5 Vampire Thrillers More Exciting Than Underworld: Awakening

I will always praise Daybreakers for turning the vampire "curse" into the next logical step in human evolution, so that we sympathize with the vamps as they try to find a blood substitute or risk turning into crazed, batlike creatures. And of course, there's a big government conspiracy.

This Russian thriller is still one of the best vampire movies I've seen, despite being made in 2004. Although I haven't watched it since then, specific sequences stand out in my mind: A harrowing subway ride, gore, and one fight where the hero Anton can only see vampires in shards of mirror. (Fun way to subvert the typical vampire legend, right?) Plus, it's the first part in a trilogy, so you won't be left on a cliffhanger the way I was so long ago.

I'm just gonna quote what I said in our top 10 movies of 2011 post:

Upon leaving the press screening for Fright Night, I wished that I’d been able to bring ten of my friends to enjoy this sharp new take on the vampire film. The fact that it’s a remake is even more impressive. Buffy‘s Marti Noxon is responsible for the whip-smart script, but Colin Farrell just brings it as unassuming, bloodthirsty vampire Jerry. Like Shame, this movie really takes advantage of its setting — Las Vegas — for the various twists and other characters, including former Doctor Who star David Tennant as a Criss Angel lookalike.

Really, non-American filmmakers know how to do the vampire film right: Sexy, twisted, and funny, with religion and science mixed together just right.

How can you take a vampire character like Selene seriously after seeing pint-size Eli, who can fell a human man three times her size?