Film Studies Librarian
Lucinda M. Hall
Contact:
Evans Map Room, Baker-Berry Library
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
(603) 646-0962
Website Skype Contact: d1128r8@kiewit.dartmouth.edu
Other library resource(s)
Horror-comedy from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199791286Horror-comedy is a generic hybrid that deliberately provokes an emotional shift from terror, suspense, or dread to hilarity. In comedy-horror—its relative—a playful tone predominates, but it is undercut by horrific or startling events or effects. Horror-comedy traces its literary antecedents to the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage at least, as well as to gothic fiction and the Grand Guignol, but the particular type or flavor of humor employed by horror-comedy film can range from mordant wit to slapstick or, in the case of splatter-horror-comedy, “splatstick.” The particular type of comedy in horror-comedy tends to emerge cyclically, often following then parodying horror film cycles as they appear, become popular, and wane. ...
Internet resource(s)
- International Vampire Film & Arts FestivalIVFAF brings together vampire creatives from across the World in one cross-industry event – an intense four-day programme of film screenings, performing art, book readings, product launches, Q&As, seminars, workshops, networking events and lots of parties.
- In the Mood for Blood: A Vampire Film ChronologyVampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures. Tales of supernatural beings consuming the blood or flesh of the living have been found in nearly every culture around the world for many centuries.
A quick definition for vampire films inside horror films
A large and heterogeneous group of films that, via the representation of disturbing, violent, and dark subject matter, seek to elicit responses of fear, terror, disgust, shock, suspense, and, of course, horror from their viewers. Horror is a protean genre, spawning numerous subgenres and hybrid variants, including gothic horror, supernatural horror, monster movies, psychological horror, splatter films, slasher films, body horror, comedy horror, serial killer films, and postmodern horror.
The horror film’s antecedents in the European gothic literary tradition and Grand‐Guignol theatre are evident in its archaic settings, its fascination with the supernatural, and its melodramatic narratives. Early examples include L’Auberge ensorcelée/The Bewitched Inn (Georges Méliès, France, 1897), Frankenstein (J. Searle Dawley, US, 1910), and Der Golem/The Golem (Paul Wegener and Henrik Galeen, Germany, 1913). The roots of the genre can be traced back to German Expressionism, which influenced the mise‐en‐scene of Das Kabinett des Dr Caligari/The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920) and Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens/Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (F.W. Murnau, 1922). Influences have also been noted in the Surrealist movement, as seen in films such as La chute de la maison Usher/The Fall of the House of Usher (Jean Epstein, US/France, 1928) (see surrealism). ...
Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2020). Horror film. In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 May. 2023
Getting started in the Library's collections
To find vampire films in the Library's collections, you can click on the subject headings below:
- vampire filmsCall number range PN 1995.9 .V3 on Baker Level 4.
- horror filmsCall number range PN 1995.9 .H6 on Baker Level 4.
Introductory reading(s)
Hollywood gothic: the tangled web of Dracula from novel to stage to screen by Call Number: Baker-Berry PR 6037 .T617 D787 2004ISBN: 9780571211586... In this critically acclaimed excursion through the life of a cultural icon, David Skal maps out the archetypal vampire's relentless trajectory from Victorian literary oddity to movie idol to cultural commodity, digging through the populist veneer to reveal what the prince of darkness says about us all.
The modern vampire and human identity by Call Number: Baker-Berry PR 888 .V3 M63 2013ISBN: 9780230370135Vampires are back - and this time they want to be us, not drain us. This collection considers the recent phenomena of 'Twilight' and 'True Blood,' as well as authors such as Kim Newman and Matt Haig, films such as 'The Breed' and 'Interview with the Vampire,' and television programmes such as 'Being Human' and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'
Screening the undead: vampires and zombies in film and television by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .V3 S37 2014ISBN: 9781848859241The vampire and the zombie, the two most popular incarnations of the undead, are brought together for a forensic critical investigation in Screening the Undead. Both have a long history in popular fiction, film, television, comics and games; the vampire also remains central to popular culture today, from literary 'paranormal romance' to cult TV and movie franchises - by turns romantic, tortured, grotesque, countercultural, a goth icon or lonely outsider. The zombie can shamble or, nowadays, sprint with alarming velocity, and even dance. ...
Selected book title(s)
The lure of the vampire: gender, fiction and fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .V3 W55 2005ISBN: 9781904764403The Lure of the Vampire: Gender, Fiction and Fandom from Bram Stoker to Buffy the Vampire Slayer explores the curiosity and fascination surrounding the enduring myth of Dracula and vampires. Over one hundred years after Bram Stoker's influential novel was published, an interest in vampires is still prevalent in popular culture. This is suggested by the recent popularity of such television shows as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and it's spin-off, Angel. ...
Open graves, open minds: representations of vampires and the undead from the Enlightenment to the present day by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 56 .V3 O64 2013ISBN: 9780719089411Open graves, open minds relates the Undead in literature and other media to questions concerning genre, technology, consumption and social change. ...
The vampire film: from Nosferatu to Twilight by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .V3 U77 2010ISBN: 9780879103804In the thirty-five years since The Vampire Film first appeared, new generations of filmmakers have constantly reinvigorated the genre. After this book's original in-depth introduction to the vampire myth and a review of the all the classic adaptations of Stoker's Dracula and Le Fanu's Carmilla including the narrative and visual traditions developed by Hammer in England and the Baroque stylists in Italy in the 1960s, this newest edition will track the form's evolution from such 1970s reinventions as 'Count Yorga Vampire' and 'Blacula,' 'The Hunger' and 'Vampire's Kiss' in the 80's, 'Interview with a Vampire,' 'Bram Stoker's Dracula,' and the 'Blade' series in the 90's, through '30 Days of Night,' 'I Am Legend' and the 'Twilight' and 'Underworld' series in the first decade of the 21st century. ...
The vampire film: undead cinema by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .V3 W45 2012ISBN: 9780231162012This introductory volume offers an elegant analysis of the enduring appeal of the cinematic vampire. From Georges Méliès' early cinematic experiments to 'Twilight' and 'Let the Right One In,' the history of vampires in cinema can be organized by a handful of governing principles that help make sense of this movie monster's remarkable fecundity. ...
Vampire films of the 1970s: Dracula to Blacula and every fang between by Call Number: Baker-Berry PN 1995.9 .V3 S66 2017ISBN: 9780786497799The 1970s were turbulent times and the films made then reflected the fact. Vampire movies-always a cinema staple-were no exception. Spurred by the worldwide success of Hammer Film's 'Dracula Has Risen from the Grave' (1969), vampire movies filled theaters for the next ten years-from the truly awful to bonafide classics. Audiences took the good with the bad and came back for more. ...
Finding journal titles & articles
Articles and other writings about vampire movies can be found in many publications. We don't have journals that look exclusively at vampire films. However, you can use Film & Television Literature Index to find relevant articles.
Film & television literature index by Call Number: Electronic resourceUse this index to find articles about vampire films.
Web of science citation databases by Call Number: Electronic resourceThe online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.
A selected list of vampire films
Find more vampire films in the collections.
30 days of night by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #16116ISBN: 9781424862368"Barrow, Alaska: northernmost town in the U.S. Isolated in 80 miles of roadless wilderness, cut off every winter for 30 days of night." So says the opening screen. More importantly, the population dwindles from over 500 to 150 souls willing to brave the cold and the seemingly endless night. Charged with protecting the town during its nocturnal period, Sheriff Eben is a man trying to reconnect with his estranged wife Stella, who misses the last plane out before nightfall. As they deal with being thrust together again, a rash of crimes--including the killing of a number of dogs and the destruction of a helicopter--breaks out over the tiny town. As Eben and Stella attempt to solve these crimes, powerful strangers walk into town, seemingly superhuman and with a thirst for blood. The few remaining townsfolk must try to survive the 30 Days of Night.
Fright night (1985) by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #18473ISBN: 9780767817660When a teen-age boy can't get anybody to believe that his neighbor is a vampire, he turns to a TV-horror host, who used to be the "Great Vampire Killer" of the movies.
From dusk till dawn by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #18579The Gecko brothers, two dangerous outlaws on a wild crime spree, kidnap a father and his two kids then head south to a seedy Mexican bar to hide out in safety. But when they face the bar's truly notorious clientele, they're forced to team up with their hostages in order to make it out alive!
A girl walks home alone at night by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #18975The first Iranian Vampire Western ever made. A joyful mash up of genre, archetype, and iconography, its prolific influences span spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films and the Iranian New Wave.
The lost boys by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #1528ISBN: 9780790733517When Sam, Michael, and their mother move to Santa Clara, California, strange things begin to happen. A new twist on the familiar vampire story.
Låt den rätte komma in = Let the right one in by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #12-year-old Oscar is a fragile and bullied boy who finds love and revenge when he meets Eli. Eli is a beautiful but peculiar girl he befriends. She has moved into his building. Oscar does not know that she and her father are vampires. When strange disappearances and murders start happening in the town, suspicions mount from her neighbors and police. Eli must move on to stay alive or stay to help Oscar the only way she knows how.
Nosferatu: a symphony of horror by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #8984Rather than depict Dracula as a shape-shifting monster or debonair gentleman, Murnau's Graf Orlok is a nightmarish, spidery creature with a bulbous head and taloned claws.
Shadow of the vampire by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #9236The German director F.W. Murnau hires Max Schreck, the "ultimate method actor," to play Count Orlock in his vampire masterpiece Nosferatu. In Murnau's quest for realism, the movie is filmed at night in Czechoslovakia and Schreck appears only in character and full makeup. As cast and crew begin to disappear, it seems that Murnau has made a devil's bargain with Schreck, whose performance is too authentic.
Thirst by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #9681Sang-hyun is a priest working for a hospital. He selflessly volunteers for a secret vaccine development project intended to eradicate a deadly virus. However, the virus eventually takes over the priest. He nearly dies, but makes a miraculous recovery after receiving an accidental transfusion of vampire blood. He quickly realizes his sole reason for living involves taking the pleasures of the flesh. He struggles to control his insatiable thirst for blood until a love affair unleashes his darkest desires in deadly new ways.
What we do in the shadows by Call Number: Jones Media DVD #18983Vladislav, Viago, and Deacon are vampires who live here, among us. They are real vampires; undead, immortal creatures who stalk the night and search for human blood, preferably virgins. Witness the many horrid, abominable aspects of vampire life, such as hunting and feeding, vampire rivalry and fighting with werewolves, as well as normal night to night aspects that make them not so different from us like keeping the flat clean, jobs, shopping, meeting people and trying to fit in.
Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature
Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.
You can get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.