Vampires (UK Blu-ray)
Padraig Cotter
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Starring James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell
Directed by John Carpenter
Distributed by Powerhouse Films
The nineties generally isn’t considered horror legend John Carpenter’s high point. Sure, he directed In the Mouth of Madness, arguably the best Lovecraft film ever made, but he had a string of misfires with Memoirs of an Invisible Man, Village of the Damned and Escape from L.A. His work during this period lacked the energy and passion he used to bring to every project, with Village, in particular, coming across like a work for hire assignment.
1998’s Vampires was a latter-day hit for the director, and while the reviews weren’t glowing his fans lapped it up. Of all his movies Vampires is probably the closest he got to a full blown Western, with the story following a team of mercenaries hunting bloodsuckers throughout New Mexico. After a successful hunt, the team is ambushed by an unstoppable master vampire, who wipes out everyone but leader Jack Crow (Woods) and Montoya (Baldwin). They regroup and head out on a revenge mission, and discover the master’s ultimate goal doesn’t bode well for humanity.
Vampires is a long way from Carpenter’s best, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun too. James Woods is an unconventional pick for an action hero role, and he’s clearly relishing the chance to play a leather-clad badass. His character is an asshole to everyone, and his boiling hatred for vampires makes him surprisingly convincing during the action scenes. Sheryl Lee does a good job in what could have been a thankless role, playing a prostitute bitten by the master and cursed with the ability to see through his eyes. It feels like Carpenter is remaking his old concept for Faye Dunaway thriller Eyes of Laura Mars here, but doing it properly this time around, and Lee gamely commits. Her romance with Baldwin never clicks, though, since they don’t have much chemistry together.
The film doesn’t skimp on the gore, with the first act massacre of the team painting the screen red. Carpenter’s signature music score is present, this time coming with a western motif to fit the setting. He has a great time filming the desert landscape and desolate little towns the heroes pass through, and even uses a few Leone-style zooms. The film comes packed with attitude, but it does flag in spots, and the clunky approach to exposition and plot development spoils some of the fun. That said, Vampires moves like lightning, and is easily one of the director’s most purely enjoyable latter-day efforts.
This new region free Blu-ray edition from Powerhouse Films is probably the best Vampires has ever looked and comes with brand new extras. Ported over from the old DVD release is an interesting Carpenter commentary, a short making of, some cast and crew interviews and B-roll footage. It also comes packaged with a booklet featuring an essay from critic Kim Newman, and a recent interview with Carpenter. The highlight of the disc is a Carpenter interview from 1994, where the director talks about his career up to Christine; the second half of this lengthy talk is featured on Powerhouse’s Ghosts of Mars disc. It’s a fun chat, and it’s nice to see him so engaged.
Whether you’re a Carpenter fan or someone who likes their vampire films to have some bite – like actual, bloody bites – then Vampires is definitely worth a look.
Special Features:
• Audio commentary with John Carpenter
• 1994 John Carpenter video interview with The Guardian
• Behind the scenes documentary
• Cast & Crew Interviews
• B-roll footage
• Theatrical trailer
• Booklet with essay by Kim Newman and 2015 John Carpenter interview
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Film
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Special Features
Categorized:Reviews
