A GAGGLE OF VAMPIRES: Or is it a flock??? Whatever you call them, vampires have been haunting the nights of this planet (and sometimes OTHER planets as evinced in Mario Bava's eerie "Planet of the Vampires") almost since our species had begun telling tall tales. There's something compelling about these bloodsuckers that keep them in the public imagination throughout the years. They're powerful, they're alluring, they're erotic, they're fashionable. . . they're everything to everybody. From the monstrous Chinese variety (which would seduce NO ONE) to the tuxedo-wearing Transylvanian noble to the motorcycle-riding leather-clad bad boy with fangs, vampires have been popular entertainment since time immemorial. Their have been many notable movie vampires over the years but here are my top ten battiest biters; some favourite vampires I have known. 1) Christopher Lee as Dracula -- I'm sorry, I love Bela but my favourite Drac is Christopher Lee in Horror of Dracula. 2) Bela Lugosi as Dracula -- the iconic Count whose shadow falls over every subsequent vampire performance. 3) Max Shreck as Graf Orlok -- the first filming of Dracula was Germany's unauthorized adaptation "Nosferatu" which Bram Stoker's widow tried to have destroyed. . .thankfully some prints survived and we have the nightmarish, rat-like vampire played by an actor whose very name means "terror"! 4) Boris Karloff as Gorca the Wurdalak -- Karloff's only appearance as a vampire is genuinely frightening and vicious in Mario Bava's "Black Sabbath". Gorca is a father who goes off to kill a local vampire but returns as one himself. His sole compulsion is to put the bite on his family. Truly chilling performance! 5) Anders Hove as Radu (seen here with Denise Duff) -- The Subspecies films are the best things Full Moon every put out. This might seem faint praise but in fact these films are quite good and Hove's performance is even better! Sometimes Radu likes to wait outside in our yard and peer in at the window. 6) William Marshall as Prince Manuwalde -- If you've never seen "Blacula" you may be surprised at how good the film is. This is helped in no small measure by the regal and heartbreaking performance of Shakespearean actor William Marshall (as well as the presence of my childhood infatuation Denise Nicholas!). 7) Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins -- the early 70's phenomenon that was Dark Shadows is hard to imagine now but the cobwebbed, gothic Barnabas was a florid triumph! 8) Lon Chaney Sr. as the Man in the Beaver Hat -- some may cry foul at the inclusion of a "fake" vampire from a lost film "London After Midnight". Well, I disregard the "cheat" ending which revealed the vampire was "only an actor" and prefer to drink in the lovely, evocative stills of Lon with his fright wig and razor teeth in a film we all will probably never see. 9) Barry Atwater as Janos Skorzeny -- Dark Shadows guru Dan Curtis scored again with "The Night Stalker" featuring Darren McGavin's Kolchak chasing a Vegas vampire played by the athletic, powerful and intimidating Atwater. The TV movie was the highest rated in history at the time and was another cultural phenomenon! And what predatory eyes that vampire had! 10) Denise Duff as Michelle -- Radu's unwilling acolyte in the Subspecies films brings home the nearly impossible struggle against the pull of vampirism; Michelle has been fighting Radu's curse since Subspecies 2 and has sometimes succeeded (and sometimes failed). A truly interesting performance arcing thru several films. And since the mere mention of her name makes me lose control -- I have to put up this photo of Denise Nicholas as this month's eye candy (sorry, Ms. Henri but I HAD to swipe it in this case). Sigh.