This October, Criterion Channel boasts '80s horror classics, vampire films—and My Own Private Idaho

Delphine Seyrig takes on the role of the alluring and ageless Countess Elizabeth Bathory in Harry Kümel’s psychosexual thrill ride . When a newlywed couple (Danielle Ouimet and John Karlen) find themselves to be the only ones renting a room in a seaside hotel, they first welcome the intriguing presence of Bathory and her companion (Andrea Rau). However, things go awry when the recent bride learns of her hubby’s kink for violence, coupled with Bathory’s growing interest in the troubled couple.

Based on a Bram Stoker story of much lesser fame, Ken Russell’s is phallic-forward comedy horror starring a young Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi. The film builds itself on lore and archaeology, and manages to include stories of the Romans, sex cult pagans, vampires, and giant snakes, all in about 90 minutes. Not to mention there’s a mongoose, bagpipes, and so, so much dick imagery. Amanda Donohoe plays one of the hottest villains to ever grace the screen and gives a truly enrapturing performance as the fanged Lady Sylvia. To top it off, trippy, sexually violent hallucinations give it the traditional Russell flair.

If there’s one thing to know about vampire films from the ’70s it’s that they’re going to be homoerotic. French director Jean Rollin offers a compelling entry into the genre with , about a traveling man who stumbles upon a chateau occupied by two mysterious women who happen to lead a vampiric sex cult. It’s atmospheric, inducing a dream-like haze. If you’re into Fascination, the Criterion Channel also has Rollin’s 1982 film The Living Dead Girl, about a stunning zombie girl with a childhood best friend who’s more than willing to cover up her heinous murders. For more erotic vampiric horrors, check out The Velvet Vampire or the aforementioned Daughters Of Darkness.

After starring in the double-whammy of Dune and Blue Velvet, Kyle MacLachlan took on the role of Special Agent Lloyd Gallagher in Jack Sholder’s , about an alien who turns an average citizen into a gun-toting, car-stealing maniac. It’s a gripping crime drama, buddy-cop film, thriller, and sci-fi flick all in one. The film has attained cult status over the years, delivering on its promise of audacious violence—and some wild, seemingly way reckless and irresistibly exciting car chases through the streets of Los Angeles.

There’s a lot going on in Ana Lily Amirpour’s romantic horror feature . Our shawled, skateboard-riding, anti-heroine (played by Sheila Vand) is of few words, preferring to communicate in long, piercing stares which she uses to assess to morality of those around her. She soon meets Arash (Arash Mirandi), as he sports a full Dracula costume, stumbling around the streets of fictional Bad City, Iran. Amirpour’s a master of letting a moment simmer, refusing to rush through a motion of a piece of dialogue. The result is absolutely transfixing, spurring warm fuzzy feelings one moment then bone-deep chills the next.

Elsa Lanchester only needed about five minutes of screen time in James Whale’s to cement herself in film history, becoming one of the most iconic images of classic horror. The Bride Of Frankenstein works wonderfully as a standalone work or as a sequel, delving deeper into what it means to be alive. Is it as simple as being reanimated flesh? Both of Frankenstein’s monsters beg to differ. Nonetheless, the outcast, scorned monster gets to make a friend and gets to indulge in the humanly vice of smoking a cigarette—and rather likes it.

The typical brand of Nic Cage delusion reaches its peak in Robert Bierman’s black horror comedy Vampire’s Kiss. Cage stars in the 1989 film as an increasingly unstable literary agent by the name of Peter Loew, who after a tryst with an elusive “vampiress,” believes he too is becoming a creature of the night. He goes nuts (to say the least), and allows himself to be taken over by the vampiress venom, or his own violent fantasy. Call it American Psycho with fangs.

Park Chan-wook challenges tropes over and over again in , starring ’s Song Kang-ho as a reserved, Catholic priest who unknowingly becomes a vampire through a blood transfusion. Similar to his life pre-transformation, Sang-hyun finds himself struggling to maintain morality as he abstains from killing anyone (though drinking their blood through an IV in the night seems okay). His transformation coincides with his reunification with a childhood friend and his downtrodden wife Tae-ju (Kim Ok-bin), who stirs sexual and romantic feelings within the priest. From there, a battle of morals and wills rages in this surprisingly romantic tale.

For those who aren’t too into the Halloween spirit, you can watch Barbara Stanwyck lead a corral of ruffian gunslingers in Samuel Fuller’s gorgeous . As the “High Ridin’ Woman” of Tombstone, Arizona, Stanwyck’s Jessica Drummond runs the small town, letting loose her rowdy brother Brockie and his friends, who terrorize the townspeople. That is, until Griff Bonnell (Barry Sullivan) and his brothers roll into town. Drummond and Griff then find themselves on the opposite side of the law, but still very much fated for one another. Forty Guns is grandiose and unconventional, and serves as a perfect sign-off for Stanwyck from the movie business.

Heartache comes in lethal doses in Gus Van Sant’s , starring Keanu Reeves and the late River Phoenix. They star as best friends Scott (Reeves) and Mike (Phoenix), who make their living as street hustlers. The two embark on a motorcycle journey through the West Coast before seeking Mike’s mother in Italy. The pioneering queer story is laced with tragedy and yearning, and is one of the greats of ’90s independent cinema.