credit: Dracula
It kind of depends on who a person asks, but evolution in the movies is possible for just about any genre and any subject. Vampires have been a part of the cinematic experience for so long that the generations of today are growing up to see them as just another part of the world in which they live, and they’re being given multiple versions to pick from that tend to vibe with the oldest legends based around vampirism, as well as the new representations that have been brought to the big and small screens for people to enjoy. The current evolution of vampires on the big and small screens has been ongoing for years, but at this point, one has to wonder if that evolution is going in a positive direction or if it’s in free fall. Right now, the representations that have been given over the past two decades have been anywhere from cringe-worthy to impressive and terrifying. The distance between these two makes people wonder how far out of truth the vampire legend can move or if there are such things as boundaries when discussing this particular legend.
credit: 30 Days of Night
Looking back at the last twenty to thirty years of vampire movies, the changes haven’t always been good.
Vampire movies have come along and been given no respect, even if they’re among some of the best stories ever told. Then there are vampire movies that have become insanely popular and are more or less ridiculous. Many people’s opinions tend to differ when it comes to vampire movies since, well, a lot of people feel vampire movies are either old and outdated or just waiting for a new evolutionary jump. How that might happen and who will be innovative enough to do it is unknown at this time. Still, the reality of this idea is that vampires are fairly simple creatures of legend that have been given a great number of complications that have caused their movies to become a veritable hodgepodge of storylines.
Another evolutionary jump might be needed by how things have to go.
It’s fair to think that a lot of vampire movies are just as good or as bad as they need to be, but thinking of how another evolutionary jump could go is kind of tough since people keep going back to the same old stuff in an attempt to reinvent the genre and bring a new look to this old horror legend. Vampires have been given just about every type of movie, from action to drama to comedy to romance, and yet horror has always been an underlying element since, like it or not, they’re considered to be monsters since they operate in a manner that humanity can’t abide. Even though some movies show humans and vampires coexisting, it’s easy to think that this couldn’t happen since vampires rely on one of the main things that humans happen to need to survive. The idea that vampires and humans could do anything but war with each other is a difficult one to think about, but people have tried.
credit: Twilight
Trying to unite opposing forces in the movies tends to meet with great resistance.
The idea of creating unity between any two forces that oppose each other in the movies is problematic from the start since if two people, races, or species oppose one another, then it’s likely that there’s always going to be a reason to keep them apart. This is a big reason why the evolution of vampire movies is tough to envision, let alone create. Creatures that look human are separated by so many different aspects that set them apart. So is it even possible? Some filmmakers would like to think so, but from a practical standpoint, it’s a matching of opposites expected to create something new and compelling that future generations will find appealing. That sounds like a tall order that isn’t bound to be an easy feat to pull off. On the other hand, it’s very possible that one day someone will crack that particular code and find something that will keep people interested.
It’s fair to say that it can get worse or a lot better.
People might not want to hear it, but movies like Twilight have put a severe strain on the vampire legend, while movies that have been given great disrespect, such as Dracula Untold, have gone a long way in clinging to the old legends in a much more convincing way. The unfortunate truth is that people want the romance along with the legend and will gladly ditch a lot of the horror to try and enjoy a story that caters to their desires. A vampire story kind of needs that dark horror to work.
There’s a way to make it work; someone just needs to find it.