| After
a fairly restrained 1980s, the nineties saw a vampire revivial with a vengeance,
and rich variety. There were several attempts to make the 'definitive' vampire
movie, none with any great success, there were endless 'teen' movies, with loads
of blood and mild flesh. There were also several interesting European looks
at the genre, often looking for the mood of the old movies, and doing without
the increasing pace demanded by young, post Star Wars cinema audiences. Two
things really marked out the decade: One is the independent, really small
budget movies - there really were some classics. The other is the entry
of Big Names - it doesn't matter to me who makes a vampire movie - but it does
matter to "The Meeja" and it matters to the next generation of cinema-goers.
John Carpenter is a serious film-maker, and Stephen King a writer to be reckoned
with; we also saw Anne Rice's work brought to the screen by no less than Tom Cruise,
though the presence of both Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst meant more to some folk! This
was the first time that respectability hit the vampire world - and there was a
price to be paid ... but that's a problem for another decade! 
Read
the full text here - in the original order, or in chronological
order. | 
