6. Romantic Vampires
As far as horror villains go, vampires are about as terrifying as it gets. They are mysterious, shadowy beings who seem made of pure evil, commanding such creepy creatures as wolves and bats. They feed off of the life force of humans. And even their weaknesses touch on ritualistic and supernatural elements of society, like crosses and garlic. But unlike werewolves, zombies or ghosts, they are not unthinking, animalistic threats to humanity; they are clever, devious beings who easily outwit their human foes. But contemporary horror cant leave well enough alone. Evil isnt interesting. What if vampires were actually tragic beings who feel bad about killing? Yeah, like Judas! What if vampires power over women turns into love on the part of their would-be victims? What if a vampire was a rock star? Or, wait, what if Brad Pitt was a vampire? Romantic vampires might make for good stories. They might upend traditional conceptions of good and evil. They might allow for great performances by Gary Oldman. But they are not scary. Oh, so the villain turns out to be kind of sympathetic? The horror! Oh, heh, the Brad Pitt-vampire actually kind of likes crosses, how clever! This ceases to be horror, and turns into novelized Danielle Steele. And notice I didnt even bring up Twilight.