The vampire by Guillermo del Toro: between the tradition and the modernity of myth
Abstract
Starting from the purest Central European tradition, Del Toro presents us with a vampire, Strigoi, who has evolved from a humanising vampiric vision (Rice) to become a terrifying monster that will destroy today’s society. Vampirism is an epidemic that will announce a pre-apocalyptic society, a virus that will infect humanity and turn it into a monster. Classic topics and innovations form part of this tale The Trilogy of Darkness, making it a novel half way between a vampire, terror and science fiction tale. The myth has evolved and presents itself to us as asexual beings, unwillingly living dead, with only one need and purpose: human blood. Del Toro returns to the tradition of the monster from folklore, the merciless vampire killer, to a superior being telepathically connected to all its creatures. Its cruelty does not let the reader rest; it is the pure essence of animal. All the romanticism of the classic vampire has been lost, along with the humanisation of the post-modern vampire. There is no concession to romanticism (Polidori, Stoker); this creature is nothing more than pure evil and animality.
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