The original idea for 'Dracula' was to create a creature to scare people, whereas the 'Twilight' series is more focused on romance and to make the vampires attractive. The 'Underworld' series was more of an action and war film, as was the 'Blade' series. 'Interview With a Vampire' is a suspense film. Vampire films have changed in many ways and genre is one of them. This could be an attempt to explore new avenues of an old stereotype and to entice a different type of audience to each re-imagining of these creatures.A general overview of the changes in the representation of vampires is 
that the initial audience image of a vampire would have been 'Nosferatu' who was a creepy looking creature that bit people's necks. Next, and possibly even now, the dominant image of a Vampire would have been Count Dracula who slept in coffins, turned into a bat and could only go out at night. Over the years and into modern films and TV Vampires have become younger, stronger, more powerful and are harder to recognise as the undead on sight.
that the initial audience image of a vampire would have been 'Nosferatu' who was a creepy looking creature that bit people's necks. Next, and possibly even now, the dominant image of a Vampire would have been Count Dracula who slept in coffins, turned into a bat and could only go out at night. Over the years and into modern films and TV Vampires have become younger, stronger, more powerful and are harder to recognise as the undead on sight.Common iconographies and conventions in vampire films include:
> Blood -The use of which depends heavily on the film genre and its certificate, for example very little blood in 'Twilight' and yet in '30 Days of Night', where the vampires are feral and beastly with 2 layers oof razor sharp teeth, there is blood in practically every scene. With the introduction of colour films the use of blood became more liberal as well (50's-60's).
>Neck biting and teeth - Teeth are the most recognisable feature of a vampire and each film does them a bit differently and have changed a lot from 'Nosferatu's' fangs to the barely visible or retractable fangs of today's vampires. This increasingly humanoid appearance helps the vampires to blend in and seem more attractive.>Night setting - Most vampire films carry the myth of the dangers of sunlight, either that its rays are fatal, as in 'Underworld', or decrease powers slightly, as in 'Dracula'. Night also presents a new dimension of fear for the audience, it increases the vulnerability of the characters and is a stereotype of horror films to allow imagination of what could be lurking in the dark to increase tension.
>Being indestructable -This is mainly a plot device which aims to make the creature more terrifying and harder to kill.>Coffins, Crucifixes and Holy water - These are iconic as they link to the religious paranoia which is attributed with the birth of vampire legend, as vampires and the undead are directly linked to demonic forces. The name of the franchise 'Underworld' is partly an acknowledgement of that link, that originally vampires were believed to be pure evil from hell. These religious objects were initially means by which characters could defend themselves against vampires, indicating a reflection of social morality and religious views within these films.
> Garlic - This is another traditional method for deterring or killing vampires. However, in modern films it is often ignored or if it is used, for example in 'Blade' - which is the only contemporary vampire film that bothers to regard garlic as a serious deterrent, garlic is given a scientific reason dor this effect eg. it induces anaphylactic shock. This attempts to create a sense of realsim within the fantastical context.
Costume wise vampires have always been associated with black as an iconic link to the darkness they are supposed to represent. Traditional vampires wore black capes, whereas modern vampires have a more subtle appearance. It is commonplace for a vampire to be dressed in modern, normal clothing to blend into society, creating realism.
Pale skin is a convention that most vampire films adhere to, even in modern films. However, as films should reflect the society of the times films such as 'Twilight' and the 'Trueblood' TV show depict vampires of ethnic races other than just white.
From film to film vampires vary in many terms. For example, how to kill a vampire suggestions include the iconic stake, slit throats, incineration, sunlight, decapitation, garlic or staying with a woman who is "pure of heart" until dawn. A vampire can then either: explode, disintergrate, burst, morph, molder or die serenely with a single groan. Also becoming a vampire varies from through a bite, through a ritual or the exchanging of blood, some films such as 'Blade' (like several other AIDs-conscious vampire films) treats vampirism as an infectious blood disease. 
Can vampires fly? Nosferatu is barely able to walk -he shuffles around his castle, whereas Dracula is able to turn himself into a bat. In 'Interview With the Vampire' some vampires are able to fly, as are John Carpenter's vampires, however, these vampire villians seem to immediately forget these powers in the climatic final battles and therefore, most modern films do not include this particular power, their vampires rely on their super strength for unfeasible jumping.
A modern convention for vampire films is to challenge or expel older conventions by a vampire or vampire expert explaining what vampires are really like. For example, in 'Trueblood' the main vampire, Bill, is asked "I thought you were supposed to invisible in a mirror," and he reveals that vampires started the myths about not having reflections themselves, in order to make them harder to detect. Other films have also used similar subversions of myths. Variations on the vampire rules also make for some clever plot twists to keep the audiences surprised and make the stories less predictable. But the biggest reason for expelling old myths is to create a believable world. It acknowledges the silliness of most vampire stories which distancing this one from the rest.
Variation in attributes is a long standing tradition in vampire narrative. There are many reasons for this, but one of the most significant one is technology. This has aided the transformation of the vampire and most other supernatural creatures. Increased (and better) use of prosthetics, convincing fangs and CGI meant that vampires could develop a range of new apppearances and powers. CGI also aided technology represented in the films. In recent films "science is the new magic", from a 'vampiris germ' in 'I Am Legend' to genetic mutations in 'Underworld'. Also the technology in films for vampire slaying has adapted hence the evolution of the vampire 
action film, with garlic filled bullets in 'Blade' and 'Underworld's' bullets filled with daylight.It all depends on each individual film world and the narrative. The typical vampire narrative has also adapted over the years. Films such as 'Nosferatu', 'Dracula' and 'Fright Night' contain the traditional vampire plot where the villainous vampire must be defeated by a worthy protagonist who holds most of the audience's sympathy. Modern interpretations of vampire plots take into consideration the social climate of our era. 'Being human' (a TV show) is less about the idea of monster verses human, but the fight against an internal monster in order for the vampires themselves to retain a sense of humanity. In modern terms humanity is discussed as a state of being which is emphasised by the title 'being human' despite the show being about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost.
'Trueblood' (a TV show) is another re-imagining of a world involving vampires. Synthetic blood allows vampires to be a part of society, similar to 'Daybreakers' where vampires are the majority, and this raises the theme of prejudice, drawing parralels with our world, including an exploration of religious organisations and general socialviews. There is a heavy slant on the political implications of vampires and their power. This show attempts to set the fantasy elements in a contemporary America, making it more realistic and character based rather than centring on the supernatural horror aspect. The same can be said of 'being human' which is set in modern Britain and amongst their ordinary lives, like jobs, cooking and relationships are the fantastical storylines.
'Twilight', another re-envisaging of vampire stories, is a forbidden romance, the point of which is to ask 'what would you sacrafice for love? - your life? your humanity?' Despite its popularity this is not the first or only time vampires were depicted as attractive. The darkness of these creatures has always attracted humans to them, even if you look as early as 'Dracula' there is an almost beautiful glamour and charisma to them. It wasn't until the late 1960's that 'hot' vampires became mainstream.
In contrast with this, the 'Underworld' series deeply revolves around original mythology and is the tale of the beginning of the battle between vampires and lycans (I recommend you watch them in oreder of release -unless you want massive spoilers!!) It sticks strongly to the myths for example, sunlight burns, super strength and the link between a vampire and their maker. it is a very insular look at the fantasy world of vampires hidden inside our own with very little mention of the human world.Bibliography:
The different experiences of each writer, living in different families, countries, and situations, will continue to keep new and original ideas appearing in the landscape of film and contributing new conventions to genres which will create gradual change. 'Trainspotting' is a great example of this as the film is an adaptation of the novel, of the same name, by Irvine Welsh and is a brutal depiction of the realities of Edinburgh life where he grew up.
