The Female Vampire as Sexual Deviants

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how classically male vampires in horror films are portrayed in a sympathetic light as tortured men who are suffering from a compulsion rather than having homicidal tendencies. It looks at how the female vampires of the 1970's, however, are depicted in a completely different manner. They are young, beautiful, and unrepentant; their goal is not only to satisfy their cravings, but also to corrupt and consume the souls of their victims. It analyzes how filmmakers of this era depict these strong, sensual women as sexual deviants through a review of such films as "The Vampire Lovers" (1970), "Lust for a Vampire" (1971), and "A Filha de Dracula" (1972).

From the Paper:

"By the 1970's, monsters in horror films changed a great deal, especially in the case of female monsters. The stereotypical masculine lesbian expected by audiences was replaced by the heterosexual male fantasy of the hyper-feminine woman (Cook 45). In female vampire films, young, nubile women strut about, often without their clothes, purely for the benefit of the heterosexual male audience. They are portrayed as carefree and unrepentant; the curse that burdens the male vampire is conspicuously absent from these films. "Hedonism above compulsion" (Silver 112) is accentuated as the primary source of motivation for their deviant behavior. The female vampire's victims, similar to those of the male vampire, are young and naive, yet there is a romantic aspect that is not present in male vampire films. The female vampire derives as much pleasure from the seduction of her victim as she does from drawing blood."

More papers on The Female Vampire as Sexual Deviants:

• Book Review # 146259 : "The Female Perspective on Sexual Acts in the Modern Novel"
• Book Review # 4116 : "The Female Quixote"
• Book Review # 114533 : "The Female Man"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: