History OurVampiresAreDifferent / Film

* George A. Romero's movie ''Martin'' features a main character who so grossly avoids every major Vampire-related trope, that there is some debate whether he actually is a vampire, or just a very disturbed boy. Specifically: he occasionally drinks blood but he admits that it's not necessary in order to keep him alive, he can go outside during the day with no ill consequences, and he has has no apparent supernatural abilities (except that he claims to be [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld several hundred years old]]).

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Their unchanging nature is exemplified when their hair is cut: it immediately grows back to the way it was at the time they were turned. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. All the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like wooden stakes through the heart, holy symbols, crosses, holy water, garlic, silver, etc are dismissed by one vampire as "nonsense", implying that they have no vulnerability to them. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampire survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. They can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires like Lestat appear to be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood). Vampires in the film are extremely rare and seem to be unable to endure immortality for long, the oldest one being merely 400 years old.

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Their unchanging nature is exemplified when their hair is cut: it immediately grows back to the way it was at the time they were turned. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. All the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like wooden stakes through the heart, holy symbols, crosses, holy water, garlic, silver, etc are dismissed by one vampire as "nonsense", implying that they have no vulnerability to them. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampire survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. They can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires like Lestat appear to be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood).

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Their unchanging nature is exemplified when their hair is cut: it immediately grows back to the way it was at the time they were turned. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. All the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like wooden stakes through the heart, holy symbols, crosses, holy water, garlic, silver, etc are dismissed by one vampire as "nonsense", implying that they have no vulnerability to them. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampire survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. They can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires may be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood).

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Their unchanging nature is exemplified when their hair is cut: it immediately grows back to the way it was at the time they were turned. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. All the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like holy symbols, crosses, holy water, garlic, silver, etc are dismissed by one vampire as "nonsense", implying that they have no vulnerability to them. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampire survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. They can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires may be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood).

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Their unchanging nature is exemplified when their hair is cut: it immediately grows back to the way it was at the time they were turned. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. All the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like holy symbols, crosses, holy water, garlic, silver, etc are dismissed by one vampire as "nonsense", implying that they have no vulnerability to them. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampire survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. Interestingly, they can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires may be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood).

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. All the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like holy symbols, crosses, holy water, garlic, silver, etc are dismissed by one vampire as "nonsense", implying that they have no vulnerability to them. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampire survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. Interestingly, they can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires may be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood).

* ''ShadowOfTheVampire'' has an interesting take on the shadow-film-reflection triad. Vampires don't reflect, but they ''do'' cast shadows (as per the original ''{{Film/Nosferatu}}'') -- and, of course, they ''can'' be caught on camera. The title may (as well as being a quote from ''Nosferatu'') constitute LampshadeHanging. Also, vampires are shown to be twisted disgusting creatures, taking on ratlike features. Despite their shrivelled withered appearance, they are still much stronger than humans. They may even age (albeit slowly) and one shows signs of senility, or at least a general loss of memory of events in his distant past. The one we see also needs to feed constantly and enormously, and is unable to create more vampires.

* ''ShadowOfTheVampire'' has an interesting take on the shadow-film-reflection triad. Vampires don't reflect, but they ''do'' cast shadows (as per the original ''{{Film/Nosferatu}}'') -- and, of course, they ''can'' be caught on camera. The title may (as well as being a quote from ''Nosferatu'') constitute LampshadeHanging. Also, vampires are shown to be twisted disgusting creatures and may even age, albeit slowly. The one we see needs to feed constantly and enormously, and is also unable to create more vampires.

* ''ShadowOfTheVampire'' has an interesting take on the shadow-film-reflection triad. Vampires don't reflect, but they ''do'' cast shadows (as per the original ''{{Film/Nosferatu}}'') -- and, of course, they ''can'' be caught on camera. The title may (as well as being a quote from ''Nosferatu'') constitute LampshadeHanging.

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. They are not vulnerable to all the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like holy symbols, crosses, holy water, silver, etc. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampire survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. Interestingly, they can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires may be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood).

* In ''InterviewWithTheVampire'', vampires have super strength and speed (so fast that humans cannot even see them move) which increases as they age with no defined limit. They also have other powers like mind-reading and walking on walls, but such abilities vary from vampire to vampire. They can't transform into animals like bats or wolves, but one of them is shown to be able to fly (or at least [[PowerFloats levitate]]). They don't spread "the dark gift" purely by biting; they have to mix their blood with the victim, a la Dracula. They stop aging when they are turned, making [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld ancient child]] vampires possible, and forbidden to create. Interestingly, they do cast reflections. They are not vulnerable to all the "traditional" methods of dealing with vampires like holy symbols, crosses, holy water, silver, etc. Sunlight still burns them to a crisp and it is shown that decapitation or [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe bisection]] will kill them, but it seems that only another vampire has the strength and speed to kill one. Fire will also (eventually) kill them but not always, depending on how quickly they act to put out the flames. They require copious amounts of blood every night to survive, with humans as their largest supply. They can [[VegetarianVampires survive on animals]], but that diet only keeps them just above starvation. Interestingly, they can only consume "live" blood, coming from victims whose hearts are still beating. Consuming "dead" blood from a corpse will weaken them considerably, if not outright kill them (older vampires may be strong enough to survive the consumption of dead blood).

* {{The Breed}} had vampires that were essentially a genetic offshoot of humans. They had kept hidden from humans by inventing a synthetic blood substitute. They could go out in the sun but wore glasses because it hurt their eyes. They were affected by silver and fire, but not holy objects or garlic. And not every human in their world could be turned, a number were immune. They did have enhanced strength and senses.

* ''Dracula II: Ascension'' (sequel to {{Dracula 2000}}) not only features a rare on-screen portrayal of vampire OCD but a subversion. Specifically, the protagonist tries to slow down Dracula by bursting a bag of mustard seeds in his general direction. Unfortunately, this version of Dracula is a [[BulletTime bullet]]-[[SuperSpeed timer]] and counts them all in mid-air. Could be considered NightmareFuel too.

* In ''{{Blade}}'', the title character is the son of a woman who was bitten by a vampire and went into labour. He's [[CursedWithAwesome inhumanly strong, fast, and tough; he can stand sunlight, silver, and garlic]]; and he craves blood (which he avoids by using a serum, though at least once per film he drank blood and got "supercharged"). The vampires fear him because he hunts them down; in the second film, they want him so they can figure out his immunities and create vampires with them.

** In ''Blade II'', a new breed of vampire referred to as the "Reaper" strain appears, which is resistant to silver, anti-coagulants and garlic, have a bone layer that prevents staking in the heart directly (a stake has to go through the armpit to reach the heart), and is only vulnerable to UV light. However, they have an insatiable desire for blood, both for regular vampires and mortals. At the climax of the movie, [[spoiler: it is revealed the Reapers were created by the vampires in an effort to develop a new strain that had none of their traditional weaknesses, but got ''way'' out of hand.]]
** In ''Blade III'' we get the progenitor Drake who has no bones which gives him shapeshifting abilities but appears to be inspired by Bulgarian myths which had vampires able to squeeze into places [[TheXFiles Eugene Tooms-like]].

* ''NearDark'' featured Adrian Pasdar as one of a band of vampires who feed on blood, catch fire in direct sunlight, and can be cured with a blood transfusion.
* Vampires in ''TheLostBoys'' are vulnerable to holy water, and have variable amount of vulnerability to sunlight. Some of them venture into the daylight wearing sunglasses, but sunlight causes Kiefer Sutherland's hand to burst into flames. Humans turned into vampires by drinking the blood of another vampire don't become fully vampiric until after feeding on a human. The curse can be reversed before this happens if the head vampire is killed. Anything that can be used to destroy the heart of a vampire will kill it, and leave a mess. Vamps don't need an invitation to enter a home, but if you do invite one it, you'll be unable to exploit any of its weaknesses to expose its true nature. In addition to such superpowers as strength and flight, vampires can [[FlightStrengthHeart make people percieve Chinese food as being made of worms and maggots.]]

* The movie ''FrightNight'' also played with this trope.
** As does the [[FrightNight2011 remake]]. Vampires can definately be killed by sunlight and a stake to the heart. Fire hurts like hell, and persumerly will kill them. Beheading might work, but unlike most vampires, cutting off their head is just as diffecult as it would a normal person (i.e. bone is hard to cut through). Vampires are hurt by holy water, but not silver. Crosses hurt, but appear to be overcome easily. They can't shapeshift, which is different from the original. Plus [[spoiler: there is a special stake blessed by St. Michael that cures all the vampires created by a vampire killed by it]].

* 1983's ''Film/TheHunger'', another film that avoids the V-word, has Miriam (Catherine Deneuve), whose memories stretch back to ancient Egypt. She slashes her victims' throats with a blade hidden in an ankh pendant to feed once a week. A human turned by her via an exchange of blood -- in essence, an infection in which her blood strain overtakes theirs -- will become her immortal lover and feed the same way. No traditional weaknesses are brought into play, but the catch is that while ''she'' has eternal youth and beauty, her lovers are doomed to decay after about 300 years. As the film opens this fate is besetting her current lover John (DavidBowie). In just a few hours he horribly ages, and with nothing left to be done for him, she places him in a coffin that she sets alongside those of her past lovers. [[Main/AndIMustScream They're all still alive...]]

* ''Dracula II: Ascension'' (sequel to Dracula2000) not only features a rare on-screen portrayal of vampire OCD but a subversion. Specifically, the protagonist tries to slow down Dracula by bursting a bag of mustard seeds in his general direction. Unfortunately, this version of Dracula is a [[BulletTime bullet]]-[[SuperSpeed timer]] and counts them all in mid-air. Could be considered NightmareFuel too.

* ''Once Bitten'' has a female vampire that requires the blood of a virgin to look beautiful/stay young. This one bites her victims on the inner thigh, not the neck.

* In the movie version of ''30 Days of Night'', the vampires, though still snappy dressers, have pale skin, completely black eyes, sharp fingernails, and shark-like teeth. They tear their victims' throats out to drink blood, and they behead them so they don't turn (they don't want the competition for food). The vampires are also vulnerable to UV rays (a UV lamp does considerable damage to one), and beheading is also an effective way to kill them. Though they can speak, most just hiss and shriek. These vampires are very clever and vicious, and are essentially walking sharks.

* Vampires in the LucyLiu film ''Rise: Blood Hunter'' are almost indistinguishable from humans physically--they don't even have fangs, which makes feeding very messy. (They tend to slash throats with a blade if possible, but at one point Sadie has to chew through a victim's skin.) Their biological functions are less than clear--one minion of a vampire tries to suffocate Sadie with a plastic bag, and seems to be succeeding. (Also you'd think he'd know better if it didn't work.) However, getting shot has little effect except pain, and Sadie survives a fall from a bridge into traffic, though she's beaten up very badly. Vampires have a powerful sense of smell, and seem to be a little stronger and faster than humans, but not very much so; they can't break handcuffs, and it takes several blows to break a locked door. They die from crossbow bolts (presumably wooden) to the heart [[spoiler: except Sadie, who survives one.]]

* In ''Rockula'', vampires are immune to crosses and garlic (much to the consternation of Stanley, who's trying to prove his romantic rival Ralph is one). If Ralph and his mom are typical appearance-wise, they're indistinguishable from humans aside from tell-tale fangs (which no one seems to notice). Daylight is a problem, but due to RuleOfFunny it turns out it's easily circumvented with sun block. Not only does Ralph have a reflection, but it talks back to him, although it's unclear if that's supposed to be true of all vampires. Also, when he tries to turn into a bat [[CrowningMomentOfFunny he becomes a chubby, toddler-sized bat/human hybrid]], but the implication seems to be that he's ''supposed'' to be able to fully turn into a bat and he's just not very good at it.

* In the ''{{Underworld}}'' series, vampires are the result of one of the sons of the first immortal having been bitten by a bat, which somehow caused the immortality virus in him to mutate into a vampiric one. Vampires have great strength and speed, as well as hightened senses. They need blood to survive and will actually die if they ingest normal food. It is interesting to note that one of the vampire's leaders, the Elder Viktor, has passed a law that vampires are forbidden from drinking human blood (a rule which he himself routinely violated) to avoid antagonizing mortals. The vampires' only weakness is sunlight (specifically, UV rays), which have been weaponized by their enemies, the [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent lycans]] ([[spoiler:it is revealed in the second film that the UV rounds were designed by an exiled vampire historian in exchange for a comfortable life and protection]]). All immortals have an interesting trait that allows them to [[GeneticMemory experience memories transferred by blood]]. A vampire's (or lycan's) bite transfers the virus into the victim's bloodstream. Best-case scenario is the human turning into a vampire. Worst-case (happens most of the time) is the human dies an agonizing death within minutes of being bitten (the virus did evolve from a deadly plague). Vampires are not considered to be undead, as they are able to have children, even with lycans (although this is expressly forbidden by vampire law, so just guess what happens...).

* 1983's ''The Hunger'', another film that avoids the V-word, has Miriam (Catherine Deneuve), whose memories stretch back to ancient Egypt. She slashes her victims' throats with a blade hidden in an ankh pendant to feed once a week. A human turned by her via an exchange of blood -- in essence, an infection in which her blood strain overtakes theirs -- will become her immortal lover and feed the same way. No traditional weaknesses are brought into play, but the catch is that while ''she'' has eternal youth and beauty, her lovers are doomed to decay after about 300 years. As the film opens this fate is besetting her current lover John (DavidBowie). In just a few hours he horribly ages, and with nothing left to be done for him, she places him in a coffin that she sets alongside those of her past lovers. [[Main/AndIMustScream They're all still alive...]]

** The vampires themselves are the result of a biological retrovirus that alters the body of someone who has been infected. They have certain weaknesses, and are resistant to injury from anything that doesn't involve their weaknesses (i.e. gunfire at best causes pain but doesn't cause serious injury). On the other hand, they are extremely vulnerable to their weaknesses.

* In JesusFranco's [[YourMileageMayVary incredible]] ''Les Avaleuses/Female Vampire'', Countess Irina sucks her victims' lifeforce out through their sexual organs at the moment of ecstasy. No, it's not a porn film. Per se. And it really [[IncrediblyLamePun sucks to be her]], because she has trouble maintaining a relationship.

* {{The Breed}} had vampires that had kept hidden from humans by inventing a synthetic blood substitute. They could go out in the sun but wore glasses because it hurt their eyes. They were affected by silver and fire, but not holy objects or garlic. And not every human in their world could be turned, a number were immune.

* The 1973 {{Blaxploitation}}/horror film ''Ganja & Hess'' involves an archaeologist (played by Duane Jones, of ''NightOfTheLivingDead'' fame) who develops vampirism after getting stabbed with an ancient sacrificial knife at a dig.

* The 1973 {{Blaxploitation}}/horror film ''Ganja & Hess'' involves an archaeologist (played by Duane Jones, of ''NightOfTheLivingDead'' fame) who develops vampirism after getting stabbed with an ancient knife at a dig.

* In the Japanese film ''{{Goke Body Snatcher From Hell}}'', people are turned into vampires by alien possession.

* ''Shadow of the Vampire'' has an interesting take on the shadow-film-reflection triad. Vampires don't reflect, but they ''do'' cast shadows (as per the original ''{{Film/Nosferatu}}'') -- and, of course, they ''can'' be caught on camera. The title may (as well as being a quote from ''Nosferatu'') constitute LampshadeHanging.

* In ''John Carpenter's Vampires'', vampires have most of the usual weaknesses, however the original vampire, Jan Valek, is immune to silver bullets and garlic. In fact, the only thing that can harm him is the original cross from which he was crucified. His vampire minions can see through his eyes, and he's strong enough to decapitate a man with his bare hands.

* In the film version of ''{{Priest}}'', vampires are a separate species from humanity, eyeless bat-like creatures that also have insect attributes (in that they have hives and [[HiveQueen queens]]). They also have Familiars, humans who have been infected with vampire blood and end up [[LooksLikeOrlock looking a bit like Orlock]], and are still able to go out in the sunlight, but aren't otherwise any different than regular humans. That's the closest humans ever come to being vampires themselves [[spoiler: until [[TheDragon Black Hat]] is turned by the blood of the Vampire Queen herself. He remains immune to sunlight, but gains the vampires' immense strength.]]