Top 5 List: Vampire Comedies with Bite

Director Roman Polanski's 1967 spoof of vampire lore, subtitled Pardon Me, But Your Teeth Are in My Neck, ventures into slapstick territory yet still manages to titillate. The film is notable in that Polanski also stars opposite his future wife, Sharon Tate, before she was tragically murdered by the Manson family. Polanski plays Alfred, the assistant to an old professor (Jack MacGowran), who travels to a remote Transylvanian village on the hunt for vampires. Alfred falls for the innkeeper's beautiful daughter (Tate), but soon must battle the mysterious Count von Krolock (Ferdy Mayne) to save her -- and himself.


Get The Fearless Vampire Killers

No vampire comedy round-up is complete without this 1989 dark comedy, fueled by a waaaay over-the-top performance by Nicolas Cage. Technically not a real vampire movie because he only thinks he's a member of the undead, this spoof casts Cage as a Yuppie literary agent who believes he's been bitten by a vampire (a post-Flashdance Jennifer Beals) – and gradually loses his mind, attempting to transform into a blood sucker, noshing on cockroaches (which Cage does for real), drinking blood and sporting cheap, fake plastic fangs.

Get Vampire's Kiss

The original 1985 version, in which a teen (William Ragsdale) discovers that his new neighbor (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire, was an unexpected sleeper summer hit, thanks to impressive special effects, a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and a memorable performance by Roddy McDowell as the jumpy, old-school matinee star Peter Vincent, "vampire killer." The 2011 remake starring Colin Farrell also had a sense of humor, but took itself a little too seriously and was nowhere near as entertaining.

Get Fright Night

George Hamilton, already preserved for centuries with his ever-present perma-tan, plays Count Dracula in this 1979 fish-out-of-water spoof. Forced to move out of his Transylvanian castle, he travels to the Big Apple to seduce the reincarnation of his bride (Susan Saint James), now a flaky fashion model, only to find himself attempting to adapt to a modern, disco-era metropolis. Richard Benjamin cracks up as the model's boyfriend, determined to expose Dracula but always using the wrong supernatural deterrent.

Get Love at First Bite

Before Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy, don't forget there was a 1992 movie that inspired the successful TV series from the mind of Joss Whedon (now the puppetmaster of The Avengers). Kristy Swanson portrays Buffy, the upbeat Valley girl/cheerleader who learns that she's the Chosen One, destined to slay vampires. Rutger Hauer plays Lothos, the lead vampire villain, but Paul Reubens (minus his Pee-wee Herman persona) steals scenes as a vamp henchman, and Luke Perry distracts with his anti-90210 haircut. Hilary Swank, David Arquette and Thomas Jane all have pre-fame roles, and look for uncredited moments with a young Ben Affleck, Ricki Lake and future Buffy regular Seth Green.

Get Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Longtime collaborators Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton put a comic spin on the 200-year-old vampire Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows
this weekend, and in the true vamp spirit, we've assembled our list of
five vampire especially memorable and entertaining comedies. And no,
tempting as it is, Twilight is not on the list.