15 Years Ago, Ethan Hawke Made A Cult-Classic Vampire Movie — And Reinvented the Genre

remake has made a good argument for returning to the basic cinematic roots of vampire stories. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a ton of strange vampire remixes out there. And a few, rare vampire films even assert that maybe the entire conceit of bloodsuckers could be viewed less as horror and more as science fiction.

is better than it has any right to be and will turn any non-horror fan into someone who is at least vampire-curious.

refers to the fact that although most humans are limited to the darkness, many characters drive around in specially tinted cars during the day. The vampire majority of the world thinks of most humans as walking blood bags, a commodity that is steadily growing scarcer.

is propelled by the idea that one guy, Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), wants to create a blood substitute that will prevent vampires from having to prey upon humans for blood. Dalton is an ethical kind of vampire, only sustaining himself on blood from animals and not from humans. He’s also a literal hematologist, making him a science expert working to solve the ills of the world by doing science.

are so significant and interesting; the heroes are crunching numbers and doing lab work as much as they are out there having adventures.

better than that film, and better than many late-’90s/early-aughts vampire movies is that it doesn’t rely too heavily on twists to tell a compelling story.

is nothing like a William Gibson novel, and yet, the visual style feels aligned with the downtrodden cyberpunk aesthetic of the 1980s.

really is, it reigns supreme.

steams on Tubi.