Well there are many kinds of vampire:
- blood sucking
- youth draining
- life force eating
- flesh eating
All the others are a valid form of vampire, but in my head it's all about the drinking the blood of young virgins :). If they're not sucking on an artery then they might be a kind of vampire, but they're not a Vampire with a capital V. Blood drinking monsters or misunderstood angst bunnies swigging it from the bag, I don't really care, as long as they're drinking it.
Which draws me to my next point: fangs. I did love it in Blade when to humiliate the vampire leader before killing him they removed his fangs because I'm so there. I really, really dislike it when books or movies defang their vampires. It's that extra edge of the predator; that thing that takes the person from human to something not human that I adore. I'm really not overly interested in the human who now just seems to have an aversion to sunlight and an interest in razors and cutting people's throats. I'm in this genre for the supernatural.
Give me fangs every time and if you throw in glowing eyes I'll be your friend forever :).
I really don't like my vampires too human and that's not to say they don't have human emotions. I can go either way with that, cold hearted killer who looks on humans as cattle, or the vampire who desperately desires to share human life again, or anything in between.
- They can live in a castle or in a terrace in Bristol, don't care, I just want them to be supernatural and show it from time to time.
- They can be day walkers or combust at the first touch of sun; totally not bothered.
- They can need blood nightly, killing a swathe across a country, or just require a nibble on a willing victim every few days; doesn't bother me either way.
- Crosses can cause them the flinch or laugh at the ridiculousness; really don't give two hoots.
Take away the fangs and I'm suddenly all meh about it. My brain works like this:
NO FANGS = NOT A REAL VAMPIRE
A book or film has to do a hell of a lot to make up for that one point and I know it's ridiculous, but I can't help it.
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| Fangs maketh the vampire! |
Generally, I'm pro-fang, but you can still make a great vampire story without them, as in the film 'The Hunger' starring Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie. They're fangless vampires who cut their victims with a ceremonial blade, and it works for them.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite idea is the 'True Blood' one, with the retractable fangs.
I have never been overly fond of "The Hunger" (which I know is sacrilege since it's a classic ;)) I find it ponderous and I've never actually made it to the end. I suppose I should try it again.
DeleteWhen it comes to fangs, retractable or constant, I'm easy :D as long as they're pointy ::g::.