10 Best Vampire Movies Of The 2020s So Far

A surprise entry in the vampire canon, both The Vourdalak and its director Adrien Beau seem to have sprung from nowhere. Set in 18th-century Eastern Europe, we join French Marquis Jacques Saturnin du Antoine (Kacey Mottet Klein) as he loses his money, his horse and his way while on business for the King of France. Sent to the house of a man named Gorcha (Adrien Beau), Jacques is promised a replacement horse and the means to get back on track, but once there he discovers a small peasant family in disarray, whose patriarch has only gone and got himself turned into a vampire.

There are many elements that make The Vourdalak stand out from the general churn of vampire films. The pastoral location and dreamy aesthetic, for one, which establishes a markedly different tone from what we're used to, prioritising warmth and sunlight over gothic structures and shadows. Another is its characters, all quirky and unique - the cross-dressing son, the besmirched temptress daughter, and Jacques himself: a foppish courtier with a nervous disposition, whose bumbling antics provide a rich humour in even the darkest moments.

But the detail that really sets Beau's picture apart is Gorcha. The vampire is portrayed by a skeletal puppet throughout, and none of the other characters ever responds to or comments on this, playing it straight in spite of the inherent absurdity. It's a brilliant visual gambit, and makes what could have been a rote (if humorous) vampire film into an all-timer.