Vampire Weekend Trivia Quiz

Answer: What We Do in the Shadows

You want some levity with your weekend of film-going? "What We Do in the Shadows", of all movies, takes the vampire idea and turns it on its head a bit, making them still-dangerous, but a bit more bumbling as far as evil creatures go. Released in 2014, this Taika Waititi/Jemaine Clement-directed film followed the lives and afterlives of a group of vampires living in the city of Wellington, NZ, capturing their night-to-night via single-cam filming, not unlike the TV show "The Office".

The film was a modest success, especially with critics, and was developed into a hit comedy TV show for the FX network. Waititi would find significant success in the coming years with Marvel's "Thor: Ragnarok" and "Jojo Rabbit".

Answer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Written by Joss Whedon, who would go on to develop the long-running cult classic TV show starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, the 1992 version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was the first instance in which we saw Buffy Summers take on the mantle of 'The Chosen One' to take on the vampire threat in Los Angeles.

Naturally, with her age, the time, and the setting, the movie would end up following the epitome of a valley girl as she grew into her new and unexpected role, facing off against Lothos and Amilyn (Rutger Hauer and Paul Reubens) as they interrupt her school dance.

Answer: Dracula: Dead and Loving It

With Mel Brooks at the helm and Leslie Nielsen leading the gags, one would have to believe that this movie comes with all the zaniness it should as a "Dracula" parody, bringing in the common characters and tropes and flipping them on their head. Releasing in 1995, the movie would take advantage of Nielsen's slapstick chops following the "Naked Gun" series, but preceding "Spy Hard" and "Wrongfully Accused", but critics wouldn't particularly enjoy it. Compared to "Young Frankenstein", this movie wasn't so much as 'the dead coming alive' as it was 'dead on arrival'. Brooks would hang up his film directing hat altogether with this one.

Answer: Vampire's Kiss

Is he a vampire? Is he just obsessed? Cage plays Peter Loew in "Vampire's Kiss" and falls in love with Jennifer Beals' Rachel though he suspects she's actually a seductive vampire who's turned him into one of her own. What follows is a transformation though whether or not he's the real deal might be up to interpretation...even as he starts committing to some of the more grotesque vampire rituals. "Vampire's Kiss" wasn't a major hit in the box office, but due to its campiness and Cage's propensity for overacting, it found its audience in later years.

Answer: Dark Shadows

Barnabas Collins was just one eccentric character in this film-- and a vampire, at that-- which adapted the horror-themed ABC soap opera "Dark Shadows", which ran for more than a thousand episodes between 1966 and 1971. Also starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter amongst others, the movie takes place in and around a mansion in Collinsport, Maine as Barnabas is freed from his tomb, returning to his property as his family and others with a stake-- genetically and otherwise-- become part of his curse and his day-to-day drama. Though considered a middling film in Burton's filmography, it was nevertheless a success in the box office.

Answer: Twilight

Based on the four-book series written by Stephenie Meyer, the "Twilight" film series (which became five movies) ended up finding massive success, capitalizing on the teen vampire trend that emerged at the end of the 2000s and earning more than three billion dollars at the box office.

The series, following a teenage girl and her encounters and relationships with a family of vampires (and another of werewolves), found its audience easily, but some may have regarded it as funny for all the wrong reasons. Highly melodramatic and at some times downright absurd, the films featured everything from a middle-of-a-lighting-storm baseball game to a CGI baby 'imprinted upon' by a werewolf. Oh yeah, and instead of dying in sunlight, the vampires sparkled. Classic trope, right?

Answer: Renfield

It may seem that Nicolas Cage has a propensity for vampire films (or eccentric movies in general). This 2023 film put him into the role of the big bad vampire himself, exploring his relationship with the same Renfield who attended to him in Stoker's novel. Directed by "The Lego Batman Movie" filmmaker Chris McKay, "Renfield" was originally associated with Universal's effort to make a Dark Universe based on classic monster movies, but when the series fell through, it was put on the back burner. Despite being well-received, "Renfield" ended up being a flop in theatres.

Answer: Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter

A Canadian-made indie musical, "Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter" is exactly the blending of religious parody, musical silliness, and vampire tropes that can sometimes be quite common within the space (somehow!). The film starts with a priest calling upon Jesus Christ himself, pulling him out of idleness by asking him to help save Ottawa's lesbian population (actually) from the local vampire threat.

As it later turns out, the priest is also a vampire, leading to a major showdown with stakes on the line (intentional pun, I promise) that put Mary-- Magnum, not Magdalene-- in harm's way. You might be surprised this didn't get a wide theatrical release.

Answer: Vampires Suck

There was a streak throughout the late 2000s and early 2010s where 'just some of the "Scary Movie" writers', specifically Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, were turning out real dreck. Also creating the critically-reviled "Epic Movie", "Date Movie", and "Meet the Spartans", they released "Vampires Suck" in 2010 to capitalize off the familiar beats of "Twilight", following a girl stuck in a love triangle with a vampire and a werewolf in the Pacific Northwest.

The catch was that this, like the other movies of this ilk, still made money hand-over-fist; $80,000,000 USD isn't an amount to balk at.

Answer: Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire

Released in 2000, "Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire" was the classic Disney Channel fare, putting young teens into middling-stakes paranormal quandaries that ultimately boil down to defeating the monsters. In this case, Chelsea and Adam needed to prevent their mother, Lynette (played by Caroline Rhea) from dating the Charles Shaughnessy-played vampire, Dimitri. With the same amount of spooks as a "Goosebumps" episode, it was the type of film that could play on repeat around Halloween. Over time, the Disney Channel would beef up their spooky fare with numerous "Halloweentown" films, "Phantom of the Megaplex" (also in 2000), and "Hocus Pocus 2", which released on Disney+, the inevitable home for all of these movies.