Peter Travers on The Best and Worst Vampires on Film and TV

Admirers of both sexes might name the Brit actor Number One for his humongous fan base. But as Edward Cullen, he has neither the fangs nor the balls to go for the human jugular when he can hunt Bambi or moon around Bella instead. What Pattinson does have: Byronic good looks that are unfakably hypnotic.

As the newly-turned teen vamp Jessica on the HBO series, Woll shows the boy bloods how it's done. There's a wildness in this character that Woll handles with extraordinary skill. An early sequence, in which Jessica sneaks home to visit her family — including her abusive father — burns in the memory.

If you ever wondered what Jack Bauer would be like as a blond vampire, check out Sutherland in this 1987 cult hit. Highlight: When his character David attacks Surf Nazis at a bonfire.

The 1958 movie is slight and spawned some lousy sequels. But Lee, now best known for playing Saruman in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, gave the Count an iconic presence that few have equaled.

This child actress from Sweden used a chilling stillness to play a vampire who says, "I've been 12 years old for a very long time." A Hollywood remake of the 2008 film will star Kick Ass dynamo Chloe Moretz in Leandersson's role. It opens in October.

Some may argue that Cage's performance as a New York literary agent once bitten takes over-the-top acting to the point of no return. Idiots! That's the fun of this 1989 film.

As Eric Northman, a 1,000-year-old Viking and the current vampire sheriff of Louisiana, Skarsgard provides heat the Twilight movies lack. His scenes with Anna Paquin's all-too-human Sookie Stackhouse flare like nothing else in a series that is already a sexual bonfire.

Kevin Williamson's terrific series on the CW network casts Somerhalder (formerly Boone on Lost) as Damon Salvatore, the bad boy vampire in hot pursuit of the woman his brother Stefan (Paul Wesley) loves. Somerhalder deftly balances dangerous and funny without compromising either quality. Says Damon: "I do believe in killing the messenger. Know why? It sends a message."

Dafoe gives the best portrayal of a vampire in the new century in this Oscar-nominated performance. (Ian Somerhalder has said the same thing.) Watch Dafoe's character, the star of Nosferatu, advance on an actress as the camera rolls and then, forgetting he's acting, go right for her pretty white neck.

Lugosi owns Count Dracula, cutting deep into the tortured soul of his character. Play close attention to his face and voice as the Count expresses his delight in the howling of wolves: "Listen to them. Children of the night — what music they make." Lugosi's music is forever.

Time hasn't been kind to this 1994 film version of Anne Rice's bestseller — or to Cruise's performance. Rice initially protested the casting of Cruise as the blond vampire Lestat. She should have fought harder.

Beckinsale looks great in leather, but her lady vamp couldn't scare a cat on Friday the 13th.

If Dracula was ever cloned more anemically than here, I don't know when. Butler was scarier singing in Andrew Lloyd's Webber's Phantom of the Opera.

As a Caribbean vampire on a mission in New York, Murphy makes plenty of jokes — none funny.

Facinelli is a solid actor, but playing Carlisle Cullen, the white-haired head of the fang-challenged Cullen vampire family, he looks about as terrifying as Project Runway winner Austin Scarlett, whom Carisle closely resembles.