![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-hunger.jpg\")
image courtesy of mgm\/ua entertainment co.<\/p>\nThere have been vampire films ever since the 1910s, and throughout the subsequent century plus they haven\u2019t gone away. Of course, it takes a lot of fresh new spins to keep narratives about the eternal life of a bloodsucker relevant. And, throughout all that time, some decades have brought more to the table than others. For a while, though, they were fairly straightforward. For instance, the \u201930s and \u201940s mostly had the Universal Monsters while the late \u201950s to the \u201970s had the Hammer movies (led by Christopher Lee). It was in the \u201980s that the vampire movie formula started to be toyed with, and some of the results remain beloved classics.<\/p>\n
From genre-blenders to dramas that upped the eroticism, the following vampire movies represented the best of the decade\u2019s output in the subgenre. But which of them is the best of the best? <\/p>\n
7) The Hunger<\/p>\n
image courtesy of mgm\/ua entertainment co.<\/p>\n
The studio-mandated ending may suck the impact out of the film\u2019s otherwise excellent conclusion, but Tony Scott\u2019s The Hunger is an otherwise tight and erotic vampire horror drama. We follow Miriam Blaylock, a vampire who promises a series of lovers that they can have eternal life as long as they become her companion.<\/p>\n
What she fails to mention, however, is that they don\u2019t retain their youth. This is something her current companion, John (David Bowie), learns the hard way when, like those before him, he begins to wither away. He seeks to have his rapid aging reversed so he seeks out a pair of doctors studying rapid ageing in primates. One of the two, Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), comes to believe him but, when she seeks him out, she instead finds Miriam, who comes to believe she\u2019s found her next companion. However, Dr. Roberts may prove to be her final companion, and that\u2019s if she says yes to the gig at all.<\/p>\n
Stream The Hunger for free with ads on Tubi.<\/p>\n
6) The Lair of the White Worm<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-lair-of-the-white-worm.jpg\")
image courtesy of vestron pictures<\/p>\n
Technically, The Lair of the White Worm (a loose adaptation of the novel by Dracula author Bram Stoker) doesn\u2019t feature a vampire as much as it features a snake monster whose bite turns others into her slaves. But, really, she\u2019s basically a vampire.<\/p>\n
Ken Russell never made a universally accessible movie, and The Lair of the White Worm is no different, but it\u2019s a compellingly watchable fever dream, nonetheless. It also features a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi in major roles, so there\u2019s a certain pop-culture curiosity in play as well.<\/p>\n
Stream The Lair of the White Worm for free with ads on Tubi.<\/p>\n
5) Lifeforce<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/lifeforce.jpg\")
image courtesy of cannon film distributors<\/p>\n
Most of Cannon\u2019s films were visually unimpressive and hokey. For instance, most of Chuck Norris\u2019 early movies. Tobe Hooper\u2019s Lifeforce<\/a> was a little different. It\u2019s still a little hokey, but it\u2019s also aided by excellent visuals and a surplus of ambition.<\/p>\n Admittedly, its ambition can get the better of it, but for the most part this movie about a seductress space vampire works. It\u2019s almost certainly entirely unlike every other vampire movie<\/a> you\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n Stream Lifeforce for free with ads on Tubi.<\/p>\n 4) The Monster Squad<\/p>\n The Monster Squad<\/a> isn\u2019t the last movie on this list to feature a few young protagonists who love horror films and get to meet a monster in real life. As it turns out, that was pretty much the key to making a great \u201980s horror comedy.<\/p>\n In the case of The Monster Squad, though, it\u2019s not just Dracula the kids have to run up against, but also other Universal Monsters legends such as the Mummy, Frankenstein, and the Gill-man. With jokes that are neither inappropriate for children nor too silly for adults, The Monster Squad is a good time for all.<\/p>\n Stream The Monster Squad on Prime Video.<\/p>\n 3) The Lost Boys<\/p>\n Joel Schumacher was great at creating rewatchable blockbuster entertainment, and The Lost Boys<\/a> is the best of his bunch. It\u2019s stylish, well cast, and comes with a third act twist that, much to its credit, isn\u2019t predictable.<\/p>\n Schumacher and the film\u2019s three screenwriters have a lot of fun paying homage to and having fun with the subgenre\u2019s conventions. It\u2019s a horror movie for people who like horror movies as much as it\u2019s a movie for people who like coming of age stories with a classic rock-infused soundtrack.<\/p>\n Stream The Lost Boys for free with ads on Tubi.<\/p>\n 2) Near Dark<\/p>\n One of the most impressive directorial debuts ever made, Kathryn Bigelow\u2019s Near Dark is a heartfelt and visually stunning vampire Western with a game cast and fantastic score by Tangerine Dream. It wasn\u2019t recognized at the time of release, but those who have come to see it have come to love it.<\/p>\n Not to mention, along with being a top-tier vampire movie<\/a>, this is also the ultimate companion to Aliens, at least in terms of movies that don\u2019t feature a Xenomorph. Why? It features three of that classic\u2019s cast members: Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton (who has a lot of fun playing a villain), and Jenette Goldstein.<\/p>\n Stream Near Dark on Shudder.<\/p>\n 1) Fright Night<\/p>\n One of the most eminently likable movies of the \u201980s, Fright Night<\/a> is very much like The Lost Boys in that it\u2019s a movie for those who grew up watching horror movies. It always come equipped with a charming but simple concept. We follow a horror movie-loving teenager who finds out that his new next-door neighbor just so happens to be a creature of the night.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-monster-squad.jpg\")
image courtesy of tri-star pictures<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/the-lost-boys.jpg\")
image courtesy of warner bros.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/near-dark.jpg\")
image courtesy of de laurentiis entertainment group<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fright-night.jpg\")
image courtesy of columbia pictures<\/p>\n