20 Vampire Movies You Must See Before You Die

5. Dracula (1958)

Despite the fact that Christopher Lee took on more roles than anybody has ever been able to count over the span of his long and prolific career, he's still remembered the most for his role as Dracula in the 1958 film of the same name - the first in a long line produced by the famous Hammer Horror studio (shot in glorious Technicolor). Dracula isn't a film full of big ideas, nor is it as artistic as the majority of the pictures included on this list. What is it, however, is relentlessly entertaining; camp and packed with brilliantly bloody moments, it also manages to be frightening, sexy and genuinely gripping; as such, it's arguably the definitive Hammer Horror film, and one of the best Dracula outings. Lee is fantastic as Dracula, of course, and there's a reason he's remembered for this role: he plays the infamous Count with just the right amount of knowing humour and yet somehow keeps him as a cold and unnerving figure to be afraid of at the same time. For a vintage vampire yarn that plainly relishes its opportunity to thrill, look no further.