I’ve been a fan of John Carpenter since seeing HALLOWEEN at
a sneak screening a month or so before it was released. A long time horror fan
I was stunned by how affective everything about the film was. It still makes
its way into my top five films of all time every time I review what belongs
there. So long ago when I heard Carpenter was going to turn in his take on
vampires I was ready to buy my ticket that day. The end result was JOHN
CARPENTER’S VAMPIRES and I was pleased with the end result. And while I hadn’t
watched it in a few years when I learned that Twilight Time was going to be
releasing the film in blu-ray format I was ecstatic. A favorite film from a
favorite company. Once again the end result was superb.
If you’ve never seen the movie it tells the story of a group
of vampire hunters led by Jack Crow (James Woods). His team finds out where the
vampires stay during daylight hours and then roots them out to be speared,
staked and then dragged out into the sun to burst into flames. As the film
opens they’ve found a nest of vampires that they take on only to realize when
they finish that their master isn’t around.
During a celebration that night we learn a little more.
Their actions are funded and supported by the Catholic Church. At least the
vampire killing. Their celebration involves things the Church might not be
happy about. As the celebration goes on a knock at the door finds the master
they missed there to destroy them all. Having bitten one of the hookers (Sheryl
Lee) in another room, he not sets about decimating the team. As the fight rages
on only Crow, his right hand man Anthony Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) and Lee
escape with the master in pursuit. The next day they clean up the bodies of the
team and torch the motel they were in, heading out try and stave off the
master.
Having been bitten Lee now has a connection to the master
and Crow plans on using that to his advantage. With her as bait he also tries
to use her visions to find out where the master is. Leaving her with Montoya he
heads to the local connection with the church to get more information. It turns
out that this master is THE master, the first of all vampires. His goal here in
the American southwest is to find a secret artifact that will allow vampires to
walk in daylight making them near invincible. Crow is saddled with a new
priest, Father Adam Guiteau (Tim Guinee), who is too green to be going into
this battle but is there none the less.
With Montoya (who has been bitten by Lee but doesn’t reveal
this to Crow) and the priest in tow the new team follows Lee’s visions to a now
uninhabited town where the master is located. With the sun setting the team
must find a way to eliminate the Master before he can bring about his plans and
the entire human race is eliminated.
Released in 1998 the movie still is one of the most fun
pictures that Carpenter has ever made. The action scenes burst forth from the
screen, the horror is dark enough to scare yet not overpower and the humorous
touches provide slight relief moments when needed. Carpenter reunites with
cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe who he had worked with on PRINCE OF DARKNESS,
THEY LIVE, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED, ESCAPE FROM L.A. and IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS
to offer a vision of the American southwest that rivals some westerns and twist
the conception of the gothic vampire into something different. When looking at
it from that perspective the film almost seems like a melding of those two
genres, the vampire horror film and the American western, two favorite genres
of Carpenter. Low and behold it actually works and makes the movie a great
combination of horror and action.
In watching it again I was surprised at how much I still
enjoyed the film. I mean not like yeah that’s a good movie but more like why
haven’t I pulled this out in the last year or so and watched this again? It
might not make my top ten films but it was still a movie that I found I knew
what was coming and yet never felt bored or anxious to see the next scene with.
It wasn’t one of those movies where you find your finger on the fast forward
ready to ease is along to your next favorite scene. It was enjoyable from start
to finish even after repeated viewings.
If you’re a fan of John Carpenter, if you love horror films,
if you love westerns, then you might want to give this one a chance. Woods
performance alone makes it a stand out film and I think one of his better
performances all round. Why Thomas Ian Griffith who plays Jan Valek aka the
master never went on to bigger and better things is beyond me. His performance
here as well as in several other films shows he was adept at playing both
heroes and villains.
Twilight Time once again offers a quality transfer of this
film making it burst off the screen. Extras include an isolated score track,
audio commentary track with writer/director John Carpenter, a making of
featurette and the original theatrical trailer.
No comments:
Post a Comment