Vampirical Formula: Fangs Are an Undead Trend

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BLAME BUFFY. The vampire-slaying minx — portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the 1992 film — might have been driving stakes into the hearts of her enemies, but she also planted splintery seedlings of a mainstream mania to come.

Films like "Nosferatu" (1922) and "Martin" (1977) enhanced the bloodthirstys' underground appeal. But when Luke Perry wrinkled that famous brow alongside his "Buffy" co-star, a pop-culture precedent was set. It was a trend evidenced two years later when Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise delivered bloody good performances in "Interview With the Vampire." In 1997, a cultish obsession was born with WB's "Buffy" And then there was 1998's "Blade," in which half-man, half-vamp Wesley Snipes took out his bad brethren.

It was this theme of vampy badassery that continued with "Underworld," a 2003 flick featuring Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a black-bodysuit-a-wearin' babe out to protect the werewolf she loves. A task Beckinsale's vampire revisited in a 2006 sequel ("Underworld: Evolution") that grossed $62.3 million. Of course, Beckinsale was a practiced fang favorite having helped Hugh Jackman vanquish Dracula in 2004's "Van Helsing."

So it's no shock that in 2008, the bloodline went mainstream. Vamps are now ubiquitous in books, on the tube and on the big screen.

Take "Twilight." The Stephanie Meyer series in which a teen girl falls in love with a rakish immortal debuted in October 2005. And now an anticipated feature film opens Friday. Hundreds of theaters have sold out of presale tickets.

Need more gore? Stay home. There's always "True Blood," HBO's series starring Anna Paquin as a mind-reading waitress who sweats a gentlemanly Civil War-era vampire trying to fit in a modern day Louisiana town. It's a campy and violent romance set in a city known for its mysticism. What's not to love about a show that calls a person who sleeps with a vampire, a "fang banger"? The season finale is Sunday (9 p.m.), but it's set to return next summer.

In a year in which Edvard Munch's "Vampire" painting sold for $38 million and "Pan's Labryinth" director Guillermo del Toro is brainstorming a vampire trilogy with author Chuck Hogan tentatively titled "The Strain," it's probably best to expect bloodsuckers to continue coagulating in the everyday.

Photo courtesy Geffen Pictures, Screen Gems, HBO

A taste of mainstream vampires ...
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

Interview With the Vampire

Blade

Underworld

Van Helsing

Twilight

True Blood