Last year I made a list of a variety of WLW horror movies. Part of the reason behind that list was to show there’s variety in WLW horror films; it’s not all sexy vampires. I’m over that now. This year’s list is oops, all lebian vampire movies. Because I love them. Without further adieu, here’s a list of every single lesbian vampire film I’ve found that falls within the criteria for my site. Leave a comment below if I’ve missed any lesbian vampire movies or just to discuss why the last name Franco is so over-represented in this list.
The Carmillas
Carmilla was originally published by J. Sheridan Le Fanu in 1872 meaning it predates Dracula by over two decades. The novella focuses on a young girl named Laura and her mysterious friend, Carmilla who, of course, is drinking her blood because she’s a vampire. For a novella published in 1872, its queerness is surprisingly blatant. In recent years, Carmilla has become basically the female equivalent to Dracula. You need a female vampire villain? Carmilla’s there for you. Here’s ten overtly queer vampire films with our girl, Carmilla in them.
1) The Vampire Lovers dir. Roy Ward Baker
The Vampire Lovers is the oldest film on this list. There are earlier films with some lesbian vampire content like Blood and Roses or Dracula’s Daughter. But The Vampire Lovers really blows them out of the water in terms of lesbian content. No subtext here! Just a constant stream of beautiful women Carmilla seduces then kills. The film is a closer adaption of the Carmilla novella than most, but that’s sort of a low bar. The Vampire Lovers‘ priorities are still very much sexy ladies and blood rather than accurate adaption of the source material. Read my full review here
The Vampire Lovers can be rented or purchased on Amazon.
2) Carmilla (2019) dir. Emily Harris
This version of Carmilla is the most recent and seems to be the closest adaption of the source material. The focus of 2019 Carmilla is less on titties and blood and more about atmospheric horror and themes of coming of age.
Carmilla is available for digital rental or purchase on Amazon.
3) The Carmilla Movie dir. Spencer Maybee
This version of Carmilla started as a modern update of the source material. But by the time The Carmilla Movie was released, they’d already covered the events of the original novella. The Carmilla Movie is a cinematic conclusion to the Carmilla webseries. For better or worse, it is a love letter to the series’ fans are chock full of fan service for people who had come to love this version of Carmilla and the supporting cast of characters. Read my full review here.
The Carmilla Movie can be purchased directly through the film’s website.
4) Styria dir. Mauricio Chernovetzky & Mark Devendorf
Styria is middling both in terms of accuracy of adaption as well as quality of the film. Styria takes place in the modern day. It focuses on Lara, lonely teenage girl who meets a mysterious, charming girl named Carmilla. As her friendship with Carmilla deepens, strange events start happening. Not just to Lara, but to the young women in the nearby town who begin to go mad. Read my full review here.
Styria, also known as Angels of Darkness is available on Amazon.
5) The Blood Spattered Bride dir. Vicente Aranda
The Blood Spattered Bride has nothing to do with the source material. It’s one of those films that just uses the name Carmilla for their non-specific female vampire. The actually don’t even use the name Carmilla but an anagram, Mircalla. This film oscillates between having something to say about misogyny, especially in marriage and leaning into sexism itself. Mircalla is a mysterious presence here to convince a young wife to kill her husband and descend into a life of blood drinking and lesbian debauchery. Read my full review here.
The Blood Spattered Bride is available for rental or purchase on Amazon.
6) The Unwanted dir. Bret Wood
The Unwanted claims to be a southern gothic retelling of Carmilla. It really isn’t. As I mention in my full review, it basically has too many original ideas to work as an adaption. Carmilla probably isn’t even a vampire in this one; just a regular human with a blood fetish. The Unwanted is objectively uneven but I’m a personal apologist for it. There’s some surprisingly good performances in it and like I said in my review, it’s hard to get mad at a film that had too many original ideas.
You can rent or purchase The Unwanted on Amazon.
7) Carmilla (1999) dir. Tom LePine & Denise Templeton
I’ve divided this master list into three categories; Carmilla movies, other vampire movies and bottom of the barrel movies. If not for the specific Carmilla category, 1999 Carmilla would be hanging out at the bottom of the barrel. 1999 Carmilla is low budget and seems to be more softcore porn than film.
Carmilla can be purchased in a DVD double feature pack via Amazon.
8) A Feast of Flesh dir. Mike Watt
A Feast of Flesh is another lower quality Carmilla film. It seems to be very sex-focused. Still, the trailer has enough gore in it that I can’t write it off as just softcore porn. Because there’s blood in it, it’s technically a horror film with artistic merit beyond sexual titillation. It still shouldn’t be your top pick of a Carmilla movie or lesbian vampire movie more generally.
A Feast of Flesh is available for DVD purchase on Amazon.
9) Vampires Vs Zombies dir. Vince D’Amato
Vampires Vs. Zombies is also known as Carmilla the Lesbian Vampire. I do respect either title of the film being extremely descriptive and upfront. That’s the last positive thing I can say about the film. Vampires Vs. Zombies looks incredibly, incredibly cheap.
Vampires Vs. Zombies can be purchased on Amazon.
10) Barely Legal Lesbian Vampires: The Curse of Ed Wood! dir. Tim R. Swartz
Barely Legal Lesbian Vampires: The Curse of Ed Wood! currently has a 1.5/10 on IMDb. That’s almost impressively low. This is another one that’s a mixture of a little horror, a lot of sex and absolutely no budget. Do I even need to say this one has nothing to do with the original novella?
Barely Legal Lesbian Vampires: The Curse of Ed Wood! is available on a 50 film DVD combo pack via Amazon. Nothing says quality like 50 movies for the price of $37.
The Others
But Carmilla is not the only queer female vampire! Some filmmakers chose to create original characters or look to other sources for inspiration. The following 17 films are non-Carmilla vampires and also films of high enough artistic merit to stay out of the bottom of the barrel section.
11) Daughters of Darkness dir. Harry Kümel
The Countess Elizabeth Bathory is the inspiration for the first two on this list. Bathory herself was likely an influence for the original Carmilla.Great to see even centuries later that female serial killer/absolute girlboss Elizabeth Bathory stays winning. In Daughters of Darkness, Bathory is an incredibly chic countess who preys upon a newlywed couple. Not fully devoid of sleaze, the film has that European 1970’s je ne sais quoi which makes sleaze look impossibly stylish. Read my full review here.
Daughters of Darkness can be rented or purchased through Amazon.
12) Blood of the Tribades dir. Sophia Cacciola & Michael J. Epstein
Blood of the Tribades is a love letter to vampire media in general. This crowdfunded film takes place in the village of Bathory. A battle between female vampires and male residents of the town breaks out following an illness that affects only the men.
Blood of the Tribades is available for viewing on Amazon.
13) The Hunger dir. Tony Scott
The Hunger is my personal favourite lesbian vampire movie. Read my full review here to find out the entire reasoning. But mostly, it boils down to the presence of David Bowie and later, a skeleton army lead by David Bowie. Lesbian vampires, Susan Sarandon, skeletons and David Bowie. The Hunger has everything.
The Hunger is available on Amazon.
14) Vampyres (1974) dir. José Ramón Larraz
I cannot bloody believe Vampyres warranted a remake. This is one of the most boring 1970s lesbian vampire films I’ve seen. Vampyres focuses on a vampire lesbian couple who have sex and kill people. Neither of those things are done with any sort of urgency or filmmaking talent. Read my full review here where I talk abut how bored and disappointed I am by the film.
Rent or purchase Vampyres via Amazon.
15) Vampyres (2015) dir. Víctor Matellano
The 2015 Vampyres has the same minimal plot as the 1974 version. It’s a lesbian couple of vampires who kill people. As much as I disliked the 1974 version, this one seems worse.
This version of Vampyres is also available for viewing on Amazon and is currently free for Amazon Prime members.
16) Bit dir. Brad Michael Elmore
Bit has a low IMDb rating because it triggered people in the manosphere. The film focuses on a transgender young woman who falls in with a group of radical feminist vampires. Said vampires’ preferred diet is shitty men who leave bad internet comments and think they’re entitled to sex. I’m not going to pretend like the film isn’t sexist as members of the vampire gang are overt misandrists. But to people offended by this, I can only roll my eyes. So many other films on this list (and films in general) are misogynist. Female horror fans, myself included have to suck it up and work around constant depictions of violence against women, sometimes even in films we enjoy. There’s more to Bit than just sexism. There’s also a montage set to Boney M’s Rasputin. Read my full review here.
Take a bite out of Bit by renting or purchasing it on Amazon.
17) Vampyros Lesbos dir. Jess Franco
Vampyros Lesbos is the best Jess Franco film I’ve seen. He is not a very good filmmaking. Franco appears multiple times on this list, to increasingly diminishing returns. For whatever reason, Vampyros Lesbos is significantly better shot than most Franco films. The weirdness that follows Franco’s questionable priorities and constant displaying of his own kinks is oddly charming in Vampyros Lesbos. It’s the only film on this list that features a sexy dance number featuring a vampire and a mannequin. Read my full review here.
Vampyros Lesbos can be purchased on Amazon.
18) Vampire Diary dir. Mark James & Phil O’Shea
No, not The Vampire Diaries. Vampire Diary. Singular. If nothing else, I give Vampire Diary points for originality. This is a found footage film about a woman who gets involved with a female vampire. Things go south when her vampire lover announces she’s become pregnant with a vampire baby. That’s a plot line that won’t be repeated in any of the other 38 films on this list.
You can watch Vampire Diary through Amazon.
19) Theresa & Allison dir. Jeremiah Kipp
Vampire morality is one of the focuses of Theresa and Allison. This modern day romance focuses on a newly turned vampire named Theresa beginning a relationship with Allison, an older, jaded vampire. New to the vampire underworld, Theresa has deep concerns about the casual cruelty the vampire community is capable of. Read my full review here.
Theresa & Allison is currently streaming free with ads on Tubi.
20) Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? dir. Melanie Aitkenhead
Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? is a Lifetime movie sharing the same name as an iconic 1980’s Lifetime movie. The two films have nothing in common except Tori Spelling. The original was a classic Lifetime stalker thriller. The update, co-written by James Franco is a vampire romance that reads like fan fiction. Read my full, surprisingly positive review here.
Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? is available on Amazon.
21) Daughter of Dracula dir. Jess Franco
Hello again, Jess Franco. Have you brought me another film that’s mostly softcore lesbian porn with some fake blood and sharp teeth? Thanks, dude. I’m sure this film is chock full of original ideas and a focus on plot.
Daughter of Dracula can be purchased on DVD/Blu-ray through Amazon.
22) Nadja dir. Michael Almereyda
David Lynch presents and cameos in this strange 90s vampire flick. Nadja is the daughter of Dracula who inherits her father’s nemesis, Dr. Van Helsing. She also makes a nemesis of her own in the form of a boyfriend of a woman she seduces. Nadja is one of the weirdest films on this list. Uneven, yes. But I really enjoyed the film’s offbeat sense of humour. Read my full review here.
Nadja can be purchased on DVD at Amazon.
23) With a Kiss I Die dir. Ronnie Khalil
With a Kiss I Die is another film with a notably unique premise. The premise of With a Kiss I Die is what if Juliet from Romeo and Juliet was a vampire? And what if she lived to see the modern day and fell in love with a woman? I’d love to make fun of this premise as absurd but I can’t pretend like it hasn’t caught my attention.
With a Kiss I Die can be rented, bought and is currently available for free on Amazon Prime.
24) Life Blood dir. Ron Carlson
Nothing brings a couple together like being turned into vampires and killing people together. I’m a big fan of lesbian genre films that feature established relationships. In Life Blood, the two leads are a couple when the movie starts. But things really kick off when they’re reborn as vampires and do vampire-related activities.
You can rent or purchase Life Blood on Amazon.
25) Dracula’s Fiancee dir. Jean Rollin
Genre fans may wonder about the general lack of Jean Rollin films on this list. Rollin made a name for himself doing surrealist vampire films with queer elements. Unfortunately, his films generally have a male lead or queerness that’s only found in supporting characters. Dracula’s Fiancee is a late addition to Rollin’s vampire canon. Hopefully, this 2002 offering has enough queerness to keep my vampire loving lesbian ass happy.
Dracula’s Fiancee is available for purchase on Amazon.
26) Vampire Lesbian Kickboxers dir. Terri Cascimo & Val Franco
I have been trying to find Vampire Lesbian Kickboxers for years. I am desperate to see this film. It has become my white whale of WLW films. I mean, what a title. Vampire Lesbian Kickboxers. All three words in the title are strong individually and deeply powerful when put together. If you have any leads about where to watch please comment below.
27) Alucarda dir. Juan López Moctezuma
I almost didn’t include Alucarda on this list. Despite the title and lead character’s name being A Dracula but backwards, there’s not very much vampire content in the film. It’s more about Satan and creepy nuns. But someone does get resurrected as a vampire near the end. Plus, I just really like Alucarda. This is one of my favourite 70’s grindhouse films. It’s stylish, has genuine themes and possibly, a very early (Satanic) lesbian wedding. Read my full review here.
Determine for yourself if Alucarda has enough vampire content for this list by purchasing this film on Amazon.
The Bottom of the Barrel
It’s a known fact that lots of horror movies are very bad. There’s also often crossover with sexy themes which can plunge the film into the softcore porn territory. The films on this part of the list are the definition of your mileage may vary. Most are here because of their entire lack of budget or the fact that they only just fall on the right side of the nebulous divide between pornography and film. A few others are here though because while queer vampires feature, I can’t guarantee they’re the main character.
28) Night Fangs dir. Ricardo Islas
Night Fangs is very bad. It current ranks at #3 on my list of the worst lesbian movies I’ve ever seen. The film is about a lesbian couple who are turned into vampires after discovering an ancient ritual. The film is completely devoid of talent, scares and budget. Read my full review here.
How this film is even worthy of the material its printed on, I don’t know. But you can purchase Night Fangs on DVD via Amazon.
29) Red Lips: Bloodlust dir. Donald Farmer
The best part of Red Lips is this promo image. Is this lady vampire single? Because her vibes are impeccable. Sadly, the movie itself is yet another low budget horror/softcore crossover. It focuses on a vampire who kills indiscriminately until she falls in love with a woman she doesn’t want to kill. I could be on board with that plot. Unfortunately, the actual quality of Red Lips is much lower than this promo picture suggests. It’s some proper no-budget camcorder filmmaking.
Red Lips: Bloodlust can be purchased on DVD at Amazon.
30) The Devil’s Plaything dir. Joe Sarno
Joe Sarno is another dude who released a lot of films, many of which have queer content but many of which also fall into the side of being softcore porn without artistic merit. But because The Devil’s Plaything has horror elements, it counts for this site. The film is about a a cult of sinister women who wish to resurrect their leader in the body of a young woman. They also spend quite a lot of the movie having sex. Read my full review here.
The Devil’s Plaything, also known as Vampire Ecstasy is available for purchase on Amazon.
31) Fascination dir. Jean Rollin
Fascination is the second of only two Jean Rollin films to make this list. And even here, I’m kind of reaching. The main character in this one is a dude. But the rest of the cast are women, some of whom enjoy having sex with each other. Some of whom enjoy having sex with the lead male character but only if they can kill him after. I’m also not sure if this movie is actually about vampires or just women who drink blood to try and be vampires. Whatever. Someone gets murdered with a scythe. That absolutely rocks. Read my full review here.
Fascination is available on Amazon.
32) Dark Town dir. Desi Scarpone
Dark Town‘s premise is a pretty basic story about a suburban community that gets attacked by vampires. It appears to be an ensemble film. The trailer above definitely focuses on sexy lesbians doing sexy things but I have a feeling said lesbians won’t be the actual leads to this cheap-looking film.
Dark Town can be purchased on Amazon.
33) Winepires: Blood Toll dir. Vitomir Kaucic
Winepires: Blood Toll is the second in Slovenian director Vitomir Kaucic’s Winepires series. This is another one that’s in this section because it appears to be an ensemble film. So, I’m not sure of lesbians are the focus or if said lesbians are vampire. I am certainly intrigued by the concept of whatever the fuck a Winepire is, though.
Winepires seems to be uploaded in full by its director on Youtube.
34) Vampire Blues dir. Jess Franco
Seriously, I’ve run out of things to say about Jess Franco vampire films. Vampire Blues is a film that exists. It was released direct to video and seems to be little plot and a lot of surreal, sexy images that happen to feature a lesbian vampire.
You can purchase Vampire Blues on Amazon though I’m not sure I’d recommend doing so.
35) The Sisterhood dir. David Decoteau
David Decoteau’s career is a mixture of cheap family films and softcore gay porn. The Sisterhood is a companion film to his gay male vampire series, The Brotherhood. Decoteau’s softcore male features have a tendency to be homoerotic but not necessarily gay. Men will be in their underwear a lot, maybe wrestle each other but actually make out? That’s kinda gay, bro. While I can’t hope for quality or budget in The Sisterhood, I at least hope the homoeroticism goes beyond just having half naked women in proximity to each other.
Purchase The Sisterhood through Amazon.
36) Vampire Junction dir. Jess Franco
Rounding out this list is one more Jess Franco film. At least with Vampire Junction I have something to comment on. The film is still primarily sexy and surreal sequences barely held together with plot. But the setting of the movie is Shit City, USA. That gave me a chuckle, at least. In addition to the general lack of budget, these early 2000s Franco films feature him experimenting lot with camera filters and other low tech camera tricks. Less is more, Jess. Especially when after decades in the business, it still seems as if he hasn’t managed some of the basics of film making.
Like Vampire Blues, you can purchase a DVD of Vampire Junction on Amazon. But why would you want to?
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