7 Awesome Old-School Vampire Flicks ...

I love Wes Craven, and it was great to see his take on how vampire movies should be. Well, kind of – it's part camp, like everything Wes Craven, but these vampires are not sissies. To wit, Maximillian, in addition to having an awesome name (I'd love to name a kid Maximillian but the Better Half won't let me … and that's probably really smart on her part), scares the crap out of me. He means business, always. I never would have thought Eddie Murphy could be a vampire, but he proved me wrong.

It makes me just ill that they're redoing this. So far it doesn't look like there's any Twilight-esque sparkly malaise about it (sorry, y'all, I just can't even), but still. The original was just perfect. Chris Sarandon was utterly smoldering as Jerry and William Ragsdale was a perfect, awkward Charlie. Plus, it had Roddy McDowall!

This is one of my favorite vampire movies of all time. William Dafoe is just heinous in this. Do you see that, Stephenie Meyer? That is how vampires should look! No, but really, the movie is based on the filming of Nosferatu, another fantastic classic, and it revolves around the rumor that the original actor in the real Nosferatu was, truly, a vampire. It's also got some great techniques, like intertitles, to make it look like they were making a silent film. Vampire fans, get thee hence and watch this movie! If you need any more persuasion, it has Eddie Izzard.

There is no better vampire movie than this. In the 1980s, Keifer Sutherland was a god, and he was wicked hot in this film. It also stars the Coreys, but seriously, see it for Sutherland. It's just … it's amazing. And don't you ever watch any Lost Boys film that came after it, because they are all just dreck. Dreck!

In addition to being the only time I've enjoyed seeing Quentin Tarantino acting, this is just one of the most badass vampire movies in existence. I blame George Clooney, who is completely foul mouthed, vile, and sexy in this flick. It's just killing vampires, death, destruction, and cursing. It's awesome.

Many filmmakers have tried to remake Dracula. Most of them have failed. This one, however, I actually like – a lot. The cinematography is gorgeous, the story line is actually quite good, and the acting is superb. Okay, well, Keanu kind of sucks, but come on. Gary Oldman as Dracula? Anthony Hopkins as Van Helsing? That, my friends, is excellent cinema.

I want so badly to hate this movie, because I abhor Kirsten Dunst's character and I am not the most enormous Tom Cruise fan … but there's something about Lestat and Louis, you know? For the record, I also love Queen of the Damned, even though I don't like Anne Rice and didn't like that book, but I cannot resist Stuart Townsend in that movie for anything.

Bear in mind, these are just old-school vampire movies, the kind with just a bit of camp, even when they're serious. For some really great vampire movies, I suggest all the black and white numbers, from Nosferatu to the original Dracula. I'm not going to diss on Twilight (anymore), though – people love it, and that's totally cool. But if, in falling in love with the Cullens, you develop a love for vampires in general, then these are definitely the vampire movies you need to watch. In the meantime, are there any other vampire flicks you can recommend?

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