Vampires, Small Towns & Stephen King
Fall has officially begun, and October has started. This is the time of year when horror movie fans revisit familiar favorites and watch all the new horror films and series released during spooky season. Scaring each other through horrifying stories has been a part of human history since the beginning. Folklore in oral traditions and literature centered around the supernatural has been spread throughout every culture. It’s no wonder the first horror film was created as soon as cinema began.
In the mid-1890s, George Mellies created “La Manoir du Diable." The film is also known as “The Haunted Castle” or “House of the Devil” in English. This film was created in 1896, and it’s a 3-minute silent film that features ghosts, the devil, and skeletons, among other creepy supernatural things. This film paved the way for other films created in the 1920s-30s that defined the horror genre. This golden era of horror introduced us to films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Cligari (1920) and Nosferatu (1922).
Speaking of Nosferatu, vampires are integral to Halloween and horror movies. The vampire became popularized because of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula. Because of Dracula, we have many of our most beloved modern vampire books, shows, and films. But Stoker got his inspiration from Eastern European folklore about “Nosferatu,” which translates to the “undead,” and the historical account of the 15th-century Prince Vlad the Impaler.
Start the countdown to Halloween by watching Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula on TheArchive. To avenge his father's death, Vlad Dracula raises an army and sets a bloody revolution ablaze that hastily sweeps throughout the land. As war rages on, he becomes all the more murderous and sadistic, growing particularly fond of impaling his victims. In response, the Church spreads rumors about him, saying that he, apart from being a cold-blooded killer, is a blood-sucking vampire.
Mutant is another film to add to your countdown to the Halloween movie list. This film is about two brothers, Josh and Mike, who go to a small southern town for a vacation. They find most of the residents either dead or missing. When Mike himself goes missing, Josh teams up with the local sheriff and a school teacher to find him until he discovers that a form of toxic waste has infected the whole town, and they have all turned into vampires who crave human blood.
Another common trope in the horror genre is when something goes awry in a small town. The “small-town” setting is a common one because small, quiet towns or unsettling, creepy towns set the tone for a sinister force lurking in the shadows. The lack of access to the resources in a thriving metropolis adds to the danger. Small towns are generally preferred settings in horror movies and books. Stephen King, the master of horror, is no stranger to the small-town setting.
Salem’s Lot, the feature adaptation of Stephen King’s 1975 bestselling novel about vampires, will debut on Max on Thursday, October 3rd. The plot involves a small town in Maine and blood-sucking vampires; if that’s your thing, you should watch They Nest on TheArchive to keep your eerie, small-town marathon going.
In They Nest, Dr. Ben Cahill, a big city doctor, freezes up under pressure in the emergency room due to his recent divorce and struggles with his alcohol addiction recovery. To get his act back together, he decides to unwind for a few months on Orr's Island—off the coast of Maine—where he discovers that the island is infested with a malicious and deadly breed of flying cockroaches that root inside their victims.
Whether you’re watching the classics or discovering new nightmare fuel in modern releases, there’s no better time to immerse yourself in the thrills and chills of horror than during October. Happy streaming!
Looking for even more ways to watch and enjoy excellent movies & TV series?!? Head on over to YouTube and subscribe to Grapevine Documentaries, Multicom Entertainment, and TheArchive.These channels are dedicated to aficionados and lovers of cinema. You’ll find rare, retro, and restored films and TV, ranging from indies and series to Oscar-winning docs, unearthed MOWs, a killer horror library, and MORE!
TheArchive channel is dedicated to aficionados and lovers of story, craft, and silver screen fun – streaming rare, retro, and restored films and classic TV. From indies and series, to Oscar winning documentaries, unearthed MOWs, and a killer horror library, TheArchive delivers forgotten, never-before-seen gems for free and many in 4K. Marilyn, Karloff, and Orson Welles stream alongside Reese, Keanu, and Samuel L. Jackson. Find true stories of Queen, Hendrix, and Sinatra, an LGBTQ library, MLK bios, and world history docs. TheArchive has the movies and shows you either saw, should’ve seen, or should be watching now!
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