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| The old "use a windmill to form the shadow of a crucifix" trick. |
2. Toss the vampire into a bathtub filled with holy water and garlic. (The Lost Boys)
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| One of the rather unattractive golden vampires. |
4. Shoot the vampire in the heart with a spear gun. (The Last Man on Earth)
5. While the vampire is standing on a frozen lake, use a rifle and shoot the ice so it cracks and the vampire falls into the water. This one is tricky because vampires aren't particularly fond of winter sports like ice skating. (Dracula, Prince of Darkness)
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| "I spy a big cross on the ground down there." |
7. Shoot the vampire with a crossbow and drag him into the sunlight. (John Carpenter's Vampires)
8. Lure the vampire onto a roof during a thunderstorm, and maneuver him so he's adjacent to a tall metal object so he can be struck by lightning. Visually interesting, to be sure, but one of the most difficult to accomplish. Not recommended. (Scars of Dracula)
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| Not all bats like vampires! |
10. If you're sure it's near dawn, you can hop on a sturdy long table, run down it, jump on the drapes, and rip them down. The sunlight will disintegrate the vampire. If he tries to crawl out of the sunlight, use some candle sticks to form a cross and keep him from moving into the safety of shadows. (Horror of Dracula)
Honorable mentions:
- Defeat the vampire in a swordfight (Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter), though this is very similar to stabbing him with a stake.
- Trap the vampire in the thorns of a Hawthorne tree. Actually, this won't kill the vampire, but it will keep him from going anywhere. You can then dispose of him using the traditional stake or just let sunlight finish the job. (The Satanic Rites of Dracula)
OK, I'm sure I've left some very memorable methods...so I'd appreciate the insight of other vampire movie watchers!
In the TV show Supernatural, Sam and Dean decapitated a vampire. They also shot and killed one with a special Colt revolver made by Samuel Colt himself. The gun can kill any demon.
ReplyDeleteFor the more romantic type of vampire -- have the beautiful girl he is seducing refuse his advances until he takes care of his bad breath, give him a toothbrush and a glass of holy water to swish with. While he screams and is weakened when the holy water blisters his fangs, throw him into a pre-prepared bathtub filled with holy water. Then you'll get a really cool, gruesome scene of the vampire decomposing, pull the drain stopper and watch everything whirl down the drain. You have to admit it's creative.
ReplyDeleteThis is a standard way to kill a vampire, but I've always thought it was cool in SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM, when a man stakes a bloodsucker and, as another vamp approaches, he breaks the stake jutting from the former and uses it again to kill the latter. So he's essentially killing two vampires with one stake. And this is another Hammer one (and also a way that Gilby already mentioned), but Peter Cushing decapitates a vampire in TWINS OF EVIL. Too new to be a classic film, but in the Hong Kong movie, TWINS EFFECT (aka VAMPIRE EFFECT), the ridiculously adorable Gillian Chung becomes a vampire to kill a vampire. That was also done in a recent U.S. film, but that's supposed to be a twist, so I won't reveal which one. This was a most excellent list, Rick, and very fun to read!
ReplyDeleteExcellent read and fun way to kick off October at the Cafe! I think the method that surprised me the most when I first saw it was the windmill cross in "Brides of Dracula." For some reason, after reading the caption under the picture you posted, I now can see Maxwell Smart saying those words to Chief. I can also see him bungling the job and saying "Missed it by that much," which is something you don't want to do in actuality. There were some great additions to your list, too, Rick. Fun blog!
ReplyDeleteGreat blog. I wish this had been available a wee bit earlier. There's an election up here in my neck of the woods and these political types are real pests. Worse than vampires because they seem to stick around forever. Fun blog Rick !
ReplyDeletePretty inventive ways to get rid of the bloodsuckers. Of course, there's the old tried and true method of just staking the fellow, as in 1931's Dracula; but, as House of Frankenstein showed, all you gotta do is pull out the stake and voila! instant vampire! Perhaps the better way to do it, as is recommended with various infections, is to expose the nocturnal pest to sunlight, as is done in House of Frankenstein and Son of Dracula. Then, as old soldiers do, he just merely fades away... (till the next sequel, of course). But, as we remember in Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein, maybe all you need is a handy werewolf: the Wolfman grabs the bat (which is what Dracula has turned into) and both fall into the ocean - getting rid of 2 birds w/one stone, as it were.
ReplyDeleteSeduce him with a maiden so he forgets that the sun is rising and he fries to death (Nosferatu).
ReplyDeleteTricking a vampire into drinking blood from someone killed with laudanum (it weakens them at least) (Interview with A Vampire)
Turn yourself into a vampire, and as a vampire, kill the other vampires (30 Days of Night).
Great additions!
DeleteWhat grisly fun, Rick. I'm for the old fashioned method (tried and true) of the stake through the heart - didn't that do in Count Dracula? It's been awhile since I've actually watched a vampire movie.
ReplyDeleteIn 'Blade' hematologist Karen Jenson invents an anticoagulant that explodes when mixed with Vampire blood. Inject the Vampire with it and he/she explodes.
ReplyDelete