Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsChris DentChris Dent is a Professor in College of Law, Arts and Social Sciences, Murdoch University.Notes1 Other analysis has linked the work of Foucault with vampire movies. Abbott, for example, refers to his notion of the “gaze” (2018, 39). Stephanou refers to Foucault, and genealogy, in her Introduction (2014, 10–11) but does not base her analysis on his theory. The research presented in this article engages with his ideas at a deeper level.2 Dent has suggested the existence of a fourth, digital, family (2020), but he has not found evidence of it impacting on the content of mainstream films (2022, 1602).3 There are, of course, other films in the series; however, these four are the ones analysed for the purpose of this research.4 That said, there are three distinct traditions of vampire tales in Anglophone literature – those in keeping with Bram Stoker”s story, those linked to the earlier tales of Sheridan Le Fanu, and of Polidori. Few films have been direct adaptations of Polidori”s work; however, the lesbian vampires of Le Fanu are evident in movies such as Lust for a Vampire (1970 Lust for a Vampire. 1970. Dir.: Jimmy Sangster; Wr.: Tudor Gates. [Google Scholar]) and Vampyres.5 That does not mean that there was no attention paid to more conventional histories. Bram Stoker”s Dracula opens with the battles with the Ottoman Empire, and Interview with a Vampire has the protagonist engages with the societal shifts since the late eighteenth century.6 As typified in the wide release of Fukuyama (1992 Fukuyama, Francis. 1992. The End of History and the Last Man. New York: Free Press. [Google Scholar]). The point is not the notion of teleology is accepted without question amongst historians and other theorists, but that the culture generally sees itself in positive terms. For example, the ideas of Western liberal democracies are evident in many science-fiction stories, such as those in the various Star Trek movies and television series.7 It is also possible to suggest that the connection to place is indicated by the need for soil means that vampires could never be the mobile, disconnected workers needed by the industrial capitalist system.8 Of course, different groups in society impose different economic norms on their members. Many cannot afford to buy a house; however, that does not mean that they are immune to the cultural messages around financial security and aspirations.9 The connection between sex and vampires is also emphasised in films such as Blood for Dracula (1974 Blood for Dracula. 1974. Dir.: Paul Morrissey; Wr.: Paul Morrissey. [Google Scholar]). In this version, the protagonist needs the blood of virgins to survive and is made unwell from drinking impure blood. The analysis of Moretti is most applicable, perhaps, to Blood for Dracula in that the aristocratic vampire is killed by a working man wielding an axe (and whose lines included calls to revolution). Given that this was an Italian production, it is not to be analysed further here.10 Interestingly, why the vampires in a number of films have the power of hypnosis (for example, both the 1931 and 1979 versions of Dracula and Dark Shadows), they do not use that power to seduce women.11 Further, for Tudor, the “Dracula story has been openly sexualised” (Tudor 1974 Tudor, Andrew. 1974. Image and Influence. London: Routledge. [Google Scholar], 207). Finally, for Moretti, “vampirism is an excellent example of desire and fear” (1983, 100). He was referring to the literary version of Dracula. It is not clear that he would apply this assessment to the monsters of I am Legend, the share house in What We Do in the Shadows or even Count Orlock of The Shadow of the Vampire.12 In a small number of films, the human life of some vampires (that is, before they were turned) is shown. In these, there can be an assumption that they did learn human emotions. In The Addiction, there is little evidence that Kathleen carries those learned practices into her vampire existence. Only the capacity love for family continues in Bram Stoker”s Dracula and Dracula Untold. The whole point of Interview with a Vampire is the humanness of Louis – and so this film is the exception, rather than the rule.13 Auerbach also highlights certain filmic portrayals, notably that of Lugosi, as “alien” (1995 Auerbach, Nina. 1995. Our Vampires, Ourselves. London: University of Chicago Press.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 113).14 There is no indication that the vampire can change form in the later version of Fright Night. In Lifeforce, the aliens are shown in bat form before they are shown as humans – but they do not change form later. It is said that they only look human in order to blend in with their prey.15 Arguably, Blade is not a proper dhampir, as, while his mother was human, his father was not a vampire (his mother was turned just before he was born). Blade, nonetheless, is seen as a hybrid and has the powers of a dhampir.16 There was also Michael Corvin, in the Underworld series. He, however, was a hybrid of vampire and Lycan.17 Twilight also made the top 10 (at 8), but Bella was human.18 It may be arguable that Twilight offers a different perspective – given the emotional connection between Bella and Edward. There is not the space to engage with that series in this article.19 Unlike in ghost stories – see Dent (2022 Dent, Chris. 2022. “Ghosts, Emotions and Audiences: Foucault and Filmic Specters.” Quarterly Review of Film and Video 39 (7): 1590.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], 1607–1609).20 It is also possible that writer-directors also had a role in the development of the vampire genre. There were relatively few of those in the sample – Holland had that role in the original Fright Night (which could explain its suburban setting), Goyer was writer-director for Blade Trinity (after his role as writer for the first two). Since 2009, there was Stefaniuk”s Suck, the Spiering brothers” Daybreakers, Jarmusch”s Only Lovers Left Alive and Clement and Waititi”s What We do in the Shadows. These four films do play with the boundaries of the genre; however, their impact on subsequent films may still be dwarfed by the monolithic Twilight series.21 With respect to the makers of Blade, Norrington was born in 1964 and David Goyer in 1965; with respect to From Dusk till Dawn, Quentin Tarantino was born in 1962 and Robert Rodriguez in 1968.22 Though, of course, much of genre theory does focus on meaning – for example, for Tudor, “genres are patterns of meaning” (1974, 213).