The eighties may be remembered as a time of rampant profiteering by slick haired scumbags listening to an array of bad pop music. It may be remembered for spiky hairstyles or shoulder pads or leg warmers with coloured headbands. It may also be remembered as the decade that rebooted the vampire genre with a few influential films. Here are the top seven vampire films of the eighties.

Vamp (1986)
Is there anything scarier than Grace Jones as a vampire? This 80’s comedy horror was about two teenage guys trawling for strippers at a seedy bar. Their disastrous night goes from bad to worse as, unfortunately for them, the strippers all turn out to be vampires. This was actually a pretty sharp and witty horror movie full of bizarre moments and From Dusk Till Dawn obviously borrowed from the premise.

Lifeforce (1985)
Is Lifeforce really a vampire movie? Well apparently yes, the aliens discovered by a space expedition to investigate Halley’s comet are actually space vampires. They suck the life force out of people and leave them as puckered corpses. The lead vamp is played by a constantly naked Mathilda May and she is the most memorable thing about this weird film.

The Monster Squad (1987)
This was the perfect kiddie horror film. Dracula recruits a bunch of monsters like the Wolfman and Frankenstein’s monster so he can take over the world. Only a group of young kids can stop them getting the all powerful amulet which will give them dominion over us all. This paid loving tribute to classic b-movie monsters of yesteryear and it was pure daft fun.

Vampire’s Kiss (1988)
This extremely offbeat comedy showcased the manic talents of Nicolas Cage. He plays Peter a boring executive who comes to believe he is transforming into a vampire. As his delusion grows his behaviour gets increasingly stranger and the results are frightening and hilarious by turns.

Fright Night (1985)
Classic comedy horror as a slick, seductive vampire moves into suburbia and is immediately spotted by the teenager next door. No one believes this charming guy is really a vampire and the teen has to recruit an aging actor who played a vampire hunter to help him uncover the truth.

Near Dark (1987)
A young guy makes the mistake of trying to pull the wrong girl and ends up as part of a wild living travelling vampire family. They tear across the state eating people and trying to come to terms with their existence. This is a thoughtful film which defied expectations and offered a new vision of vampires which was completely fresh. They struggle to survive and have to fight for each other in order to grind out a miserable existence.

The Lost Boys (1987)
This may be the film that set the new vision of vampires in the entertainment world. Young, beautiful and reckless these vampires spout fangs and crinkle their foreheads for feeding and then slide back into their young rebel disguises. Thrill seeking and seductive they have lots of fun and anyone who saw this movie as a kid wanted to get bitten and join up. A decent blend of horror and comedy this movie is an enjoyable trip down memory lane.