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THEME & INSPIRATION
The modern vampire is an amalgamation of themes — nihilism and melancholy, sexuality and addiction, romance and violence. While not an exhaustive collection of such cinematic depictions, the films listed do provide the primary inspiration for many of our undead characters.
- Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
- The Hunger (1983)
- The Lost Boys (1987)
- Near Dark (1987)
- Nosferatu (1922), or the 1979 remake.
- Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
While the original film adaption of Interview with the Vampire (1994) is well worth watching, it is also criminally abridged. If you have the time, it's nigh-impossible to do better than the gothic horror and tragic romance of the more recent television adaption.
The 1998 film John Carpenter's Vampires is an intriguing take on how something like the Second Inquisition or modern Society of Leopold could operate. Likewise, the 1998 film Modern Vampires — while ostensibly a comedy — explores themes of addiction (blood junkies) within the vampire lore.
SETTING THE SCENE
The World of Darkness is a grim reflection of our own. It's bleak and pessimistic. Everything is a little dirtier, everyone more corrupt, and the shadows seem to stretch a little farther. No genre embodies this attitude quite like film noir, or its progeny, neo noir and cyberpunk. You might not necessarily play the antihero or the femme fatale, but you have likely been set up, used as part of a larger conspiracy, and it's probably raining. The urban decay of this world manifests most clearly as labyrinthine cities and failed socioeconomic policies.
Additional science fiction films, set in the (then) far future, can also offer insight into what such a grim and gritty world might look like. Prime examples being Escape from New York and RoboCop. Both clearly demonstrate the street-level violence inherent within such doomed class hierarchies.
Furthermore, the John Wick films can act as an interesting allegory for the neo-feudalism of the Camarilla. The Continental Hotel is an obvious Elysium, with coins and blood markers acting as minor and major boons. The so-called High Table is just as easily setup as a Primogen Council, complete with an accompanying Prince. Blood Hunts are called on those whom dare to break Elysium, with a Justicar even showing up eventually.
Television shows are also worth consideration, as many take a more grounded look at the era itself. For example, Halt and Catch Fire gives an insider's view of the burgeoning computer revolution of the time, while The Sopranos — though set in the 90s — provides an example of inter-familial politicking just out of view of the boroughs. There is also the NYC queer subculture of Pose, which is particularly near and dear to the Party Monsters pathos.
MOOD & AMBIENCE
You really can't go wrong with gothic tunes, whether it be the genre's psychedelic roots, deathrock offshoots, post-punk heyday, or eventual industrial evolution. It certainly helps that the accompanying fashion runs the spectrum from Victorian romanticism to BDSM fetish wear, with androgynous hairstyles and makeup aplenty. While this subculture is perhaps more likely to see the presence of vampire coteries, almost any scene could be the hunting grounds of such masterfully camouflaged predators. Below is but a small list of more obvious influences.
MUSIC FROM THE SUCCUBUS CLUB