The vampire in late communist cinema: from internal enemy to foreign threat

TL;DR

This paper explores how vampires in Eastern European communist cinema evolved from representing internal issues to symbolizing foreign threats.

Contribution

The paper offers a novel analysis of vampire symbolism in Eastern bloc cinema, contrasting it with Western interpretations.

Findings

Eastern European vampires often reflect the lingering effects of earlier communist phases.

Romania avoided vampire cinema despite being its mythic birthplace.

Vampire films in Poland and Czechoslovakia critiqued consumerism and gender roles.

Abstract

The vampire trope’s connection to socialism originates in Karl Marx’s The Communist Manifesto (1848), where it symbolizes capitalism. This interpretation has dominated vampire studies, often narrowing the discourse on the semantic dimensions of the vampire in communist states. This article examines the evolution of the vampire myth in Eastern bloc cinema from Lenin’s 1917 October Revolution to Romania’s 1989 communist collapse. By comparing socialist vampire movies to Western counterparts, the study reveals that Eastern European vampires usually embody the haunting legacy of communism’s earlier phases. The article’s final section contrasts vampire depictions in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia, and Romania during the cinema of late communism. While Romania—known as the vampire trope’s birthplace—avoided the myth in cinema, other countries embraced it during this period to critique consumerism and shifting gender roles in Soviet societies. Through this exploration, the article illuminates the cinematic interpretations of the vampire across different socialist contexts.