aka John Carpenter’s Vampires
Movie Review by Vickie Jones
Starring: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell
Director: John Carpenter
EXCUSE me, is it April fools? No, it is Halloween, which means Vampires ? released to coincide with the spookiest time of the year. But you could be forgiven for thinking this film is a bit of a joke. The plot revolves around a group of vampire slayers, bizarrely working for the Vatican, who set out on a mission to rid the world of the bloodthirsty creatures.
The team of slayers, led by Jack Crow (actor James Woods), goes in search of vampires armed with nothing more than a few guns, a kick-ass attitude and a stake.
Tough-guy Jack is focused on seeking his revenge, following his parent?s untimely death at the jaws of vampires when he was a child. Jack feels it is his duty to prevent the vampire leader from carrying out a ritual which will make them immune from the dangers of sunlight, therefore enabling vampires to kill by day and night. A motley crew, and a rather overweight but still charismatic Daniel Baldwin, join Jack in his quest.
Life as a vampire slayer initially appears quite fun. Kill a few vampires and party hard into the night – all in a day?s work. But things turn nasty when the vampire leader, Valek (played by actor Thomas Ian Griffith), gatecrashes and spoils their fun. Be warned he is not someone you would like to meet down an alleyway on a dark Halloween night.
Although highly acclaimed horror director John Carpenter does a good job of creating an atmospheric setting in New Mexico the film falls short due to a rather cheesy script.
You may like this film if you enjoy gratuitous displays of blood and guts and can suspend belief for a couple of hours. However, don’t expect a deep psychological horror movie because you will not find it here. This is no competition for THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and be soon forgotten.
