The trailer for Peter Chan-wook's vampire thriller 'Stoker' is online and I have to say it looks chilling. It seems a decidedly different take on a genre that has come to be dominated by sparkly vamp vegetarians. I loved the casting, haunting soundtrack, and ambiguity of the characters and I will definitely be checking it out when it's released in March next year.
Watching this prompted me to consider how many vampire stories I enjoy in book or film format. It's a mythology that's enjoyed many come-backs with reincarnations of these night feeders growing more diverse and the subtext expanding from repressed sexuality to include religion, self control, the animal within and more.
Why all this success? What truly lies at the heart of our fascination?
Is it immortality? Our fear of death? The resonances with sexual repression? Or something else? Do we just like brooding anti-heroes with more than a little danger to offer? What do you think?