[Editorial] Sapphics Bite Back: Top 10 Alternatives to Netflix’s “First Kill”

The low budget, lesbian campy summer hit First Kill premiered on Netflix with an outpouring of love, with over 100 million hours viewed in the first two weeks, beating its much anticipated gay counterpart, Heartstopper.

So when Netflix announced its cancellation just after one season in August it left fans understandably upset and confused. For many, (especially Gen Z) being able to see themselves in the lesbian, interracial relationship of Juliette and Calliope was a breath of fresh air from the consistently white, queer male relationships we are so used to seeing in LGBTQ+ content.

It’s been a tough few years for the sapphic community in terms of media representation with fan favourite shows such as The Wilds, Gentleman Jack, I Am Not Okay With This, Sense8 and Wyonna Earp as just a few examples of queer shows being cancelled before their time after just one or two seasons.

If like me, you are craving more lesbian vampire content to stick your teeth into, below are my top 10 films and tv shows.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003)

If you were a fellow millennial sapphic in the early 2000’s, chances are you were just as obsessed with Buffy as I was, particularly the relationship between Willow and Tara.

I have a lot of love and nostalgia for this show for many reasons, but one being this was the first time I had ever seen a lesbian relationship on screen. Willow and Tara’s first kiss in “The Body,” (Season 5, Episode 16) was one of only a few lesbian kisses that had appeared on mainstream television at the time. Despite their tragic ending (and press backlash), the friends to lovers arc Tara and Willow go on was unlike any other lesbian representation at the time. Instead of told through the male gaze of purely sex, the origin story of this romance is concentrated in love, intellect and mutual respect for one another. 

The Vampire Lovers (1970)

The first (and often argued the best) in the daring Karnsetin trilogy focused on lesbian vampire films, The Vampire Lovers started us off on a decade that would make it’s mark in sapphic horror history.

The film is one of many around this period which was based on the 1872 novella Carmilla, the name Mircalla being an anagram of Carmilla, which is an alias Mircalla uses throughout the film.

Carmilla (2014 - 2016)

Another take on the classic novel but with a modern twist, the 2014 Canadian Youtube web series Carmilla was an unexpected hit. After three seasons and over 100 episodes the series got studio backing and spawned a full feature film in 2017.

Post The L Word and pre streaming services, Carmilla gave lesbian audiences an opportunity to tune in each week into a show in which they saw themselves. The show centres on the unapologetically queer characters of college student Laura Hollis and her roommate to lover Carmilla.

Castlevania (2017 - 2021)

It’s safe to say that the sexy, gothic gore fest that is the anime series Castelvania was my lockdown obsession. Inspired by the original video game series, the show centers on the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, Trevor Belmont and his never-ending war with Vlad Dracula Tepes to save humanity.

The tv series has a wide range of queer representation from the third season onwards, particularly in the bisexual representation of Dracula’s son, Alucard. In the latest series the lesbian relationship between council members, Striga and Morana becomes a focal point of the show. We see them go through the highs and lows of being committed to one another during a demonic war.

Nadja (1994)

A 90’s black and white arthouse horror classic which includes a David Lynch cameo follows lesbian vampire, Nadja and her brother Edgar as they roam the streets of New York while being hunted by professor Van Helsing.

Dracula’s Daughter (1936)

The follow up to the renowned Bela Lugosi's Dracula, this sequel could be argued to be the first lesbian vampire film in western history.

Released right around the era of the Hay’s Code, the story of Marya is a direct reflection of society’s views on queer people at the time, “otherness” and the real- life horror of the coming out process. Although Marya is clearly coded as a lesbian through her interactions with her female victims, her longing and seduction of them, Hollywood did not want the film read in this way.

Universal studio requested script changes to "avoid any suggestion of perverse sexual desires”. Audiences watch as Marya seeks a "cure" for her vampirism through psychiatry, a not-so-subtle nod to homosexuality being considered a mental illness at the time. 

Vampyros Lesbos (1971)

The West-German Spanish film is definitely one of the trail blazers when it comes to lesbian erotic horror, a 60’s inspired aesthetic with an incredible soundtrack to match.

Countess Nadine Carody lives on a remote island where she puts on a seductive burlesque act every night that entices unwary women as she has her eyes set on Linda, who starts dreaming of her.

The Hunger (1983)

A film with David Bowie, powersuits and a bisexual, polyamorous love triangle, what more could you ask for?

Hopeless romantic and the ultimate seductress, Miriam Blaylock is a vampire promising specially chosen humans eternal life as her vampire lovers. The film starts with Miriam’s relationship with the aging John Blaylock.  However, it is her whirlwind romance with scientist Sarah Roberts that really steals the show, depicting one of the most well-known, intimate and erotic lesbian sex scenes in horror history. 

Daughters of Darkness (1971)

Probably my favourite of the 70’s lesbian vampire genre, Daughters of Darkness centres upon the femme fatale Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Based on the real-life Hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed also known as “the queen who bathed in blood” who reportedly tortured and murdered hundreds of young women in the 16th and 17th centuries as a way to retain her legendary beauty and youth.

Elizabeth is coded as a lesbian throughout the film, from her relationship with her assistant to her seduction of newlywed Valerie, stealing her away from her husband Stefan. The film oozes erotica, suspense and killer costuming.

Bit (2019)

Bit gives the lesbian vampire trope a 21st century girl gang makeover. The film follows high school grad Laurel as she sets off for LA. After a hookup gone wrong, she finds herself tangled up with a vampire girl gang, led by the intimidating Duke.

The representation of the queer, trans experience through the lens of Laurel (played by actress and trans activist Nicole Maines) is unlike anything we have seen not only in horror, but in mainstream media in general. 

A film rooted in feminism, the vampire girl gang have their own set of moral codes, only killing men they deem “deserving to die”.

RELATED ARTICLES

---

---

EXPLORE

---

MORE ARTICLES

---

---