With fictional figures like Dracula depicted in over 200 movies to date, it's clear that the public's fascination with vampires in movies remains strong. The beautiful and often dangerous creatures, forced to live the haunting lives of immortals, are both visually and psychologically arresting, and thanks to streaming services like Hulu, they can be found in a variety of movies.
Whether vampire fans want the action-packed movies in the Underworld franchise or something more contemplative, like Byzantium, there's something for everyone. Thanks to IMDb's rating system, viewers can see exactly where the best vampire movies on Hulu rank, and why they might want to sink their teeth into them.
10 Blade: Trinity (2004) 5.8
The third installment in the popular vampire action franchise, Blade, Blade: Trinity chronicles the fall from grace of human/vampire hybrid Blade, whose reputation as a murderer threatens to eclipse his mission to stop the continuous war between vampires and humans. His only choice is to team up with vampire hunters to help kill Danica Talos and save humanity.
As a trilogy capstone, the movie is worthy enough, though it resorts to introducing famous vampires, like Dracula, to stick its landing. Its action is as always first-rate, but its story is slightly uninspiring given that Queen of the Damned dealt with the "first vampire" just two years prior.
9 Dark Shadows (2012) 6.2
Tim Burton's approximation of the popular '60s supernatural soap opera on ABC of the same name, Dark Shadows follows the attempts by patriarch Barnabus Collins to restore the integrity of his family name after he's awakened from his eternal rest. He returns to the port city of his birth to find it quite changed, as well the stately manor he once darkened.
Much more humorous than its source material, the movie is an amalgamation of whimsical camp and the macabre melodrama the series was so known for, nowhere more evidenced than in its aesthetic -- a marriage of Burton's hallmark gothic elegance and colorful '60s kitsch. Despite it seeming completely apropos, fans didn't particularly care for Burton's experiment, and the movie is one of his least regarded.
8 Underworld: Awakening (2012) 6.3
Underworld: Awakening, the fourth movie in the Underworld franchise, focuses primarily on the war between humans and the supernatural creatures that have lurked in their midst for so long -- Lycans and vampires. Vampire hero Selene has given birth to a daughter Eve, her lover Michael is dead, and she must carve out a life for herself while being mistrusted by humans and hated by all remaining vampires.
This installment of the franchise holds the lowest rating of any of its movies on IMDb, perhaps because it marked a departure from the main story or didn't improve on it enough. There's only so much innovation to be had with introducing a genetically enhanced Lycan.
7 Scooby-Doo! Music Of The Vampire (2012) 6.5
One of the many direct-to-DVD movies in the Scooby-Doo franchise, Scooby-Doo! Music Of The Vampire combines the slapstick humor inherent to the beloved cartoon with enough thrills to be entertaining. The Scooby Gang has to leap into action when Daphne, who's been performing in a vampire movie, suddenly finds herself kidnapped by a real vampire on the set.
As the team investigates who's behind the bats, the movie blends the musical elements of Phantom of the Opera with the mystery of Dracula, giving it something more enthralling than the typical fare -- and plenty of songs to sing along to.
6 Byzantium (2012) 6.5
Distinguished Irish filmmaker Neil Jordan creates a melancholy narrative that's more of an experience than a movie with Byzantium, about two young vampire women seeking refuge in a British seaside town. As they find themselves hunted by their own kind for daring to lead a different kind of life, they contemplate what it means to be immortal through feral excess and emotional turmoil.
With stunning visuals and compelling performances, Byzantium wallows in the world of the creatures doomed to eternal life and vacillates between grandstanding its excessive appetites with vilifying them.
5 Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans (2009) 6.6
A prequel installment in the Underworld franchise that travels back in time to explain the first feud between vampires and Lycans, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans doesn't show vampires as the good guys, instead, revealing elder Viktor persecuting Lycans for his own ends. Eventually, Lucian leads his warriors against Viktor's Death Dealers, but the war is complicated by his secret love affair with Sonja, Viktor's adopted daughter.
Its medieval setting proved a divisive aspect for fans who were more accustomed to the modern grit of the two previous installments, but the third movie still provides a fascinating look at what created the feud between the vampires and the Lycans seen throughout the Underworld series.
4 Underworld: Evolution (2005) 6.7
The sequel to Underworld, Underworld: Evolution offers more pulse-pounding action than before as Selene tries to survive with renegade Lycan Michael with both of their clans trying to hunt them down. In desperation, they attempt to find some way to heal the rift that exists between their species, but what they uncover may shake them to their very cores.
As a direct continuation of the first movie, this sequel is a worthy successor, though it does somewhat retread the formula introduced by it. With its heavily stylized form of violence and gorgeous cinematography, it's not surprising it's one of the highest-ranked movies of the Underworld franchise on IMDb.
3 Underworld (2003) 7
The movie that introduced a new kind of sophisticated hyper-violence to the vampire genre, Underworld not only gave fans slick black trenchcoats and slow-motion combat, it also solidified Kate Beckinsale as an action hero playing the confident and beautiful Selene, a Death Dealer engaged in the centuries-old war between vampires and Lycans.
The tragic tale of Selene, her Lycan lover Michael, and the endless bloodshed between vampires and Lycans would unfurl over several more movies, each adding to the world-building of the franchise. It's not surprising, however, that the first of its kind would rank the highest on IMDb.
2 What We Do In The Shadows (2014) 7.7
Before the incredibly popular series, What We Do In The Shadows, there was a movie of the same name by Taika Waititi about four immortal housemates trying to cope with modern life. Each roommate represents a different sort of vampire, from the gothic and refined to the pestilence-infested, and even the hipster.
With a superb sense of irreverent and awkward comedy, it simultaneously pokes fun at vampire tropes while also celebrating them, making this movie an homage to the many different ways vampires have been presented on film over the years.
1 Let The Right One In (2008) 7.9
The highest-rated vampire movie on Hulu, Let The Right One In, also happens to be one of its most sweet, following the relationship that develops between a shy boy named Oskar in a Swedish suburb and his mysterious neighbor, Eli, who may or may not have a connection to a series of grisly murders that have occurred in the community.
Poignant, dark, and at times uplifting, the movie is a psychological character study as much as it is a vampire movie, but even fans of bloodsuckers will find enough gore amidst the thought-provoking material to titillate their bloodthirsty tastes.
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July 23, 2021 at 12:00AM
