Literature Review

Literature Review

During the long history of the development of world’s films, vampire film as a fresh and fancy type of film always attracts much attention and becoming more and more popular in the modern days. Such as the latest famous vampire film The Twilight Saga adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s novel, which draws the numerous audiences and achieves great success. However, with time goes by, to keep pace with new era and audience, the vampire films today are much different from the early ones, not only in the film styles, but also the different representations of vampire character in the films. This review is to synthesize and analyze different literatures writing about the changes of vampire character in different periods’ vampire films from Nosferatu in 1922 to The Twilight Saga at present.

First of all, there is a general idea that the vampire as a horrible, evil, and violent figure in the early vampire films has changed into a more humanized, emotional, and charming role with the development of vampire film. From Bryce’s thesis “Surviving the change: The domestication of the vampire in literature, film, and television”, it indicates that “the vampire once fit nicely under the heading of horror in which the 'unknown'… Vampires represented the evils in the world and needed to be smited in order for the world to return to 'normal'” (Bryce26). And by examining vampires thematically, we can see the transformations and domestication. Vampires can be categorized as “monstrous, melancholic, feminine, and humanized” (Bryce26) in different period of vampire film.

In Pullinger’s thesis "Re-Creating the Vampire Myth", the vampire figure in Nosferatu in 1922 is dreadful, and the film as a horror genre expresses “the fear of death, fear of illness, horror of the body, of the corpse” (Pullinger12). And in the article "Bram Stoker's Dracula", as the author states, although the vampire Dracula is still as a frightening character, its image is enriched with the emphasis of love in the film: “his taste for humanity has grown bold with desire. Touching that humanity, and having lost his own, this is a chronicle of damnation and redemption, of horror and romantic passion, of renunciation and sacrifice.” The cruel vampire becomes more emotional with a pitiful side for his pursuit of true love. In addition, in the film Interview with the Vampire in 1994, the vampire character seems has a bigger change which is an innovation that subverts the old evil image of vampire from the dark Gothic works. The protagonist Louis is even a positive character who is kind and more humanized. From the thesis “Blood Relations: The Gothic Perversion of the Nuclear Family in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire”, Benefiel indicates that throughout the film Interview with the Vampire, the vampire “preyed with impunity, they gave themselves over to introspection, and they sought and found an entire subculture based on their own peculiar existence. They existed in a different world, and the old models no longer applied” (Benefiel264). Then in Backstein’s article “(Un)safe Sex: Romancing the Vampire”, it discusses the appeal of vampire films to 21st century audiences and its change made. As the author claims, “in Victorian vampire stories, such as "Dracula," the heroines were vulnerable and met misfortune when they succumbed to the seduction of dangerous men. Modern vampires, however, work to control their impulses so as not to harm the heroine, who is strong, resourceful and smart” (Backstein39). The author also uses the film "Twilight" as an example, the vampire Edward in this film is a totally positive and popular role. Except the charming appearance, the vampire character is humanized and emotional, he controls his desire and protects human.

However, there is a different opinion about the change of vampire character from violence to romance. Oakley indicates the interconnection of violence and romance in the modern vampire film the Twilight Saga. From the thesis “‘I Could Kill You Quite Easily, Bella, Simply by Accident.’: Violence and Romance in Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" Saga”, Oakley argues the elements of rape and sexual violence in the film “due to its valorization of romantic relationships that are psychologically abusive, violent, and ultimately destructive.” She also finds that “the romantic developments between Bella and Edward are depicted as violent and dangerous affairs that ignore consent, and rely on implied threats of psychical violence to control Bella” (Oakley38). Therefore, in author’s opinion, the feature the vampire is represented in modern vampire film not simply romance, but also involves violent elements.

Moreover, some of the literatures also explore what the changes and different representations of vampire character reflect. In Morrison’s thesis “Metamorphoses of the vampire in literature and film: cultural transformations in Europe, 1732-1933”, it states that the vampire film reflects the social condition during that time as it states that “the vampire as a distinctly European figure that has allowed writers to express their anxieties over a range of political, economic, and social changes occurring since the 18th century” (Morrison72). And from Pullinger’s article "Re-Creating the Vampire Myth”, the representation of vampire character in 18th and 19th centuries is influenced by the sexual culture, social expectations of the freedom of sexual expression, and also about “politics and class -- the creature is often a foreign invading power, typically aristocratic” (Pullinger14). In addition, in the thesis “From demon to daimon: A mythic and depth psychological analysis of the American hero vampire”, Pierce examines the different image of vampire as a superhero to suggest that it reflects American psyche, and the new idea of heroism in American culture which is about “moving from self-loathing to wholeness, from isolation to relatedness, and from merely wielding a sword to applying the imagination to uncover new ways of being” (Pierce21).

To conclude, the literatures for this research provide various perspectives and analyses of the change of vampire character basing on four vampire films in different time period: Nosferatu, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, and The Twilight Saga. For the further research, I am going to analyze the changes of vampire image in more specific aspects of appearance, desire, emotion, and human relationship. Also, my future research will explore what these changes mean related to audience and society.