I have to admit, I’m a bit of a horror flick nerd, and I could postulate and theorize all day long about why the myth of the vampire has become so ingrained in contemporary popular culture. Vampires are chock full of wonderfully maleable symbols about cultural fears, but the thing that blows my mind is just how damn sexy they’ve become in the last couple of decades.

Let’s call it the Nosferatu vs. Edward Cullen phenomenon. Less than a hundred years ago, pop culture immortalized the gorgeous German Expressionist film for its uniquely stylized vision of horror. This dude is a rat-like man of the shadows, and he is truly disgusting to encounter. No sexy here.

Let’s skip wayyy ahead to the cult 1987 classic The Lost Boys. Leave it to Brat Pack director Joel Schumaker to combine vampires with hot teenage angst! This amazing film stars Corey Haim (RIP) and Kiefer Sutherland, the king of the new, 80′s brand of sexy vampire. This classic battle to save the good and the human from the evil darkness is still very bad vs. good guy, but the sexiness begins to add layers of humanity to these villains in a new way.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Let the Right One In is the best vampire movie I’ve ever seen. Why does this fascinatingly twisted Swedish movie work so well? There’s no doubt about it– Eli, the centuries old vampire of questionable sexual identity, is evil. She looks like a child. She kills regularly and without remorse. So how is she so nuanced, and how is her romance with Oskar, the purely innocent boy whom she seduces and makes her life partner so compelling? She’s vulnerable. The face of evil has a lot of heart beneath it, and it’s impossible not to fall for her.

This cultural shift of our vampires evolving from sheer evil to vulernable, sexual, and plagued with guilt and feelings is a fascinating evolution and no doubt contributes to the most recent phenomenon of Twilight, True Blood and the Vampire Diaries. I am perhaps a strange semi Twilight fan, someone who has read (two of) the books, but never seen the movies. The books served as glorious beach read fodder during an extended staycation last summer, and most of my friends (boys too) have indulged in at least one of the books.

Somehow the books have proved far more popular than the films among people I’ve known. Perhaps the “guilty pleasure” aspect of the novels are more appealing than actually showing our mid-20′s faces at these teen films, afraid we’ll be busted by a friend going to see something meant for adults. Twilight remains on my Netflix cue, however, and after writing this, I might just indulge in some teenage vampire longing. But I won’t watch Eclipse until I read the book, and yes, I will hide the cover while I read it on the airplane. I just pray I won’t get busted!