After a disappointing few years, the vampire sub-genre of horror is at a crossroads with three high-profile movies on the horizon in Nosferatu, Salem’s Lot, and Sinners. Vampire movies have evolved over the years, ranging from the gothic horror of Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, to the fantasy romance of Twilight. In recent years, there have been a slew of satirical vampire projects, including highly-rated TV shows What We Do in the Shadows and Reginald the Vampire alongside several comedy-horror movies as well.

However, many of the most prominently-featured movies of the last few years have been major disappointments, either with critics, at the box office, or both. That could signal a major shift in how the best vampire movies are positioned, and what type of audience they are targeted towards. Vampires are so ingrained in the global culture that the horror sub-genre will never go away completely, but a major shift in strategy may be necessary. Fortunately, the three big vampire movies coming out in the next six months represent a departure from the recent norm.

After several years of satire at the forefront, the three big vampire movies set to release in the next six months can truly bring terror back to the vampire sub-genre.

…

While there are many high-quality vampire movies loved by horror fans over the decades since Nosferatu first landed, the last few years have yielded more big-budget disappointments than hits. In just the last two years, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, Renfield, and Abigail have all been box office misses, and while Abigail received positive reviews from critics and moviegoers, the other two were resounding critical failures. Each movie was based in part on the original Dracula story, and had significant star power attached to it.

…

The future of vampire movies may come down to how these three big movies perform at the box office. If Sinners and Nosferatu can find their way to legitimate profitability, it could inspire studios to continue putting effort behind bigger-budget vampire movies. The same goes for Salem’s Lot; if it’s a streaming hit, that could open up the door for more high-quality vampire projects to find a home on streaming platforms.

The tone of future vampire movies may also be dependent on the performance of those three movies. While the creative minds of Hollywood (and beyond) will no doubt keep looking for alternative ways to tell stories using the familiar vampire tropes, the success of three straightforward, scary vampire stories could encourage future projects to move in that direction. Sinners in particular could be a difference-maker to the genre given its unusual horror setting and what projects to be heavy metaphorical content.