A team of Vatican-backed vampire hunters led by Jack Crow finds itself facing an ancient master vampire who wants to obtain a relic that will allow the undead to walk in daylight.
John Carpenter’s Vampires is a kooky blast of action, horror and attitude. The high-concept setup is excellent, turning vampire hunting into a blue-collar job with guns, trucks, winches and plenty of blood. Carpenter sets the tone immediately and never seems particularly interested in taking the traditional vampire mythology too seriously. Yet, still throws in a few serious twists.
James Woods is perfectly cast as Jack Crow, with Daniel Baldwin equally effective as his right-hand man, Montoya. Sheryl Lee makes an impression as Katrina, while Thomas Ian Griffith is suitably imposing as the master vampire Valek. Maximilian Schell and Tim Guinee also add to a strong supporting cast.
The practical effects hold up remarkably well, giving the violence and vampire deaths a physical quality that CGI often struggles to replicate. Gary B. Kibbe’s filter filled cinematography also suits the dusty Western atmosphere, making the film feel as much like a modern vampire Western as a traditional horror film.
John Carpenter’s score fits perfectly, with a bluesy, guitar-driven sound that occasionally feels like They Live transported into the New Mexico desert. It adds to the film’s attitude and gives the action sequences plenty of drive.
I have no doubts, even now, that Vampires would not have been made in quite this form without the sleeper success of From Dusk Till Dawn two years earlier. The combination of vampires, hard-edged action, black humour and genre irreverence feels unmistakably of the same moment. Carpenter, however, gives the material his own tongue-and-cheek, western-inflected identity.
Nonchalant, violent, quotable and occasionally ridiculous, Vampires knows exactly what sort of film it wants to be. It is not Carpenter at his most sophisticated, but it is a hugely entertaining genre ride, with strong casting, excellent practical effects and a great high-concept premise.
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