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I am writing this down less as a formal post but more as a way to put some of my ideas out there and hopefully get some recommendations based off of my findings. I have seen a majority of the films that I have found from this era, what some consider the Golden Age of Hollywood and into the rise of International film, and I have noticed a particular set of trends that I hope to bring to light. In particular, I think there might be credence for the rise of the science fiction vampire to start during this time, and ultimately culminating in Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel I Am Legend. That is, of course, the working thesis.

Although I am constantly on the fence about whether or not to include Monster Mash films such as House of Frankenstein (1944) in my work, I think that those films in particular aid to the idea of the vampire as an experiment. Combining the mad science of Frankenstein with the hematology of vampires and specifically Dracula is something that helped change the vampire from something completely folkloric. While it maintains the vampire’s role in storytelling as the Shadow¹, the scientific vampire adopts the themes of Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which warn about the dangers of science with no ethics.

This fusion of monster themes and tropes comes at a time of insane technological advancement; or in the case of these films, technology that is too dangerous for anyone to possess. Some films are much more overt in their messaging, like the horribly mistitled Blood of Dracula (1957) where the protagonists discuss the use of nuclear science for good and evil. Critique of science is one of the crucial parts of these films, arguing that scientists can go too far if their ethics remain unchecked. It adopts a philosophically conservative stance, asking for consideration with innovation.

Reciprocally, there are the films that argue that science is the solution to vampirism. This tradition is more long standing, going as far back as Abraham Van Helsing in Dracula utilising phonographs and blood transfusions to combat the Count’s sorcery. And it typically is a scientist that ultimately destroys the vampire. In terms of the vampires themselves in these films, they are more folkloric or Romantic interpretations, essentially being a riff off of Stoker’s novel with some minor changes. It is here that we see the later science fiction vampire films take shape. Vampirism develops a new form, one that represents the two sides of science. On one hand, vampires are made by man and warns of science gone too far; and yet on the other hand, vampires are almost always defeated by intellectual and scientific minds.

I will conclude my initial thoughts by tying it all back to what I think is the synthesis and ultimate form of this twentieth century vampire: I Am Legend. The book itself is phenomenal, and unfortunately the three films that came from it –Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971) and I Am Legend (2007)- did not do the story justice. And it simply is due to how all of those films get the science down, but fail to get the humanity in it all. The highs are enough to keep Neville going, but the lows are so soul crushing that you are left with a messy, complicated conclusion. The science fiction vampire is interesting now because of the science, but the human emotion that lies beneath. What are the ethics and morals behind those who wield such powers or tools? What separates the ghouls from the heroes?

If you have any recommendations for me to potentially read up on this topic, please leave a comment!

1. McFadden, Mary. “A History of Vampires and Their Transformation From Solely Monsters to Transformation From Solely Monsters to Monstrous, Tragic, and Romantic Figures Monstrous, Tragic, and Romantic Figures.” Curiosity: Interdisciplinary Journal of Research and Innovation 2 (April 15, 2021). https://doi.org/10.36898/001c.22205. ↩︎

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