Vampire

"Underworld: Awakening" begins with a tidy, three-minute wrap of the series' first two movies (the third, a 2009 prequel minus star Kate Beckinsale doesn't figure into the equation) before revealing the current grim state of affairs for its clashing vampires and werewolves. Humans, at least those oblivious to the charms of the "Twilight" movies, have decided to stop killing each other and focus on eradicating creatures possessing fangs. Our vampire antiheroine Selene (Beckinsale)

"The Avengers"will take a big bite out of the opening of"Dark Shadows,"as the superhero blockbuster is set to dominate the box office for the second consecutive weekend. After launching with a record-breaking $207.4 million - the biggest opening weekend ever, not adjusting for inflation - "The Avengers" isn't likely to lose steam at the box office any time soon. In its second weekend, the film featuring beloved comic book characters such as Iron Man, Captain America and the Hulk is expected to collect an additional $90 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys.

They don't call it "Tim Burton's Dark Shadows," but they might as well have. Nominally based on the cult favorite 1960s daytime soap opera, this film has much more to do with what goes on inside director Tim Burton's head than with any TV show, no matter how beloved. In fact, "Dark Shadows" is as good an example as any of what might be called the Way of Tim, a style of making films that, like the drinking of blood, is very much an acquired taste and, unless you're a vampire, not worth the effort.

They don't call it "Tim Burton's Dark Shadows," but they might as well have. Nominally based on the cult favorite 1960s daytime soap opera, this film has much more to do with what goes on inside director Tim Burton's head than with any TV show, no matter how beloved. In fact, "Dark Shadows" is as good an example as any of what might be called the Way of Tim, a style of making films that, like the drinking of blood, is very much an acquired taste and, unless you're a vampire, not worth the effort.

There's something inspiring for old-fashioned book lovers out there about an early scene in Deborah Harkness' novel "A Discovery of Witches" (Viking: 579 pp., $28.95). Magical creatures suddenly gather as a woman opens a legendary lost book. Never mind that most of these creatures ? vampires, daemons, witches ? are all plotting to get the book out of the hands of Diana, an American professor on a research trip in England. Menace aside, the scene is almost an hommage to the printed word: There's far more magic in an old book than in an iPad no matter how good the latter's backlighting is. "My fingers trembled when I loosened the small brass clasps?

Chosen for both the Pulitzer Prize and coverage on "Oprah," Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel "The Road" regularly appears in debates over genre carpetbagging. Should die-hard fans of a genre (in this case science fiction) be honored or annoyed when an interloper wanders onto their creative territory? The title of McCarthy's book indicates the path its father-and-son protagonists follow, but it might also symbolize the author's journey from revered offshoot of the Melville-Hemingway-Faulkner axis to de facto practitioner of end-of-the-world lit. Justin Cronin's ample vampire-virus saga "The Passage" also presents a vivid eschatology, while its title indicates an even more profound transformation of one sort of literary sensibility into another.

It breaks my heart to tell you that "Breaking Dawn" is broken. The movie that's carved out of the first half of the last book of Stephenie Meyer's vampires-in-love series, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, is weighted down by more than its title, to say nothing of the expectations. For the record, it's called "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1," as if 5 billion insanely attentive Twihards wouldn't be able to find it. Maybe the studio suits have begun to believe the franchise, like the classy Cullen clan, is immortal, that almost nothing can kill it. They'd better hope that last bit is true, because "Breaking Dawn" kinda sucks, in the metaphoric rather than the vampiric sense.

"Nosferatu" (1922). German Expressionist F.W. Murnau turned Dracula into a rat-faced monster, more reminiscent of an anorexic fruit bat than an Eastern European aristocrat, but he was a fright. * "Dracula" (1931). Bela Lugosi's trance-like glare and comedic timing ("I don't drink . . . wine") gave the world a new view of Bram Stoker's Transylvanian count. * "Dracula's Daughter" (1936).

When Park Chan-wook set out to make his vampire movie "Thirst," he wanted to leave out the garlic cloves, opera capes, wooden stakes and other moldy genre stereotypes. Neither did he intend to add to the current glut of angsty-teen, blood-sucking fables with gorgeously buff heroes and heroines, such as "Twilight" and "True Blood." "In the West, there has been this great accumulation of cliches in vampire movies," the South Korean writer-director said by phone, speaking through an interpreter.

In response to Jason Alexander Apuzzo's " 'Vampire' Does F.W. Murnau Injustice" (Counterpunch, Feb. 5), I just wanted to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this devilish picture and would like to suggest that Apuzzo needs to lighten up a little bit, cut out his long middle name and step off his intellectual high horse when viewing films, and see them for what they are most of the time: simply entertainment. To me, "Shadow of the Vampire" was brilliantly written, and Apuzzo seems to have missed the fact that the film isn't about a method actor, but rather, a method director.

Jonathan Frid, whose portrayal of charismatic vampire Barnabas Collins in the supernatural soap opera "Dark Shadows" turned the classically trained actor into a pop-culture star in the late 1960s, has died. He was 87. Frid died April 13 of natural causes at a hospital in his hometown of Hamilton, Canada, said Jim Pierson, a spokesman for Dan Curtis Productions, which produced"Dark Shadows. " The campy daytime soap was a year old and struggling in the ratings in 1967 when series creator Dan Curtis took his daughter's advice to "make it scarier.

Marcos Siega, a director and producer of "The Vampire Diaries" since 2009, has sold his Encino home for $1.65 million. The remodeled midcentury house features floor-to-ceiling doors, an upgraded kitchen, five bedrooms and five bathrooms in 3,628 square feet. The half-acre lot includes a swimming pool with a spa. Siega, 42, has worked on "Charlie's Angels" (2011), "Dexter" (2007-09) and "Cold Case" (2005-09). The property came on the market in September at $1.665 million.

'That Certain Summer' Hal Holbrook and Martin Sheen played longtime companions in this milestone drama penned by Richard Levinson and William Link. 'The Night Stalker' Dan Curtis produced this cult favorite starring Darren McGavin as a reporter who believes a serial killer is actually a vampire. 'The Glass House' Tom Gries directed this prison drama shot at Utah State Prison starring Alan Alda and Kristoffer Tabori.

Audiences haven't tired of Kate Beckinsale as a butt-kicking heroine — the fourth installment of Sony Pictures' "Underworld" series debuted to healthy ticket sales over the weekend. The vampire action-thriller "Underworld: Awakening" opened to $25.4 million, according to an estimate from the studio's Screen Gems label. Meanwhile, George Lucas' "Red Tails" — about the Tuskegee Airmen — exceeded industry expectations, selling $19.1-million worth of tickets. "Haywire," Steven Soderbergh's action-thriller starring mixed martial arts star Gina Carano, had a less impressive opening of $9 million.

"Underworld: Awakening" begins with a tidy, three-minute wrap of the series' first two movies (the third, a 2009 prequel minus star Kate Beckinsale doesn't figure into the equation) before revealing the current grim state of affairs for its clashing vampires and werewolves. Humans, at least those oblivious to the charms of the "Twilight" movies, have decided to stop killing each other and focus on eradicating creatures possessing fangs. Our vampire antiheroine Selene (Beckinsale)

"Awesome," according to one dictionary of slang, is "something Americans use to describe everything. " The linguistic overkill horrifies John Tottenham. So the British-born L.A. poet, painter and journalist has launched what he calls the Campaign to Stamp Out Awesome, or CPSOA. "Saying the word in my presence is like waving a crucifix in a vampire's face," Tottenham says. "It's boiled down to one catchall superlative that's completely meaningless. " I met with Tottenham last week at CSPOA headquarters inside Stories, the Echo Park bookstore he is trying to turn into the world's first awesome-free zone.

"Pan's Labyrinth" director Guillermo del Toro is collaborating with crime author Chuck Hogan on a trilogy of vampire novels, starting next summer with "The Strain." "The idea is epic in scope," Del Toro said in a statement issued by publisher William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins. "The trilogy advances in unexpected ways, and each book contains unique and surprising revelations about the history, physiology and lore of the vampiric race, tracing its roots all the way back to its Old Testament origins."

Novelist Stephenie Meyer has a rabid teen following, and Hollywood has already dubbed Friday's two-hour feature film debut of her book series "Twilight," about a girl named Bella who falls for a vampire named Edward, a pop culture phenomenon. But the author has had a few rough months. In August, the final book in Meyer's "Twilight" saga, "Breaking Dawn," was greeted with passionate but divided reaction from fans, some of whom were so disappointed that they threatened to return their copies.

It's more than just a TV show. It's part of your daily or weekly routine that reaches beyond the small screen. It's a piece of pop culture you want to experience even when you're not watching it. You, my friend, are a merchandiser's dream, and you've contributed to the growing cache of TV-inspired swag that's never more in demand than at the holidays. Today's choices are nearly endless, including "Cougar Town's" "40 is the new 20" throw pillow, Animal Planet's pet beds and a temporary tattoo of the "Sons of Anarchy" grim reaper logo big enough to cover a grown man's back.

Make a list of those who've had a hand in the entertainment world's vampire vogue and you'll probably put Tomas Alfredson near the top. The Swedish filmmaker directed "Let the Right One In," the 2008 hit about a relationship between a bullied boy and the young-looking vampire Eli that turned even skeptics into believers. Yet ask the 46-year-old about his influence on, or interest in, the bloodsucker bonanza and you'll get a shrug. "I haven't really seen any vampire movies, except maybe a few Bela Lugosi movies when I was a kid," Alfredson said.