Monday, July 30, 2012
Monday Musing
Good Morning!
I've been giving a lot of thought to the evolution of vampires. The earliest vampire movie I'm aware of is Nosferatu. It was released in 1922. He was a walking corpse. No chance of getting hot and bothered looking at that guy. Certainly no voluntarily exposing your neck for a little nip either. I guess in those days, the main jest of the movie was horror, not sex or romance. Along came the movie, Dracula played by Bela Lugosi in 1931 and later by Christopher Lee in 1958. These men were fairly nice looking, but again the movies were horror, not romance. They were easy on the eyes, so exposing the neck didn't appear to be a problem ( of course, they did use mind control to get what they wanted, too). In 1979 Frank Langella took the role of Dracula. A pretty hot guy as far as I was concerned. This version was still a horror, but with romantic elements. He falls in love with Lucy (we'll call her the heroine) and "marries" her. At the end, in their attempt to escape England and go to Transylvania, Dracula is destroyed. Lucy is "saved" by her former fiance' who does not forgive her transgression of infidelity. The last scene shows her smiling enigmatically as Dracula's cape fly away in the wind. Which makes you think, sequel! He'll be back!
Instead of vampires being creatures that cause mortals to fear, dread and panic they now incite feelings of lust, charisma or sex appeal. Writers and movie directors now show vampires as leading men or heroes. Today's vampires are not just ordinary looking Joes. They have muscles, amazing abs, firm jaws, intense eyes and dazzling smiles.
There are some pretty smokin' series about vampires out there by such authors as Lara Adrian (Breeds), F.D. Davis (In The Beginning: A Vampire Series), Sherrilyn Kenyon (Dark Hunters), Katie MacAlister (Dark Ones) and Kerrelyn Sparks (Love At Stakes).
Who are some of your favorite vamp writers? Which vamps do you think are smokin' hot?
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Strangely, for all the reading I do (much of it as a paranormal nature) I don't think I've ever read a book with a vampire character other than the Twilight series. I do love vampire movies and I remember Frank Langella's version of Dracula very well. It created a lot of buzz at the time.
ReplyDeleteI also love the fictional character of Gerald Tarrant, created by C.s. Freidman in a trilogy that started with Black Sun Rising. A wonderful anti-hero who is a vampire-like creature. Blood will do in a pinch but he feeds on fear. Alternate universe, fantasy stuff. Ane one sexy guy! :)
Thought-provoking post, Alicia!
I haven't read the Twilight series. I have heard about it and the movies. I have heard about Gerald Tarrant. He sounds awesome. I'll have to read Black Sun Rising.
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