We still have Sinners fever over here, and box office numbers say you’ve probably got it, too. But we can’t spend all our time at the theater under the thrall of Ryan Coogler’s vampire masterpiece; we’ve got bills to pay and mouths to feed. So, while we wait for Michael B. Jordan to grace our television screens with his brilliant performance as twins, here are the best vampire movies on Prime Video that will sate your thirst for creatures of the night.
For more recommendations, check out our ranked list of The Best Female Vampires in Movies and The Best Vampire Shows and Movies on Netflix.
Disclaimer: These titles are available in the US.
‘Daybreakers’ (2009)
Rotten Tomatoes: 69% | IMDb: 6.4/10
Many vampire stories are set in worlds where humans are either trying to stop the spread of vampirism or there is a contemporary fantasy-style vampiric underworld just on the outskirts of our own society. Daybreakers, however, presents a world where they have already won and humans are merely cattle to be milked for blood. Twin filmmaking duo Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig inject a fresh take into the neck of the vampire genre by exploring how they would govern and balance the human population as their resources dry up, as biting humans merely creates more hungry vamps. But it’s not just fascinating world-building that makes this a standout flick; Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe are a dynamic duo as a vampire and a human who may have found the cure for vampirism.
‘Bit’ (2019)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93% | IMDb: 4.8/10
Breakout Supergirl cast member Nicole Maines shines brighter than the sun as she sinks her teeth into this queer, feminist take on traditional vampire stories. Bit, surprisingly written and directed by cis man Brad Michael Elmore, is a brightly colored, kick-ass film that explores cycles of sexual violence and toxic dynamics between men and women, using the medium of an all-women vampire coven that hunts down bad people while gatekeeping their power from the men who would abuse it. Maines, being a trans woman, is a perfect lead for this story as she immediately disrupts the binary status quo of the group in order to introduce a more nuanced and inclusive perspective that truly enriches the metaphor.
‘Abigail’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% | IMDb: 6.5/10
Horror-comedy directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett spin up a delectable ensemble film that is just as fun as it is frightful. Abigail has a similar genre subversion to Predator in that it takes a group of tough badasses at the top of their game and makes them the prey of something monstrous — but this time, instead of an alien, it’s a bunch of criminals locked in a mansion with a vampire ballerina who looks like an innocent young girl. The best parts of the movie, beyond the gore and child vampire played by Alisha Weir, are the interactions between the character actors who give their all to their roles, especially Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera.
‘Hotel Transylvania: Transformania’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes: 47% | IMDb: 6.0/10
An entry in the canon of oddball vampire comedy is Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, which is the last in the series and arguably the silliest. Reuniting SNL alums Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg once more, this installment swaps the status quo by introducing an invention that turns monsters into humans and vice versa, which turns the hotel on its head as all the regulars are transformed into humans. Out of all the films on this list, this is probably the only one you can watch with the whole family, as there are zero scares and hundreds of laughs. Joining Sandler and Samberg are the usual suspects that frequent Sandler’s comedies, including Steve Buscemi, Kevin James, and Molly Shannon.
‘Nadja’ (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes: 64% | IMDb: 6.0/10
Written and directed by Michael Almereyda (with the help of the late, great master of surrealist filmmaking David Lynch), Nadja is a low-budget noir-style horror following the daughter of Count Dracula as she tries to rid herself of the vampire’s curse. This black-and-white journey through the streets of New York through the eyes of an undead woman trying to find a new life has an understated, minimalist feel that combines the lore of the Bram Stoker novel with the aesthetic of a Lynch film like Eraserhead. Though it is not the first vampire film people often think of when naming classics, this underrated gem belongs among the annals of great movies inspired by Dracula.
‘Elvira: Mistress of the Dark’ (1988)
IMDb: 6.6/10
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
- Release Date
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September 30, 1988
- Runtime
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96 minutes
- Director
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James Signorelli
Capturing the vibes of a fusion between Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and The Addams Family, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark takes Cassandra Peterson’s iconic buxom gothic character on the road as she travels to a middle American town to claim an inheritance that isn’t just money but a legacy of magic. The camp in this movie is off the charts as Elvira clashes with conservative townsfolk while being manipulated by her warlock uncle so he can steal the family spellbook. For long-time fans of the character, it is great to see her outside her usual host environment, but the film is also a great entry point for newcomers to the dark and zany world of Elvira.
‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ (1992)
Rotten Tomatoes: 37% | IMDb: 5.7/10
Speaking of camp, before the hit supernatural teen drama changed television forever, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a cult classic film with an all-star cast. Kristy Swanson sets the template for the vapid teen girl who takes on the mantle of the Slayer, a power passed down through the ages that is the world’s primary defense against the threat of vampires. Joining Swanson as she backflips and quips her way through the hero’s journey is Donald Sutherland as her mentor and Rutger Hauer as an ancient vampire determined to kill every generation of Slayers. This subversion of the traditional final girl trope that transformed how writers approach the “strong female protagonist” is an endlessly quotable comedy that deserves all the praise.
