb. Being the sadistic killer thanks to her inner maturity, Claudia kills Lestat to Louis' horror but they both dispose of his body in the swamp. Lestat manages to survive this ordeal and comes after both Claudia and Louis but they escape and flee to 1870's Paris. Now in Paris thinking they are the last of their kind, Louis soon discovers a coven of vampires and their charismatic leader, the vampire Armand (Antonio Banderas). These vampires pretend to be human and kill their victims by performing in a theater as pretend vampires in very realistic "stage shows" and it is clear that Armand desires Louis' as a companion as Lestat once did. After one such performance another vampire, Santiago, makes it known to Claudia and Louis that one rule amongst vampires is clear: never kill your own kind.

With this knowledge discovered...are Claudia and Louis in danger for their murder of Lestat? Will Armand be able to tear Louis away from Claudia and have him as his own companion?

What Else Is There To Know?

Even if you have seen the film and know what happens, there is a chance someone has not seen this film or even read the book and a few details differ in the plot after what I have just discussed. I never feel good handing out spoilers because it is like giving  you a hamburger when you deserve Beef Wellington: I hate to upset your palette too much.

Now when the movie came out, Anne Rice wasn't happy with Tom Cruise being cast as Lestat but she rescinded after viewing the movie herself. Now, Tom Cruise has his quirks but he turns out a good performance if you can bypass the fact that he hams up the role on occasion but after reading the book...that's just Lestat's personality. Brad Pitt as Louis was said to be an awful experience by the actor himself but this is the role that made me love Brad Pitt! Seeing as I fell in love with Angel from Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the vampire with a soul, Louis is my favorite character in the film and in the novel because of his tortured appeal and apparently since both Lestat and Armand want him he is easy to become infatuated with.

 Kirsten Dunst as Claudia is another one of my favorite things about the film because she performs the role so well...and at such a young age. Even though Claudia is younger in the novel, Dunst's maturity allows her to do more in the film without feeling kind of squicked out that a little girl is doing these terrible things but you have to remember that in mind, Claudia is an adult and her actions are deliberate. I also have envied Kirsten Dunst for many years because she got to kiss Brad Pitt on those brooding lips of his but after he hooked up with Angelina Jolie I can finally forgive her...

Antonio Banderas as Armand is sexy as hell but differs from the Armand of the book look wise but his acting is superb. We don't get to see Christian Slater as reporter Daniel Molloy very much but his subtle acting differs from his usual "bad boy" roles and it is amazing. Christian was offered the role after the original choice, his friend River Phoenix, died and he donated his pay to two of Phoenix's favorite charities...this makes me kind of love Christian Slater right now.

Now given a choice between film and novel, the movie wins but the book is something I recommend you read if reading is a hobby of yours. Anne Rice brings much life to her characters and her writing style is just as enticing as watching them come to life on the big screen or even your own TV screen. If you decide to check Interview With The Vampire out of the library, get the whole slew of The Vampire Chronicles while you are at it and be amazed at Anne Rice. If the movie is more your type, take the time to give it a view.

Next Blog: You guessed it...another vampire flick!! We go back to the 80s and view another vampire classic that you are sure to sink your teeth in to...The Lost Boys

Queen Of The Damned; Movie/Book Review

Over the course of doing these blogs you will learn that I am a lover of vampires...and Anne Rice vampires are some of my favorites. I started reading Anne Rice when I was 15 with her first novel, Interview With The Vampire, but it was the third book in her Vampire Chronicles that became and still is my favorite: The Queen of The Damned.

 As a book, Queen Of The Damned is a continuation of the last book, The Vampire Lestat, but the film version which came out in 2002 is a combination of the two...more or less. Actually, it is better to view Queen Of The Damned as its own movie based on the next two books instead of a follow up to Interview Of The Vampire film released in 1994. I think this is probably one reason why most people find the movie a failure to the The Vampire Chronicles legacy but let's try to look at it through rose-tinted glasses as a film of its own merit.
 

Film plot: Leather-clad, sometimes shirtless vampire Lestat De Lioncourt is awakened from centuries of sleep by the sounds of a glam, goth-metal band and then takes it over as their lead singer when it appears he has the vocals of Korn front man Jonathan Davis to bring the band to world-wide success. The band is now called The Vampire Lestat (great use of the second book title in a subtle way but not subtle for Lestat's ego) and in the lyrics of their songs, the secret world of the vampires is being revealed and the other vampires of the world are not happy.

 Do you have anything you want to say to the other vampires listening out there?

  As a matter of fact, I do. Come out, come out, wherever you are. 

 Besides pissing off the vampires of the world, Lestat also happens to get the attention of Jesse Reeves, red-headed researcher for the secret society of paranormal studies known as the Talamasca. She becomes fascinated with Lestat when she learns he is a real vampire and learns his origins and it leads her down the road of being would be love interest/stalker/ groupie of the vampire kind. Too bad for everyone when Lestat's vocals and music become so powerful that they awaken, Akasha, the mother of all vampires known as...The Queen of The Damned. Drawn by the ever rebellious Lestat, Akasha kills her husband, abducts our anti-hero vampire as her new king and plots to kill all of the other vampires of the world and destroy the human race.

With Lestat in danger, Jesse becomes even further involved in the world of vampires, when her aunt, Maharet, and Lestat's maker, Marius, come together with characters I call "Vampires too awesome to garner appropriate screen time as they did in the books" to try and stop Akasha.

This is the movie's basic plot which omits greats amount of back story from the novel, great vampire characters are reduced to cameos and independent Jesse from the book becomes a rather dull school girl with a crush archetype. Although I hate how they change Jesse, I have to admit I would go a little puppy-dog eyed for Stuart Townsend...and his portrayal as Lestat any day. If I'm going to watch a movie with vampires, I could find better ones I admit but there is something about Queen of The Damned that just keeps bringing me back to watch and enjoy it every time.

 Despite all of the cons of rushed scripting, changing some characters and omitting others one pro I will stand behind is that I love Aaliyah as Akasha. Even though she was known more for her phenomenal music career and her role in this film was greatly diminished from the Akasha in the novel due to the writing of the script, every minute that Aaliyah is on screen you can't help but watch her and it is clear that if she had not been taken from us sooner, Aaliyah could have been another great singer/actress superstar like Jennifer Lopez.

Final Words: If you like movies made from a book, the book will always be better but if you want a movie with an awesome soundtrack, Queen of The Damned is a great flick to watch. If you haven't seen this movie, I recommend giving it a shot...but I recommend that you if you would rather read the book, do it after watching the movie and then go get the other Vampire Chronicle novels by Anne Rice and be amazed by how much better you feel that you actually read a book instead of vegging out in front of the television for once!!

Next blog: Underworld