Cast: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Tim Guinee, Maximilian Schell
Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Sandy King
Screenplay: Don Jakoby based on the novel "Vampire$" by John Steakley
Cinematography: Gary B. Kibbe
Music: John Carpenter
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
The motion picture image of the Bela Lugosi vampire is gradually fading as '90s film makers bring their own visions of the undead to the screen. In recent years, we've seen reinterpretations of the vampire mythos in movies as diverse as Vampire in Brooklyn, From Dusk Till Dawn, Interview with the Vampire, Cronos, and Blade. John Carpenter's Vampires is just the latest, and, although it doesn't offer anything new or surprising, it is a moderately successful entry into the horror/thriller category.
One could make a good argument that Vampires is Carpenter's best horror movie in more than 15 years. That's less of a compliment than it sounds, however, considering the director's recent resume: Prince of Darkness, They Live, In the Mouth of Madness, Village of the Damned. Carpenter has frequently dabbled in this genre, but, on only one occasion - the brilliantly chilling modern classic, Halloween - has he truly been successful. Those looking for the film maker to return to late-'70s form are certain to be disappointed. Halloween isn't exactly subtle, but Vampires uses an in-your-face, over the top approach.
James Woods steps into the hero's role as Jack Crow, a modern-day Abraham Van Helsing. Like Dracula's nemesis in Bram Stoker's novel, Crow uses wooden stakes, but he has supplemented his arsenal with all sorts of modern weapons, including automatic rifles (which only slow the undead down) and hi-tech bows. Crow doesn't use crosses, holy water, or garlic - they don't work against Carpenter's children of the night. Crow's second-in-command is Tony Montoya (Daniel Baldwin), a reliable man who doesn't flinch at the sight of blood and gore. Together, the two of them lead a Vatican-financed team of vampire slayers. They're well-organized and successful, until one day when they unwittingly stumble upon the "nest" of Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), the First Vampire. Valek exacts a terrible revenge on the team after they destroy nine of his underlings - everyone except Crow and Montoya is slaughtered in one of the goriest scenes in any recent film. The two survivors, along with a bitten prostitute, Katrina (Sheryl Lee), and a priest (Tim Guinee), set out in pursuit of Valek with the intention of bringing him down before he discovers the whereabouts of an ancient artifact that will allow him to walk abroad in the sunlight.
The vampires in this movie are not pushovers. A stake through the heart will finish them, but the difficulty is to impale them. They're vicious and tenacious. Valek is virtually impossible to destroy, and some of his minions aren't much easier. Vampires offers a new history for vampirism, blaming it on a botched 14th century exorcism that trapped Valek's evil spirit inside a dead body. The "virus," as Montoya describes it, is passed in the traditional manner - through the vampire's bite. As has always been the case, there's an element of sexuality to this. When Katrina is bitten by Valek, her reaction is orgasmic.
Carpenter proves that he still has the knack when it comes to keeping the level of tension high. The final third of Vampires is exciting and even a little unpredictable. It's too bad that everything leading up to it isn't as involving. Instead, the film's first hour is rather dull and plodding, with a few grisly scenes to break the monotony. Carpenter does not do a good job building to the climactic battle, and his character development attempts are feeble. Crow, the individual with the most screen time, is just Escape from New York's Snake Plisskin shifted into a horror movie and played by a different actor. And, as villains go, Valek isn't all that frightening or impressive.
Visually, Vampires is nothing if not distinctive, mixing Western images (the setting is New Mexico) with grotesque ones. Carpenter manages a couple of genuinely creepy scenes. In one, Valek is waiting on the ceiling of a room for a victim. In another, a series of vampires are shown clawing their way out of the earth as the sun sinks beneath the horizon. For those who like to see blood and viscera, Vampires does not disappoint. It's almost as if Carpenter collaborated with The Evil Dead's Sam Raimi. The kinds of graphic deaths presented here make simple decapitations look tame. However, the gore is easier to take than in Saving Private Ryan, since it's all so obviously fake.
The one constant through this uneven production is James Woods, who gives a delightfully deadpan rendition of a man with no love for the undead. Sheryl Lee, best known as the infamous "wrapped in plastic" Laura Palmer from David Lynch's Twin Peaks, isn't given much of an opportunity to do anything except squirm around naked on a bed, whimper, and growl. Daniel Baldwin, the largest of the ubiquitous Baldwin brothers, doesn't make for a particularly good sidekick, and, as a mass-murdering, spawn-of-evil villain, Thomas Ian Griffith lacks bite. Maximilian Schell, playing a Roman Catholic Cardinal, is on hand to collect a paycheck in a role that, ten years ago, would have been occupied by Donald Pleasance.
John Carpenter's Vampires has been targeted for the From Dusk Till Dawn crowd. It has similar motifs and the same approach. The only thing it's lacking is Salma Hayek (and Quentin Tarantino, but that's no loss). The essential problem with the movie isn't that it's loud, violent, and gory, but that, before Carpenter ratchets up the tension in the final 35 minutes, it's not especially interesting. Perhaps the director should look back at some of his early efforts for inspiration -- 20 years ago, Carpenter knew how to make a tightly-paced, taut film. If Vampires is an indication, that skill may be slipping away movie-by-movie.
© 1998 James Berardinelli