I recently finished watching the Netflix series First Kill, which was adapted from V.E. Schwab's short story. While it did have some very strong points, namely the lore and history surrounding monsters and Legacy vampires, it did have a few weakness like the action sequences. Watching it got me thinking of how vampires have evolved from terrifying creatures to something of a romantic idea. Now, vampires originated centuries ago when people actually believed they existed. This resulted in people digging up graves and hunting potential vampires. Vampire lore has been seen in cultures throughout the world, and with penny dreadfuls and the story Carmilla, by Sheridan Le Fanu eventually inspiring Bram Stoker's Dracula (1) they started to become mainstream in literature, all the way to present day, with a resurgence in paranormal romance novels.
The very first vampire I remember seeing on screen was in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. This show portrayed vampires as demons who can possess humans and can only stay alive by drinking blood. This aligned with centuries old folklore that vampires were demonic creatures. This show sparked a huge wave of supernatural shows that still has a hold on television to this day. It also had the first ever lesbian sex scene to be broadcasted nationwide (2). You see, supernatural stories, and vampire ones in particular, have continuously pushed the envelope on what is shown on our screens. Vampire lore has also evolved with it.
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One of the most original movies I've seen in recent memory is the 2009 under appreciated gem called Daybreakers. This movie depicts a future where vampires not only exist, but they run the world. The only way to supply the massive vampiric population is to capture the remaining humans and farm them for blood. It centers around a vampire scientist trying to invent fake blood. It is very reminiscent of actual scientists trying to create lab grown meat.
This was the first vampire story of any kind where vampires weren't relegated to back alley's. They had, essentially, bean the humans into submission. Not only that, but they were very human-like. The only things they couldn't do was be exposed to sunlight and go too long without blood less they turn into bat-like monstrosities. Vampirism, in this world, was also caused by a virus rather than only being passed on through a bite.
Never had I seen a vampire depicted so scientifically. I remember being fascinated by how human-like these vampires were. They grappled moral and ethical implications that we face today. What's even more impressive, is that the creators didn't base this off of any books like the other vampire movies of that time were (3). It simply had amazing worldbuilding and great actors that the roles called for.
Perhaps one of the most popular pieces of vampire media to exist in recent history are the infamous Twilight movies. The first one came out just a year prior to Daybreakers in 2008, and started a wave of teen paranormal romance books, movies, and TV shows. When I say these movies were successful that is an understatement. This franchise grossed over $3.3 billion, making it one of the highest grossing film franchise in history (4). Although Twilight by no means originated the romantic paranormal genre, it did help massively popularize it, specifically with a teen audience. It sparked a frenzy of many more, similar book to movie/TV show adaptations like The Vampire Diaries, The Hunger Games, and Divergent.
The Twilight Saga is still massively popular today despite the issues many people have with it. One thing that I thought the film series did incredibly well was diverge from the danger of vampires and focus more on their humanity. They played baseball, they went to school, they held real jobs, and they didn't burn in the sun. While the whole "sparkly vampire" thing was a bit strange, it allowed humans in these books to get close and form friendships with them. These stories were about as close to humans as vampires can get.
Not all vampire media is incredibly popular and I think a lot of the more original shows do tend to fly under the radar. To name a few, I've massively enjoyed shows like Being Human, The Strain, and Preacher. Each of these have some sort of original spin on such an unoriginal being like vampires. There has even been something of a modern resurgence in vampire books. These books have spanned a variety of genres. In adult horror you have The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampire's by Grady Hendrix. In classic YA paranormal romance Crave by Tracy Wolff was massively popular. And perhaps my most recent favorite was Empire of the Vampire by Jay Krisoff who listed Stephenie Meyer (the author of the Twilight Series) as one of the reasons authors like him have succeeded.
Now we have the most recent addition to vampire shows with First Kill. I absolutely love V.E. Schwab's writing and style, so when this show was announced I was instantly wary. I did not want to see this get butchered. I'd heard of very few of the actors involved and there wasn't a ton of hype surrounding it. While I did enjoy it, I really thought it could have been better. I thought the lore surrounding the specific type of vampire in it was quite cool. Using Bibilical mythology, Schwab placed the first vampires alongside Adam and Eve as the first humans. Right off the bat I thought this was cool. I love when authors and creators use something so well known and put their own spin on it. Plus it was Sapphic, which calls back to Buffy. I really hope this show does get a second season because the second half was so much better than the first. It got a lot more interesting and complicated, and introduced more compelling characters than the main two, who, in all honesty, were sort of bland. It also ended on a cliffhanger. While it did reference Romeo and Juliet a bit too much for my liking, I still think it deserves a second chance with hopefully a higher budget for CGI.
While trends and tropes do come and go, I think vampires aren't going anywhere. With the recent resurgence of paranormal romance books and fantasy itself becoming more mainstream, I hope we continue to get original takes on a common villain. Whether it be books, movies, or TV shows, these creatures will probably be a staple for a long time coming.
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