The original Dracula film came out in 1931, a year after the Hays Code was put in place. Believe it or not, vampires were not always sexy (although sexuality was part of the mix as early as Carmilla). Vampires, on the other hand, are the biggest self-promoters around: They can’t stop talking about themselves.Īnother factor is changing censorship rules. But zombies can’t talk, so they can’t haughtily explain to you why they’re not like all the other zombies. Sometimes zombies are fast, sometimes they’re slow, and it always seems to take a different tactic to kill them. These expository scenes are also common because vampires are so darn chatty. “If the humans thought they couldn’t see us in a mirror,” explains vampire Bill, “it was another way for us to prove we weren’t vampires.” Plus, tweaking the rules is part of the appeal of genre fiction-authors have a template to play with, so every minor variation they make becomes loaded with meaning. True Blood also has a smart twist on the myth-busting trope: The vampires started the myths themselves. He therefore injects vampire blood into his veins so he can fight them off and save his wife. For example (spoiler alert!), in 30 Days of Night, Josh Hartnett notices that once bitten, victims become vampires right away-but they don’t become evil vampires for a few hours.
Variations on the vampire rules also make for some clever plot twists. These days, you’ll see vampires slapping crosses out of the way more often than shrinking in fear. You planned to kill him with that little piece of sharpened wood? Good luck. You thought garlic was going to ward off the boss vampire? Sorry. Upending conventions lets you surprise the audience. For one thing, rewriting the rules is just good storytelling.
The modern reworkings of the genre are traceable to a few different factors.