(Credit: Netflix)

Since the dawn of time, we have seen vampires reinvent themselves every few years, and we have seen many versions of it in film and TV, from those living in candle-lit castles to throwing shade under neon lights in Los Angeles.

And while zombie flicks and ghost stories come and go, you know “nothing beats a Jet2 holiday”…oh, sorry, we mean vampire movie when you want that mix of blood, angst and gothic romance.

If you check on Netflix, you can literally see a buffet of bloodsuckers indulging in romance or pure fun. What’s fascinating is how each film reimagines the same myth, and while some make you swoon, others make you snort-laugh mid-bite, and together, they show just how far we’ve come from capes and coffins to sunglasses and skateboards.

So, this Halloween season, if you are looking to watch some of the finest vampire movies on Netflix, we have got five fang-tastic suggestions currently ruling the streaming charts.

Five must-watch vampire movies on Netflix

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola, 1992)

Before vampires became pop idols, there was Dracula and the genius of Francis Ford Coppola. His adaptation isn’t merely another retelling of the old legend but a complete theatrical experience dripping with raw emotion. Gary Oldman’s Dracula isn’t just some monster lurking in shadows but someone crushed by centuries of heartbreak, wherein we follow his obsession with Mina, who reminds him of the wife he lost long ago, and that emotional thread makes the horror feel tragic.

Visually, the film is breathtaking. The effects are practical, not punting into the ridiculous, and the costumes and suited to the timeline of the plot. The character of Mina is played by Winona Ryder, who is both victim and echo of Dracula’s lost love, making for a tragic as well as romantic tale of undead yearning.

Day Shift (JJ Perry, 2022)

A century later, vampires are hiding in plain sight, and Jamie Foxx is intent on finding and hunting them down in Day Shift, which follows him as a working-class dad who secretly kills vampires to pay his bills. The film plays it like an action-comedy on steroids, but instead of cobwebs and moonlight, you have blinding sunshine and suburban chaos, which proves that you don’t need the night to make vampires thrilling.

What sets it apart is its unapologetic energy. The fight choreography feels like a dance between blades and bones, and the stunts seem absurdly entertaining, with Snoop Dogg’s cowboy-style hunter the wildcard you never knew you needed.

Night Teeth (Adam Randall, 2021)

When the sun sets on Los Angeles, Night Teeth takes over, and that’s precisely the backdrop against which the story unfolds. The film follows Benny, a young chauffeur who unknowingly drives two vampires across the city for what he thinks is a party run, but as the night turns younger, the glamour reveals itself, and you see a hidden underworld where humans and vampires have struck an uneasy truce.

The charm lies in the style in which the story has been shot, where the city glows like a fever dream. You see shimmering clubs and blood-red lights, colouring Debby Ryan and Lucy Fry, who play the two vampires in the film. Night Teeth isn’t trying to redefine vampire cinema, if that’s what you are thinking, but it is here to show how the genre can thrive in every era.

Vampires vs the Bronx (Oz Rodriguez, 2020)

After all that glitz, Vampires vs the Bronx brings the story back to the streets, and it’s an utter delight to see this iteration of the myth. The plot revolves around a group of kids from the Bronx who discover that the real estate developers buying up their neighbourhood are actually vampires, offering a brilliant twist that turns gentrification into a literal invasion, rendering capitalism the ultimate bloodsucker of the common people.

The movie’s strength lies in the characters who are used to bring this violent dichotomy to life. It is as much about friendship and community as it is about fangs and money-hungry moguls who literally go for the jugular in an attempt to take over. The young cast is delightfully charming, which ensures the film’s social commentary lands without ever feeling heavy-handed.

Hotel Transylvania (Genndy Tartakovsky, 2012)

To wrap up the blood-soaked fun with something light-hearted, Hotel Transylvania is the perfect palate cleanser from all the live-action madness. Dracula, voiced by Adam Sandler, runs a lavish hotel for monsters, offering them a refuge from the human world, but when a clueless human tourist wanders in, this carefully controlled world starts to unravel itself. Then there’s the tiny inter-species love story that blossoms so naturally between the human and Dracula’s daughter, Maeve, which adds a double punch to the delightful tale.

The film is completely filled with manic energy, where Tartakovsky’s animation style keeps every frame full of movement, and the humour works for both kids and adults. It’s impossible that you have not heard about this film, and even if you have watched it before, a Halloween revisit to Transylvania should be branded a holy ritual.