Defending The Vampire Diaries As Horror

To be entirely honest, I looked down on The Vampire Diaries along with the rest of the horror fanatics. I am not a fan of the current vampire trend, because it seems that the majority of the bloodsuckers it introduces are defanged, teddy bear type monsters that hold no real scare factor for the viewers. Instead they're the bad boys that have been tamed, usually because they want to be forgiven and are too full of remorse to be terribly interesting. TVD looked like more of the same from Twilight, and so I was confused when I saw it appearing on my favorite horror sites. Obviously they must be pandering to the crowds who were eating up this Twi-phenomenon. Now that I've caught up with all three seasons, I'm completely changing my tune. 

It's quite clear that anyone who hasn't seen the series, and I mean really watched it, would instantly claim that it's not horror. From the advertisements and the general plot line, it's easy to write it off solely as another romance story: one girl being fought over by two guys, and everything occurs in a high school setting. Sounds like the regular formula for most of the young adult section in your local book store. But what's interesting about TVD is that it expands beyond the simple story of Elena Gilbert and her two vampiric paramours; we have witches, ghosts, werewolves, dopplegangers, and a thousands year old curse brought about by one mother's love for her children. It's really quite an epic story, and it's drenched in blood and gore. I might even go so far as to say TVD could be a modern Dark Shadows. While there are far more vampires running around in TVD, there's the idea of making up for past mistakes, trying to retain one's humanity, what humanity even means, and what family means in the darkest of times. 

I mean, how do you explain to your mom that you might be into furries?

Lets back up and explain what TVD is even about, for those playing along at home. Based off of the young adult novels of the same name by L.J. Smith, the television show follows the events surrounding Elena Gilbert. When we first meet Elena, she's trying to come to grips with the loss of her parents, who died in a car accident. She's returning to school and trying to jump over the hurdles of maintaining her grades, keeping her friends, and just getting through the day. All in all, a relatively normal teenager who's suffered a traumatic loss and is just trying to find a reason to keep on living. Enter the Salvatore brothers - Damon and Stefan, who are hundred year old vampires from the same town where Elena has grown up. Stefan has returned to Mystic Falls in order to get to know Elena, because, well, she kind of looks like someone from his past. Damon follows along, just to torment the hell out of Stefan, and things generally start going downhill from there. 

Throughout the first season, the main source of blood and general graphic violence comes from Damon. He's comedic relief, and he's also one of the better developed characters on the show: he goes from just being a vampire with a lust for blood to someone with deep inner turmoil, who has been crapped on over and over by those he loves and trusts, and he does his best to fight against the beast he's become but too often gives into it, because it's simple and it makes him feel good. Damon isn't your apologist vampire - he knows what he is, and he likes it. What's more is that he chose to be a vampire willingly (Stefan chose as well, but later came to regret it). Throughout the first season, Damon is ripping out throats, sucking blood, and being a general menace to everyone in the immediate vicinity just because he can. And that's what I personally like to see in my vampires: bloodsucking creatures that aren't afraid to get their hands dirty. 

Damon ready to sink some fang!

The fact that all of this is set in a high school background isn't necessarily detrimental - Buffy started in high school, and we followed her through those tumultuous years all the way through college. I suppose the difference here is that Buffy was a far more likeable character than Elena is, but that's neither here nor there when it comes to the setting. High school is a time of change, physically, hormonally, socially, mentally. Kids start to feel strange in their own bodies, and thus can easily identify with monsters like vampires and werewolves - so this sudden explosion of monsters entering educational institutions isn't all that surprising. What doesn't seem to work in my mind is why the immortal monsters would want to be in high school for all of their eternity...

But beside the blood and gore, TVD is also incredibly heart wrenching. The struggles of these characters will have you cheering, crying, and swearing for revenge. I don't want to give away scenes that people haven't seen, but in my book, Damon and Caroline are quite honestly the two characters with the best journeys throughout the series. Damon, as mentioned above, goes from being a shallow, self-absorbed killer to being one of the most dependable and sarcastic leaders in the group of friends who are doing everything they can to just keep their loved ones alive. Caroline is likewise shallow, but simply in the way that a teenage girl can be when she sees nothing beyond her school and her friends. She grows in leaps and bounds (all the while taking literal bites out of others when she ends up turning into one of the bloodsuckers). 

Stefan is a particularly messy eater.

If this is what teens are watching, I will happily join in, because there's plenty here for a horror fan to enjoy. I will say be prepared to take a heavy dollop of romance because, hey, it is the central plot point for the show, but there are still loads of hearst and throats being ripped out in order to hold your interest (along with a few torture scenes and other gory goodness!).