Jack Choo
Directed by John Carpenter
Starring : James Woods (Jack Crow)
Daniel Baldwin (Tony Montoya)
Tim Guinee (Adam Guiteau)
Thomas Ian Griffith (Valek)
Based on the Novel VAMPIRE by Jonh Steakly
Rating : *** out of *****
Official Website: www.johncarpenter.com.
This Review Filed: 20 October, 1998.
![[ VAMPIRES poster ]](vampires.jpg)
Director John Carpenter nowadays does not enjoy the commercial appeal he did during the early 80's, when he churned out huge cult hits like HALLOWEEN and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. The former of course, created a new line of cheesy horror flicks during and practically invented popcorn horror. Even with recent downturn of success in his recent movies such as ESCAPE FROM L.A., VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED and IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, Carpenter is one of those rare rogue moviemakers who refuses to change his style.
This film features a group of Vatican-sought vampire hunters led by the psychotic and highly volatile Jack Crow (Woods). Funded by divine interests, the group goes around the country looking for obscure areas and buildings which are usually the favourite resting places of vampires. Their work, of course, takes part in the day, when the vampires are asleep. Crow's crew is pretty well funded and armed for the job.
In one of their outings, they manage to cleanse an entire building and a family of vampires, but do not find the master. The master vampire usually stays with his minions in the house but in this case, he was no where to be found. It seems that the escaped `master' , Valek, was the first vampire to have set foot upon Earth. In response to Crow's actions during the day, Valek takes on the vampire-hunters alone at night. But that is the least of his worries as Valek's ultimate goal in the USA is to find the cursed Berziers Cross which is fabled to allow him and his minions to walk in the day. Realizing the situation, Crow and whatever that is left from his team of vampire-hunters, tracks down Valek and his team of master vampires before they get their hands on the cross.
VAMPIRES features a generous serving of `popcorn gore', as one may define it and hence the rating slapped upon it. Watching VAMPIRES is like reading a really violent comic-book; shallow and filled with 2D characters with the exception of Woods, who is always charismatic as a 'tough guy'. Even so, I found myself enjoying this film because of its lack of seriousness and that weird western-feel to the whole film. Coming from one of the masters of suspense himself, do expect a few nasty jumps (off your seat!) throughout the course of the film.
In the light of recent big-budget blockbusters, VAMPIRES pales in comparison to the huge effects that those films had offered but does have the charm of a small budget film trying its very best with what it had to work with. Recommended for non-serious moviegoers only!
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