This is no "Escape From New York", "The Thing", or even "Christine" for that matter. James Woods is also not Kurt Russell, but he's having a good time in this movie and that makes "Vampires" seem better than it really is.
There are some neat twists on the vampire lore and a real feeling of grit and grime with the desert backdrop. Everything sprays or squirts disgusting amount of blood and other goop, which is what you get with Carpenter Horror. The other characters are forgettable and are only there to add to the body count, or for Woods to launch one-liners towards. The vampire-king Valek is threatening enough and gives Woods a worthy opponent.
This has to be one of the weakest of Carpenter's films.
Vampires is very '90s. If you don't know what that means, watch the movie, you'll get it.
The plot here is simple: this is a vampire movie, only we're following a team of vampire hunters.
This is much more of an action movie, rather than horror, though it does have some good vampire combustion. What the movie really feels like is a neo western.
Fans of Carpenter or action/horror will dig this - even if it is very dated.
On to the most important part here: the four main actors. Let's start with our lead, James Woods. Woods felt very out of place as the ultra-cool vampire killer. Honestly, the way he played the part makes me think Carpenter wanted Kurt Russell instead.
Moving on to Daniel Baldwin. Look, I'll not pretend any time you see the name Baldwin - save for Alec - in a movie, it's a safe bet that the movie is going to be trash. To my surprise, he did a great job. He actually walked the line of tough guy with a heart of gold and nailed it.
Next is Sheryl Lee, who is the clear stand out. Wow! If you've ever heard the saying "there are no small parts, only small actors," that is proved to be true, as she out acts everyone with what is almost a silent role. She does have dialog, but 90% of what she is doing is physical. Just amazing. I really wish the movie dealt more with her, and Baldwin's, character.
Finally, we have Thomas Ian Griffith. Oh boy. Such a terrible choice for the villain. The whole time I was watching this, I could place whence I knew him. Anyone? Karate Kid 3, Terry Silver. Making him the head vampire was a terrible idea; it made the movie feel cheap and silly.
Overall, the film is not too bad. If nothing else, watch it for Sheryl Lee.
Streamed via Hulu (Starz)
Not too bad action horror flick about a gang of vampire hunters but I've seen better. I can see why some people like this film though. For me this film has zero stand-out moment. The story was pretty generic coming from John Carpenter, the action was just okay, some jokes felt very dated. I find the lead very unlikeable, he has this big misogynistic and homophobic vibe and thinks he's on top of the world or something. The music was great but sadly the picture didn't deliver the same energy. The make-up and the effects were great. I don't hate this film, it's not the worst thing but I won't watch it again.
Not bad for later Carpenter. Fun stuff, fun effects, and James Woods is occasionally tolerable. Occasionally. There are about 4 too many weird boner jokes. Most of the time I'm kinda rolling my eyes at James Woods trying to be super cool. Also, the choice for the vampire weapons to have a matte silver finish gives a real plastic Radio Shack vibe. Not very cool. But all in all, better than I anticipated. Especially for how crazy Escape from LA is and how absolute dogshit Ghosts of Mars is.
Cheesy B-Movie hijinks, but it's still a lot of fun. Carpenter's love affair with Westerns shines hardest in this one and is what helps make these characters the entertaining badasses they are.
Shout by Dann MichalskiBlockedParent2022-10-30T19:00:05Z
John Carpenter delivers a bold new vision of the undead in his action/horror film Vampires. The story follows a pair of vampire slayers that go rogue in order to pursue a master vampire named Valek, who they believe to be the original source of vampirism. James Woods leads the cast, which also includes Sheryl Lee and Daniel Baldwin. However, the characters aren’t written very well and the performances bear that out. But the vampire lore of the film is quite interesting and keeps the film engaging. So while the story isn’t that compelling, the action and mythology keeps Vampires entertaining.