[For the previous countdown post, click here.]

21. “Tooth and Nail” (1994)

Partridge hearkens back to mid-20th-Century cinematic monster mash-ups here, even referencing films like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The narrative alternates sections between a not-quite-reliable viewpoint character (a bloodsucker dubbed the Lord of the Night) and a pair of California surfer dudes/bounty hunters, Jones and the Bird-Dog (the latter tracker is also a bona fide werewolf). Horror and humor go hand in hand in “Tooth and Nail,” which is filled with witty banter and sports one unforgettably sardonic quip when werewolf and vampire face off. For all of the dark appetites of its characters, this brief but highly satisfying story arguably goes down as Partridge’s most lighthearted effort.