The 10 Most Creative Ways to Destroy a Vampire According to the Movies

Sure, you can just drive a stake through a vampire's heart...but the movies have proven that there are far more creative ways. What better way to start Halloween month than to list ten memorable movie methods (with a nod to Sarkoffagus for his help):

The old "use a windmill to form the shadow of a crucifix" trick.

1. Trap the vampire in the shadow of a wind-mill, so it forms a cross on the ground. (Brides of Dracula)

2. Toss the vampire into a bathtub filled with holy water and garlic. (The Lost Boys)

One of the rather unattractive
golden vampires.

3. Using kung fu, punch the vampire in the heart. (The Legend of the Seven 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)

"I spy a big cross on the ground
down there."

6. Knock the vampire off a cliff onto a big cross protruding from the ground. Another tricky one 'cause the vampire must land precisely so that the cross impales him. (Dracula Has Risen from His Grave)

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)

Not all bats like vampires!

9. Call on the powers of evil to defeat evil by sending a big swarm of bats to circle the vampire's castle. (The Kiss of the Vampire)

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!

31 Days of Halloween: Vincent Price Confronts a World of Vampires in The Last Man on Earth

As far as he knows, Robert Morgan (Vincent Price) is the only remaining human in a world destroyed by a plague of vampirism. Each night, a horde of the bloodsucking creatures gathers around his fortified house and cry out in hunger for the man inside. Morgan waits through the night and, when dawn comes, his daily routine begins.

He shops for canned goods at the empty grocery store. He selects a new car to replace the one damaged by the vampires. He broadcasts a plea for other human voices on a short-wave radio. He piles dead bodies into his station wagon and transports them to an open fire pit. Then, with his “chores” done, Morgan continues his systematic search of the city-- finding weakened vampires lurking in dark rooms and driving homemade stakes through their hearts.

This first adaptation of Richard Matheson’s terrifying 1954 novel I Am Legend was made in Italy on a shoestring budget. Price is the only English-language actor in the cast. But, despite its financial limitations, it remains an impressive work filled with compelling images. The scenes of the vampires pounding nightly on Morgan’s door foreshadow similar images in the better-known Night of the Living Dead (1968). There are also some genuinely frightening sequences, such as the one where Morgan falls asleep in a church, only to awake at sunset and struggle to reach the safety of his fortress home.

Some critics have carped that Price gives a hammy performance, but I don’t find that to be the case at all. In contrast, he comes across effectively as both driven and lonely. My favorite part of the film is the portrayal of Morgan’s daily routine, which Price describes in voiceover.

Allegedly, Matheson was not pleased with this adaptation of his novel, even though he had a hand in the script (he had his screenplay credit changed to Logan Swanson). I think it’s easily the best version of his book, although two remakes were produced. In The Omega Man, Charlton Heston portrayed the last man on Earth, but he fights mutants created by biological warfare. After several failed attempts to produce a big-budget version in the 1990s (Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached at one time), Will Smith headlined 2007’s I Am Legend. It does retain some elements from the original, though the creatures are not technically vampires. For all its pricey special effects and action sequences, I don’t think it’s nearly as chilling as The Last Man on Earth.