Having recently binge watched a bunch of Vampire films, my mind got to thinking about the creative process that must take place when any vampire film is in early production, how are the vampires going to die? Whilst Christopher Lee’s Dracula would bleed from the eyes before disappearing into a pile of dust, film’s such as Blade went for a more video game styled death, having the vamps just pop out of existence in a cloud of dust, leaving nothing but the scent of tobacco and cheap aftershave.  A handy way to clean up the MASSIVE body count Blade leaves behind. Other films go for much more ghastly and creative deaths, such as melting, imploding and exploding, leaving a gory mess splattered across anything or anyone unfortunately in its radius. It’s these type of more personal Vampire deaths that we are looking at in this list, exploring those expirations that were shocking, disgusting and damn well terrifying. So grab some garlick, sprinkle some holy-water and lets get down to some serious steaking as we look at 10 Horrific Vampire Deaths in Film!

** If It’s Listed, it probably has a HUGE BIG SPOILER in it… You have been warned!!!**

Interview with a Vampire (1994) – Lestat

Interview with the Vampire is a twisted web of tragedy, tradition and politics, all wrapped up in a blood-spattered bow. The film follows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt), in a story of his second life, from 1791 through to 1994. Whilst the body count firmly lies in the victim’s side, the film does have several notable vampire deaths worthy of note. The Deaths of Louis companion Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) and his revenge on the Parisian vampire coven are all worthy of being on this list. However, for our first entry we turn to Louis creator, friend and tormentor Lestat de Lioncourt (Tom Cruise), whose arrogant attitude see’s him suffer two brutal “deaths” at the hands of his “children”!

Claudia tricks Lestat into drinking the “dead blood” of twin boys, who she had previously killed by overdosing them with laudanum. As Lestat chokes on the bad blood, Claudia slits his throat leaving his withered pale corpse in a pool of thick red blood. Being good friends, Louis decides to respect his mentors’ body by giving him last rights with a respectful funeral, and by funeral we mean he dumps the body in a swamp. However, the cunning bloodsucker survives the swamp thanks to its abundant wildlife and returns to attack Louis and Claudia. During the fray, Louis lobs a lantern at Lestat’s feet, engulfing the vampire in flames, where he dies for a second time as the house burns down around him.

The Hunger (1983) – Eternity

Miriam Blaylock (Catherine Deneuve) is an ancient vampire with a deep insatiable Hunger for two things, human blood and endless love. But whilst the blood runs freely, her search for love is not so carefree.  In the 1983 erotic horror film The Hunger, we witness some pretty horrific vampire deaths, but they are what you might expect.

Miriam’s latest partner is a 200-year-old vampire called John (David Bowie), who realizes that Miriam’s promise of eternal life comes with a price, that even with periodically feeding upon human victims, his youth is forfeit. He will have eternal life but not eternal youth. After two centuries of being a young man, John starts to age and quickly becomes decrepit and unable to move, his mind now trapped in withered dusty shell.

Unable to bear the thought of murdering her lovers, Miriam imprisons them in steel-encased chests, where they “live” as memories for the youthful vampire. They are with her for eternity, trapped by a fate worse than death, eternal life.

Lost Boys (1987) – Death by Stereo

One of the most loved vampires films of all time is Joel Schumacher’s Lost Boys, which continues to be adored by new generations of fans. From an amazing cast, included Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patrick, Corey Haim, Corey Feldman and Jami Gertz, to a pitch perfect script, Lost Boys is a real one-two punch of Vampire fun and gore. So, it’s no surprise that the film contains some of the most outrageous vampire deaths.

As Edgar Frog announces mid film “When a vampire bites it, it’s never a pretty sight. No two blood suckers go out the same way. Some yell and scream, some go quietly, some explode, some implode. But, all will try and take you with them.”, yep it’s clear it’s going to be a bumpy ride, and for our list we pick one of the most rememberable scene from the film, death by stereo.

With the house under siege, we witness Dwayne (Billy Wirth) attack Sam (Haim) as he tries to help his injured brother Michael (Patrick). The scene features a superb jump scare, a little light comedy and a terrific death that is just explosive. With some pretty outrageous dialogue that only the 80’s could deliver, Sam and Dwayne throw some shade (“you missed sucker!”) as sam attempts to shoot the vampire with a bow and arrow. Sam’s persistence lands a blow directly into Dwayne’s chest and he launched backwards into Sam’s sound-system, which flickers to life. With rock music blaring and sparks going off like the fourth of July, Dwayne’s body starts to fall apart, seconds before the vampire explodes in a hail of blood and electricity. Sam grins as he delivers his one-liner, “Death by Stereo”.  

Fright Night Part 2 (1988) – Death Shroud

Fright Night Part 2 returned to the story of Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) a year after killing his vampire neighbour and whilst the film fails to live up to the story and cast of the first film, there are a number of interesting new characters including a bunch of funky vampires.

Roller-skating vamp Belle (Russell Clark) meets a pretty twisted, and unique, end when she’s confronted by Vampire Killers Charley, his girlfriend Alex Young (Traci Lind) and TV and film star Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall). Having infiltrated head vampire Regine’s lair, they catch Belle unawares as she attacks them on her blades.

As she lunges at them, Charley throws a religious alter robe around the vampire. Alex had nabbed the robe from a church earlier as a form of protection for Charley, but now it has become a weapon as Belle becomes twisted in its folds. An intense white light leeks from every opening in the cloth as Belle shrieks in pain. Her face glows a white-hot phosphorescent, as her frozen face of fear starts to disintegrate from within! Her Melting body leaves nothing but dust. Visually, it’s a stunning shot and certainly one of the most unique deaths in vampire history.

Thirst (2009) – Sunrise

The Thirst is a 2009 South Korean supernatural erotic horror film written, produced and directed by Park Chan-wook. Visually, this film is a real treat for the eyes, with amazing cinematography that you rarely see in horror. It also has a very gripping story, which sees a young priest’s faith tested as he become one a blood sucking vampire!  

When Catholic priest Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) is saved by an emergency blood transfusion, he quickly discovers that blood was tainted and that he has become a Vampire. Sharing the gift with love interest Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin), Sang-hyun soon comes to regret his action as his lover becomes a remorseless monster, killing anyone without thought. Taking matters into his own hands he drives a sleeping Tae-ju to a desolate field with no cover from the imminent dawn. Despite Tae-ju’s attempts of hiding in the boot and under the car; Sang-hyun thwarting her petty attempts of self preservation, she finally accepts her fate.

Whilst many films show Vampires spontaneously combust as sunlight hits their flesh, Thirst reveals this process to be a long and painful experience. Sang-hyun and Tae-ju embrace, sitting on the cars hood, as the sunlight slowly burns their flesh to charcoal, leaving burnt husks where the two lovers had been shortly before. The last shot of the film sees two shoes drop to the floor as the burnt-out legs break under the shoes weight.

Innocent Blood (1992) – Crime Pains

Innocent Blood a dark little movie about a Femme fatale vampire in Pittsburgh, with a moral code that limits her bloodsucking to the criminal elements of society. But when an attack goes wrong, her victim turns and starts a brand-new criminal enterprise run by vampires.

When crime family attorney, Manny Bergman, is bitten by his own vampiric boss, he turns into a Vampire whilst recovering in hospital. But a hapless Nurse prevents Bergman attempt on her life when she flings open the curtains to reveal bright daylight turning the creature into a human soufflé.

The VFX wizards behind this scene used reflective material placed under prosthetic skin to achieve the crazy burning effect on Bergman’s arms. This cracked skin soon give sway to brutal burns and melting as Bergman smoulders and bubbles away into a gooey mess!

 Salem’s Lot (1979) – Steaked

When the quite little town of Salem’s lot is suddenly overrun by Vampires, it’s up to a ragtag group of townsfolk to stop the plague in its tracks. Leading the group is author Ben Mears (David Soul) who final gets to meet the mysterious Mr Barlow, the head vampire that is responsible for the towns downfall, in the basement of a dilapidated mansion that sits atop of the town like a gargoyle.

Ben drags Barlow’s coffin into the dying sunlight and sets about ending the foul creature with a steak to the heart. As the hammer rises and falls, Barlow screams, his eyes bulging form his blue skinned head. As the steak pieces the creature’s heart, Barlow hollow corpse decays away to bone.

Vampires Kiss (1989) – He’s a Vampire!

Nicolas Cage is well known for his wacky roles, but none come even close to the insanity as his 1989 black comedy Vampires Kiss. The film stars Cage as literary agent Peter Loew who becomes convinced that he has become a vampire, with it being left to the audience to decide if his vampire lover Rachel is real or not.  Whilst his antics start out as amusing, the story takes a darker tone as his delusions soon lead to murder and attempted rape.

Returning home form his night of debauchery, Loew crawls under an upturned sofa, which he sees as his “coffin”, to escape the sunlight. The brother of his rape victim comes looking to get revenge, and finds Lowe tucked under the sofa, trying to piece his own heart with a broken shard of wood. The enraged man pushed down the wood, piercing Lowe’s heart and killing him. It’s a pretty dark and brutal death and one that will leave you cold from this twisted film.

Let the Right One In (2008) – Fire

If you like your vampires crispy, then we have the perfect entry for you’re here, with Swedish horror Let the Right One In. The story about a 12-year-old boy groomed to be the servant of a ancient vampire. Think of it as a love story that transcends gender and species, that just so happens to include a scene where a newly made vampire is savaged by cats!

The victim in question is a woman named Virginia (Ika Nord), who ends up in hospital after the attack. Having just survived an earlier vampire bite, her body starts to slowly change. Discovering that she has become painfully sensitive to sunlight, Virginia realizes what she is becoming and ask an orderly to open the curtains. Virginia burst into fierce flames and in a graphic and disturbing scene that will haunt you for days after.

Fright Night (1985) – Wolf

Fright Night is the Story of 17 year-old Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) who discovers that his neighbour is a vampire. Alongsoide TV and film star Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), the two team up to take out the Vampire threat. But head vampire Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) has some friends of his own.

One of his minions, Billy Cole (Jonathan Stark) probably has the most disgusting death, melting into a pile of green goo. However, the caretaker is not a vampire, but an undead ghoul that protects and servers Dandrige. The most Horrific vampire death comes in the form Ed Thompson (Stephen Geoffreys) , a strange boy everybody just called Evil Ed.

After being turned into a blood sucker, Evil Ed turns his eyes on Peter Vincent and catches the “Vampire Hunter” unaware when he attacks him in the form of a wolf. Peter manages to fend of the vampire with a broken table leg, and Ed starts to transform back into a human shape. Screaming in pain and going through some pretty nasty looking forms, the young lad finally succumbs to his wounds. It’s nasty stuff that’s as messy as it is terrifying!

“Hello Horror Fans – Well, this was just SWELL! It’s good to get an article you can really get your FANGS into. These GORY descriptions just MELT my heart! Let us know if we STABBED you in the right places, leave us a nasty little comment in the section below! Tell us your favorite VAMPIRE DEATH, and what films we missed form out list! Until NECKS time…

Keep Rotten”

“Morti” The Mortician