BLOOD WORK: HALLOWEEN HORROR DAYS ~ DAY 26: VAMPIRES (1998)

A Brief Preface on Vampires in Film

Vampires have been a long standing tradition of horror cinema, perhaps the one of the oldest next to Frankenstein, beginning with the silent film era. NOSFERATU (1922) is still an effective film today. Cinema history was made when Bela Lugosi starred as the titular villain in 1931's DRACULA. Christopher Lee and Hammer Studios changed the game in 1958 with HORROR OF DRACULA, introducing on screen blood, showing the fangs, and new levels of violence to vampire cinema. Mario Bava took vampires into space with PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES. Hammer continued the evolution of vampire movies leaning hard into the sensuality, seduction, and bare flesh aspects with the KARNSTEIN Trilogy.

Then came the 1980's and all the wild and different approaches to vampire lore and vampire storytelling (which could be a whole book of research all it's own). Fright Night, Near Dark, The Lost Boys, Lifeforce, The Hunger, Lair of the White Worm, Vampire Hunter D, Transylvania 6-5000, and so on. The 80's, if anything, was perhaps one of the most diverse and creative eras for vampire cinema.

It's kind of a misnomer to say that the late 1990's saw a resurgence in vampire cinema because vampires never really went away. But the vampire films to come out of the late 90's would go on to display new heights in vampire cinema and usher forth vampire cinema's most popular era: the 2000's.

It goes without saying that nearly everyone in motion pictures has done something with vampires and most every vampire idea has manifested in some way in various films. This leaves us with one question:

Are there any original vampire ideas left?

Of all the various approaches to vampires in movies, a vampire western remained a somewhat novel idea (the closest film to a vampire/western that comes to mind is Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark and Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn). Director John Carpenter is a genre film fan and among the genre films he enjoys are westerns and horror. Throughout his career he's infused touches of western elements to his films, the most obvious being ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (an homage to Howard Hawk's RIO BRAVO and George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD). The next closest Carpenter would ever come to a full on western movie was 1998's VAMPIRES.

Probably the biggest challenge when making a vampire film is how to have your film differentiate itself from ALL of the rest. In John Carpenter's film the vampires are very resilient and hard to kill. The film's soundtrack displays many motifs typical or reminiscent of westerns (scored by John Carpenter himself no less) and is a standout aspect of the film. And then there's the wonderful personas of James Woods and Thomas Ian Griffith as the central hero and villain. Woods is abrasive, offensive, and yet charming in a dickhead-ish sort of way. And Griffith is absolutely terrifying, commanding your attention and fear when on screen.

John Carpenter's Vampires is a harsh and brutal movie worthy of reverence alongside the director's most celebrated films.

THE PLOT

Jack Crow and his crew of vampire hunters have successfully tracked and purged a nest of vampires in the southwest near the Mexican/American border. Celebrating their victory later that night, a master vampire crashes their party slaying nearly everyone present. Only Crow and one other hunter escape. Jack returns to his headquarters, the Catholic Church, where he learns that the vampire who decimated his crew was none other than Valek, the first vampire. Through one of Valek's bitten victims Jack and the Church discover that the master vampire is searching for a way to allow himself and all vampires to walk in the daylight. And Valek is close to succeeding. Jack and the others must scramble to catch up with the master vampire before it is too late.

WHAT I LIKED

Intensity and Brutality. This movie doesn't pull any punches. From the opening sequence when the hunters clear a nest of vampires to the final battle, this movie doesn't let up. The vampires are extremely hard to kill, taking nearly all the effort the heroes can muster (which is a nice change of pace from the easy to kill vampires from surrounding films like BLADE and FROM DUSK TILL DAWN). The heroes have to be almost as mean and as brutal as the monsters they fight against. Even the dialog between the characters is rough and nasty. Then there are the vampires who take the violence to another level altogether, justifying the harsh methods of the heroes almost.

Bloody and Gory. When it comes to modern vampire films, for me, showcasing blood is essential, in my opinion. A bloodless vampire film nowadays seems so weak and disappointing, after all blood is their reason for being. There is plenty of blood in this film, gallons of it. The slaughter of the vampire hunters at the onset of the film is epic and gushing with blood. When Jack returns to bury his deceased teammates he decapitates all of them first. Even the slaying of the vampires showcases oozy black blood.

The Setting and the Characters. The western esthetics to the film and desert environs provide a fresh look and feel to the film even among similar entries. The vampires rising out of the ground with a blood red sunset behind them is striking and powerful imagery. This setting differentiates this film greatly from the traditional Gothic vampire films as well as the modern and urban settings. This movie is a prime example of Frontier Gothic. The characters of Jack Crow and Valek are wonderful and uniquely twisted. As stated above, Valek is a striking figure both frightening and powerful. And Jack Crow is simultaneously a selfless hero and the biggest jerk you've ever met, albeit a strangely charming jerk.

NITPICKS

Slightly Unbalanced. This movie has a striking and powerful first act, from the raid on the vampire nest to the motel massacre. It's an unforgiving symphony of gore. It's so incredible that I feel the rest of the movie doesn't quite equal the level of intensity thereafter. It comes close but ultimately the first act remains the most striking. I enjoy this film very much. I like the story and the characters and it's these elements that carry the film beyond the opening heights to the climax. I just feel that the climax doesn't reach the heights of the first act. That's not to say that the climax isn't strong. It's a great finale. Comparatively though I wish the climax would've gone that extra mile beyond the opening in terms of gore and graphic violence. But really, this is a good movie through and through.

THE VERDICT

John Carpenter gets probably the closest he'll ever come to a full blown western with his film Vampires. Rarely do the fields of horror and westerns cross and Carpenter pulls it off beautifully. Brutal, intense, and gory, these are some of the hardest to kill vampires you'll ever see as well as a few tough as nails vampire hunters. James Woods plays the salty embittered lead vampire hunter perfectly and Thomas Ian Griffith remains one of the most imposing and frightening vampires ever captured on screen. Vampires is another example of why John Carpenter is the master.

Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10

Nude-O-Meter: 3 out of 10