14 best vampire horror movies to watch on Netflix and beyond

From movies like Morbius and the upcoming Netflix vampire hunter film Day Shift starring Jamie Foxx to shows like What We Do in the Shadows and First Kill to the breakout success of games like V Rising and Vampire Survivors, vampire fever has slowly but surely swept across all facets of media in 2022. The popularity of vampire fiction has been a perennial as its immortal, nocturnal stars, but with the recent boon of vampire-related stories coming out this year, we thought it best to bring together a list of some of the best vampire movies to stream on Netflix, HBO Max, and more.

With foundational works like F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr, popular modern classics like Only Lovers Left Alive, Cronos, and Blade, and more outlandish works like The Lost Boys and Planet of the Vampires, film has a vamp for everyone. Without further ado, here are the 14 best vampire films to stream right now.

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30 Days of Night

Based on Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith’s comic series, 30 Days of Night follows the denizens of an Alaskan town as they’re hunted by a ravenous pack of vampires, who luxuriate in a spot plunged into darkness every winter for over a month. With the town’s power cut off and no access to the outside world, the survivors must find a way to fend off their would-be predators until daylight returns. Danny Huston shines as Marlow, the regal and relentless leader of the vampires, as does Josh Hartnett in his starring role as Sheriff Eben Oleson. —Toussaint Egan

30 Days of Night is available to stream on Tubi.

The Addiction

Abel Ferrara’s The Addiction easily ranks as one of the stranger inclusions on this list, and considering some of the titles featured, that’s quite an accomplishment. The film centers on Kathleen (Lili Taylor), a doctoral philosophy student who finds herself transformed into a blood-starved temptress after being attacked by a woman while walking home at night. Grappling with reality of her strange new condition, Kathleen fatalistically muses on the words of George Santayana, Jean-Paul Sartre, and more as she stalks and lures in new victims to chow down on.

As one could probably guess from the title, The Addiction functions as an allegory on the nature of addiction and the fallibility of human nature while also fitting in a few nods to the fear surrounding the AIDS epidemic. It’s a weird, unabashedly avant-garde take on vampire horror, not the least of which for its eclectic soundtrack featuring the likes of Cypress Hill and Schooly D and a standout performance by Christopher Walken as an elder vampire who has found a way to control his thirst. Come for the bloodsucking, stay for The Sopranos cameos. —TE

The Addiction is available to stream on Shudder.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is a vampire story set in Iran and featuring a strong arthouse vibe tinged with a spaghetti Western influence. The eponymous titular (Sheila Vand) is a chador-wearing, skateboarding vampire, in some moments very modern, at others a throwback to old-school Nosferatu-style creeps. Writer-director Ana Lily Amirpour’s signature genre-blending style is visible in every choice, from costume to staging to music. Lush despite being in black and white, each frame is carefully staged to suck you in and keep you engaged, even with long stretches without dialogue. There is no other horror movie like this movie. —Jenna Stoeber

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is available to stream on Shudder and Pluto TV with ads.

The Batman vs. Dracula

Looking for a much sillier vampire story? Try one of the many ludicrous Batman crossovers, the charming The Batman vs. Dracula. One of our picks for the best animated Batman movies, this is a silly good time in Gotham where the Penguin accidentally wakes up Dracula (voiced by Peter Stormare) and causes Bat-versus-Bat chaos. As I wrote in the list linked above:

If you find the fact that Dracula goes by “Dr. Alucard” as his human alter-ego charming, and you’re excited by the prospect of Batman punching a vampire Joker with garlic knuckles, you will have a good time with this one.

If you are not charmed or excited by either of those things, good news: Literally none of the other movies on this list are anything like The Batman vs. Dracula. —Pete Volk

The Batman vs. Dracula is available to stream on HBO Max.

Blade

Wesley Snipes’ career-defining turn as the half-vampire, half-human vampire slayer Blade is not only the progenitor to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe; it’s just a damn good vampire movie in its own right. With a iconic opening scene set in an underground vampire blood rave, pulse-pounding action sequences, and Snipes’ witheringly funny and charismatic screen presence, the original Blade stands the test of time as a bona fide vampire movie classic. —TE

Blade is available to stream on HBO Max.

Cronos

Guillermo del Toro’s 1993 directorial debut Cronos set the tone for the type of macabre and fantastical films that would go one to become his signature, and it remains a fascinating horror fable all its own. When elderly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) is injured while unearthing a golden scarab-like device forged by a mysterious alchemist, he finds himself inexplicably endowed with both newfound youth and a terrifying new thirst. As Gris’ dependence on the rejuvenating properties of the device morphs into an addiction, he finds himself hounded by a wealthy, dying businessman (Claudio Brook) and his thuggish nephew (Ron Perlman), who lust after its powers for themselves. An inventive twist on the classic vampire formula with a melancholic finale, Cronos is a must-watch for any avid fan of del Toro or vampire horror. —TE

Cronos is available to stream on HBO Max and Criterion Channel.

From Dusk till Dawn

Robert Rodriguez’s career can be neatly split into R-rated action and horror movies and kid-friendly action-comedy fare (there’s a new Spy Kids coming to Netflix, by the way). From Dusk till Dawn is squarely in the former category, and its inclusion on this list is kind of a spoiler, I guess?

George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino are bank robbers on the run who kidnap a family as hostages in their plans to escape. When they stop at a saloon, an ensuing bar fight reveals that they are surrounded by vampires.

A raunchy and bloody time, your mileage for this one may depend on your patience for on-screen Quentin Tarantino playing an extremely sadistic character. —PV

From Dusk till Dawn is available to stream on HBO Max.

Interview with the Vampire

Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise star in Interview with the Vampire as Louis de Pointe du Lac, an 18th-century vampire weary of his immortal life of loneliness and hunger, and Lestat de Lioncourt, the elder vampire who sires him. Relating his life story to a reporter with his own personal agenda, Louis recounts the long decades of love, betrayal, and death that have plagued his existence, from the adoption and siring of a young vampire named Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) to Lestat and Louis’ dramatic (and deadly) falling out. Dark, erotic, and entertaining, both Anne Rice’s original novel and the film rejuvenated the subgenre of vampire horror fiction and spawned a generation of countless imitations in its likeness. —TE

Interview with the Vampire is available to stream on Paramount Plus.

The Lost Boys

Joel Schumacher’s campy cult classic vampire comedy The Lost Boys centers on Michael (Jason Patric) and Sam (Corey Haim), two brothers who move with their recently divorced mother to Santa Carla, California, to live with their eccentric grandfather. The city has been dubbed the “murder capital of the world, and both Michael and Sam find themselves drawn to the dark truth behind the nickname when they separately cross paths with gang of vampires who prey on the town’s denizens, led by the villainous David (Kiefer Sutherland). Essentially The Goonies with vampires instead of a treasure hunt, The Lost Boys is a schlocky and stylish horror comedy worth watching if only for Corey Feldman’s strange, Rambo-esque line delivery alone. —TE

The Lost Boys is available to stream on Showtime.

Nosferatu

No list of vampire horror cinema is complete without F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu, which turns 100 years old in 2022. An unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the 1922 silent horror film follows Count Orlok, a terrifying and formidable vampire who sets his sights on the wife of an estate agent who visits his home of Transylvania on business. Max Schreck’s performance as Orlok is iconic, a gaunt and looming specter of supernatural malice whose visage has been replicated and parodied in everything from Buffy The Vampire Slayer to 2014’s What We Do in the Shadows. Widely acknowledged as the first vampire feature, Nosferatu is an essential touchstone for any would-be horror aficionado. —TE

Nosferatu is available to stream on Shudder and Tubi with ads.

Let the Right One In

Adapted from John Ajvide Lindqvist’s 2004 novel of the same name and later readapted in Matt Reeves’ 2010 film Let Me In, Tomas Alfredson’s 2008 romantic horror drama Let the Right One In follows Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), a lonely 12-year-old boy in Stockholm who befriends his next-door neighbor, Eli (Lina Leandersson), only to discover that they are in fact a vampire. Somber, gruesome, and beautifully shot, Let the Right One In’s reputation as a modern horror classic has only continued to endure in the years since it was first released. —TE

Let the Right One In is available to stream on Hulu.

Only Lovers Left Alive

A vampire romance from Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man, Broken Flowers), Only Lovers is one of the more laid-back entries on this list. Featuring a stellar cast, with Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska, Anton Yelchin, Jeffrey Wright, and John Hurt (as Christopher Marlowe), it received critical raves on its release in 2013 and was nominated for the Palme d’Or.

A more dramatic look at the “vampires in the modern world” subject matter touched on comedically by What We Do in the Shadows, Only Lovers sees lovers Eve (Swinton) and Adam (Hiddleston) dealing with the realities of modern life. Much human blood has been contaminated by [gestures at the state of the world], leaving a healthy supply for vampires in jeopardy. Jarmusch’s sensitive camera and the effortless charisma of the stars makes this one to remember. —PV

Only Lovers Left Alive is available to stream on HBO Max.

Planet of the Vampires

Mario Bava, often dubbed the “Master of Italian Horror,” made many iconic low-budget genre movies, including the legendary Black Sunday and the heist movie Danger: Diabolik. But what vampire movie list would be complete without his sci-fi horror movie Planet of the Vampires?

Made on a budget of about $200,000, Planet of the Vampires follows a crew of space explorers who crash land on… well, you know. It hits just about every conceivable aesthetic note you would want from such a venture. Bava claimed the set of the planet was composed of two plastic rocks and a set filled with smoke, which is simply remarkable when you consider how tangible the planet feels. —PV

Planet of the Vampires is available to stream on Prime Video and Paramount Plus.

Vampyr

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Vampyr is heavier on atmospheric visual effects than the popular tropes, violence, or sensuality one would otherwise expect from a vampire movie. The 1932 film centers on Allan Gray (Nicolas de Gunzburg, under the stage name “Julian West”), an obsessive student of the occult who ventures into the secluded village of Courtempierre only to discover the town is under the malevolent sway of a vampire’s curse. Vampyr doesn’t have much in the way of spoken dialogue, instead relying on inventive chiaroscuro lighting tricks and an eerie score by Wolfgang Zeller. If you’re looking for a vampire film that combines the horrific, the fantastical, and the tragic into an evocative and memorable experience, Vampyr ranks among the genre’s best. —TE

Vampyr is available to stream on HBO Max and Criterion Channel.