The Horror Reader

Written by Ken Gelder first published in 2000 by Routledge
part five - Reading tbe king vampire. Notes from the book. Starting on page 145. the book suggests that at the point in which vampire films such as dracula become popular, so did the rise of the 'new women' the book suggests the dracula lacks precisely what makes a man noble, servants. Dracula stoops to driving the carridge, cooking the meals, and cleaning the castle. this role usually falls for the female characters to do, so this already changes the females roles within vampire films.

Media Magazine

In the September issue of Media Magazine "Let the right one in" and "Twilight" both feature on a double page. Eli from "Let the right one in" is on the cover of the magazine.

Sight and Sound Review for "Underworld"

underworld’s trailer makes it looks wonderfully slick and dark in the tradition of The Matrix and Blade; but after seeing it, you’ll realize that everything that seemed dazzling was simply stolen and then abused – from its Dark Shadows-meets-Matrix costumes to its Blade weaponry to its Nine Inch Nails video backdrops. Nothing about Underworld is original; it’s a hackneyed, patched-together goth-kid fantasy that I’m convinced was written a 15-year-old boy who wears black eyeliner (think the Saturday Night Live skit “Goth Talk”). Straight out of Marilyn Manson’s wet dreams comes the fantastical storyline: For centuries, vampires have battled werewolves, known here as Lycans. It’s not really clear why they’ve been battling, even after the film sort of reveals the reason; so we’ll leave it there. The Vampires are depicted as aristocratic sophisticates who prefer fine crystal and Porsches, whereas the Lycans are filthy street thugs who morph into ferocious dog-like monsters. Kate Beckinsale plays the beautiful and fierce vampire warrior Selene who, in hunting the Lycans, discovers that a few of them are tracking a human named Michael (Scott Speedman). In her effort to unravel what role Michael plays in the Lycans’ war plans, she finds out that Michael is a werewolf. Then, somehow, they fall in love, and they begin to seek out an end to the ancient feud together. Sound to you like Romeo and Juliet with monsters? You’d be right, if the movie weren’t so short on character development. Instead of chemistry, you’re wondering why they’re even kissing in the first place. Sadly, most of the actors in the film appear to be trying their darnedest just to act. Shane Brolly, who plays the interim head of vampires named Kraven, seems to think wincing, smirking, and gritting teeth constitutes intensity. It’s outright laughable. Unfortunately, it’s hard to distinguish between what’s bad acting and what’s just extremely bad writing. The dialogue is as a mish mash of Interview with a Vampire and Commando, and the bits of real world chatter you get between action sequences are as lame as what you’d hear in a porn film. Adding to my theory that a goth high-schooler penned this atrocity, the writers throw in gimmicks that they probably thought were really cool, like ultraviolet bullets that glow blue. Ultraviolet bullets? How does that work? How do you get sunlight or ultraviolet radiation inside a glass bullet? It’s just pure nonsense. So, you’re thinking, it’s at least stylish, right? Yes, to a degree; but the art direction is so clichéd that it can’t really boost this bust. Even the fight scenes fall flat; instead of the graceful, awe-inspiring martial arts choreography seen in all the films Underworld imitates, we’re treated to the dull, aimless rattle of random machine-gun fire. And, the only special effects worth noting are the werewolves, which do look pretty scary as they crawl along the walls. Regardless of how badly this film is sure to perform with critics, droves of black-clad youngsters alongside the masses of Matrix lovers will seek this film out, drawn by the promise of rubber outfits, supernatural characters, and all those guns. And they’ll get all of that; but they’ll walk out baffled and annoyed by its story and performances. If you’re feeling tempted, just wait for the rental, and stay home with one of many films Underworld seeks to mimic instead. Review by
Annette Cardwell

How the female vampire's "look" has changed

From the Dracula film in 1931 the overall look of the female vampire has changed, and this may be why the role of the female has changed too. From the image below of the tradinonal look of the female vampire, she looks more vaurnrable and in need of saving. So the auidence are going to see her as more of a weak character. Where as in the film "underworld" the female has taken on the role of the male character. She's in the center of the frame with her head down and most importantly she is dressed all in black, not showing any part of her body and holding two guns. This is a difference in character roles aswell as the change in time.

The role of the female vampire in Dracula 1931

From this image, it's clear to see that Dracula's victims are usually females, and that could be because they are more venerable or becuase Dracula draws females in with his charm. And this is a major difference from the male vampire from Nosferatu.

Images

The first vampire film was Nosferatu a silent German film made in 1922. From this image it is clear to see why it's auidences thought of the character as "Rat like" because of his claws and pose in the picture.

Information found about 'Let the right one in'

Eli is a 12 year old girl, and she has been 12 years old for over 200 years because she is a vampire. Out of the three other films i am focusing on this is the only film with a child as the main female vampire. As Twilight uses teenagers.

Eli moves in next door to a young boy called Oscar, who is constantly bullied at school, but finally finds a friend in Eli. A similar trate between let the right one in and twilight is that both Eli and Edward say that they cannot be friends with Oscar or Bella because they know that vampires and humans cannot be friends, but in both films this is not the case. One other similarity is that both films begain as books, Let the right one in was a novel first.