Ryan Coogler’s Sinners was a smash hit in 2025. Beyond garnering near-universal praise for its stellar performances and superb narrative, the Michael B. Jordan film gave fans a fresh take on vampire horror. The thrilling genre entry was bolstered by fantastic word of mouth, which helped it earn record-breaking box-office numbers for an original film and even showed impressive staying power. Sinners made history with its staggering 16 Academy Award nominations, outdoing classics like Titanic and All About Eve, which previously held the record with 14 nominations.
With such quality on display, Sinners can often leave audiences wanting more. There are plenty of terrifying vampire films to satiate genre fans, but Coogler’s lauded film is a tough act to follow. Thankfully, there are numerous phenomenal horror films for fans to sink their teeth into, with excellent vampire features that are sure to continue thrilling audiences who loved Sinners and characters like Smoke and Stack. Whether it’s bloody violence, historical thrills, or excellent performances, these intense creature features are sure to please.
‘Byzantium’ (2012)
Neil Jordan impressed audiences with Interview with a Vampire in 1994, delivering a classic vampire tale. The director returned to the genre with the underrated gem Byzantium, which some fans feel is Jordan’s superior tale surrounding vampire lore, despite being criminally underseen. It also features an impressive cast, starring Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, and Caleb Landry Jones, who each deliver superb performances.
The film follows a simple survival plot, focusing on two vampire women living in a small British seaside town, where their true nature begins to cause trouble. Byzantium succeeds through impeccable character dynamics, moral quandaries posed to the audience, and heaps of vampire thrills. Plus, it’s not every day that movies feature blood waterfalls.
‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ (1996)
From Dusk Till Dawn is a bit campier than Sinners, but the vampire flick has plenty in common with Coogler’s Oscar darling. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, the movie follows a pair of fugitive brothers who end up facing off against a vampire threat while in a remote bar. Sound familiar? Quentin Tarantino wrote the script and stars alongside George Clooney as the central brothers, with the bloody movie a mix of dark humor and horror thrills.
Beyond their plot similarities, Sinners and From Dusk Till Dawn also share a story structure. Each movie begins by establishing the brothers and the bar, with the first half largely set up, before each shifts to all-out vampire action later. While From Dusk Till Dawn has a bit more fun with the concept, with elements like Clooney loading a jackhammer with a wooden stake, the bloody action on display and sibling dynamics make a perfect Sinners follow-up.
‘The Transfiguration’ (2016)
The Transfiguration is a truly unique vampire film, as the central character is a young boy who believes he is a vampire, but it is not confirmed. When he meets an alienated young girl, they form a relationship that pushes the protagonist’s fantastical beliefs further into reality. Audiences watch as he attempts to feed on blood, often vomiting and having trouble keeping it down, but convinced he’s a vampire nonetheless.
The Transfiguration is a quiet character study that focuses on a young boy as he attempts to find his place in the world. While it doesn’t pack the action of Sinners, it does offer a similarly complex relationship and dark moral themes surrounding vampires, making it a perfect pairing after watching Smoke and Stack’s exploits.
‘Near Dark’ (1987)
Near Dark is an underrated 1980s vampire film that has found a cult following over the years. From Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, the horror tale focuses on a teen from a small town joining a band of vampires after being turned. The movie delivers on a beautifully shot rural area, bloody thrills, and a stellar cast, including Bill Paxton. However, vampirism is also treated more like a drug addiction rather than romanticized.
Much like Jack O’Connell’s Rimmick in Sinners, Near Dark captures the feel of old vampires plaguing a small town, complete with bar antics and plenty of eccentric characters. Near Dark can feel campy due to its age, but it offers a mix of dark humor and heaps of vampire terror that feels like a western that focuses on nomadic killers.
‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ (2014)
Much like Sinners, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night embraces a slow buildup of tension, allowing the world to unfold as the central vampire navigates through it, meeting potential victims. The movie is notable for its spectacular cinematography, which brings its stark black-and-white images to brilliant life. While it blends romance and horror, the vampire story is also considered an empowering feminist film.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night works well as a character study. The way audiences walked away from Sinners with a deep understanding of the characters beyond the central conflict, the vampire protagonist of A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night delivers a sympathetic take on the creatures that will have many rethinking stereotypical genre tropes.
‘Thirst’ (2009)
With Thirst, Oldboy director Park Chan-wook gives audiences a vampire story that leans into tragedy, affixing deeply human stakes to the central creatures. Beyond the moral ambiguity that many vampire horror films present to audiences, Thirst poses philosophical questions surrounding faith and humanity, often delivered through a comedic lens. Thirst also ventures into erotic thriller territory, which falls in line with Sinners’ sexually charged scenes.
The central character of Thirst is a priest, with the movie filtering his descent into vampirism through a distinct lens, seeing his convictions melt away as he gives in to his hunger. While there is a criminal element at play in Sinners, Thirst explores vampires from a religious angle, with the forces overtaking the protagonist seen as almost a demonic plague or penance.
‘Let the Right One In’ (2008)
Let the Right One In tells a story about a young boy who forms an unlikely friendship with his neighbor, a young girl who happens to be a vampire. While Sinners is about keeping bad vampires out, Let the Right One In is about a relationship that can form when the central creature is allowed in, as they aren’t purely nefarious. It’s a dark, psychological coming of age tale that is told through the lens of vampire lore.
Let the Right One In is often a subtle horror movie, allowing the characters to move things along at a leisurely pace. However, what sets it apart is the often jarring imagery that breaks the nuance, seeing violent moments that audiences won’t soon forget, like the infamous pool scene. Let the Right One In breaks conventional tropes by focusing on a poignant relationship, letting the grounded narrative stakes keep the audience engaged.
‘Boys from County Hell’ (2020)
The central antagonist of Sinners is an old Irish vampire, so what better to follow it up than another movie about an ancient Irish bloodsucker mistakenly let loose? Boys from County Hell follows a road crew who unleash a vampire, forcing them into a fight for survival as their contentious personalities constantly see them bickering. While there is plenty of blood to be had, the movie also offers dark humor and practical gore.
Boys from County Hell leans into unique folklore to flesh out the story, delivering a distinct vampire that helps to break from genre tropes. For those who enjoyed the rich background given to the central vampire in Sinners, Boys from County Hell offers a similar dose of background to bring the central villain to horrifying life. While it may not have captured the world’s attention like many others, Boys from County Hell is not the average vampire story, making it a solid watch after Sinners.
‘Nosferatu’ (2024)
One undeniable aspect on display throughout Sinners is the film’s libidinous energy, as it doesn’t shy away from sexually charged relationships and graphic scenes. Director Robert Eggers’ take on Nosferatu is another spectacular vampire movie that features a story that is similarly fueled by sexual dynamics. While there are familiar story beats at play, the movie puts a salacious spin on past iterations, leaning into racy elements.
Nosferatu features a grotesque vampire thanks to Bill Skarsgård’s Count Orlock, who could rival O’Connell’s creature in Sinners when he’s fully transformed. Yet beyond the bloody kills, Nosferatu has been praised for its authentic Gothic feel, bringing audiences into a fully realized world, much like Coogler did with the American south in his vampire opus. The immersive tale has plenty of dread on display, proving to be a bleak, often stunning film with a slow burn pace that immerses viewers in the world.
‘Interview with the Vampire’ (1994)
For Sinners fans looking for another vampire tale that navigates unique bygone eras, Interview with the Vampire fits the bill. The star-studded creature feature, with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise front and center, explores unique character dynamics between the leads. While one is unapologetically violent, embracing his vampire ways to the fullest, the other hates his bleak existence and his reliance on human blood.
While many vampire tales romanticize the creatures, Interview with the Vampire focuses on many negative aspects, with murder feeling horrific and the characters never being truly sympathetic. Sinners offers a vampire with a long, storied past, with Interview with the Vampire delivering similar details, telling a story that spans 200 years, leading into the present, much like how Coogler’s film ends. There are plenty of distinct differences, but Sinners fans should find plenty to enjoy in the Anne Rice adaptation.
- Release Date
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April 18, 2025
- Runtime
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138 minutes
- Director
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Ryan Coogler