The 70′, 80′ and 90′ horror filmography is embellished by the cinematic masterpieces of John Carpenter, the beloved director of films that have become true cinematic milestones such as Halloween - The Night of the Witches, Fog, The Thing, The Lord of Evil, They live and The seed of madness.
In 1998 Carpenter directed Vampires, a vampire-themed horror film reminiscent of the vampire movie Near the Dark (1987) e From dusk to dawn (1996). Based on the novel "Vampire$" by John Steakley, the film is indeed a horror film set in modern times but fading into the western and road movie genres.
Far from the clichés of the strand and cast in decadent and dusty atmospheres (just like the aforementioned films by Kathryn Bigelow and Robert Rodriguez), this visionary, violent and ironic vampire movie guarantees a pleasant abundance of splatter (thanks also to excellent special effects), fun, black humor but also a naughty and at the same time thrilling ending. Gifted with great pace, Vampires also presents a carefully crafted in-depth study of the characters and relies on an outstanding soundtrack (again by John Carpenter).
The outstanding performances of James Woods (the vampire hunter) and Thomas Ian Griffith (the iconic vampire Valek) shine in this fine modern reinterpretation of the vampire myth (in which the Church is held to be truly responsible for vampirism).
Definitely one of the best modern films in the vein.
In Vampires, humans are the real threat: they hunt, flush out and kill the bloodsuckers. Indeed, the film abounds with duels between hunters and creatures, confrontations that take place in broad daylight. All of this is handled by Jack Crow (James Woods), the leader of a team of vampire hunters. During a party, the group is attacked by Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), the vampire lord. Jack and his colleague Anthony Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) save themselves and flee, taking with them Katrina (Sheryl Lee), a prostitute who has been bitten on the thigh. The two intend to exploit the telepathic contact the woman will make with Valek in order to destroy him.
Also in the cast are Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee (Secrets of Twin Peaks), Maximilian Schell, Tim Guinee, Mark Boone Jr., Gregory Sierra, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Thomas Rosales Jr., Henry Kingi, David Rowden, and Clarke Coleman.
The screenplay of Vampires Is signed by Don Jakoby.
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Distributed by CG Entertainment, Vampires is available in DVD and Blu-ray formats.
The fine Blu-ray edition, with white/transparent amaray and interior artwork, enjoys a rich extras section: Making of; Original Trailer; B-roll.
BLU-RAY EDITION:
VIDEO: HD 1080 24p 16/9 2.35:1
LENGTH: 107′
AUDIO: Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian DTS HD Master Audio 5.1, Original Dolby Digital 5.1, Original DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
OVERVIEW: Italian for the Deaf.
