Remember a time when vampires were monstrous? Creatures to be feared and loathed? The vampire genre has experienced massive waves of success and appeal over the years, with the likes of Twilight, True Blood, Buffy, and Vampire Diaries constantly delivering waves of stories that the world hungered for. A behemoth of a business that sunk financial drips into the masses and drained their wallets again and again. And some of these aforementioned titles even appealed to this curmudgeon, but—as with everything successful in the world of movies—IF a type of story brings bank, they will milk that cow until its spewing powder. I found myself tiring quickly of the vampire as metaphors mash ups that beguiled us over and over, longing to see what I considered an essential element to a good vampire tale: their omnipotent power doesn’t come without cost. Dracula is my favourite novel and considered the progenitor of modern vampire lore. Read it! He is repellent and is regarded by the characters throughout as such. He carries an infant in his mouth down a wall as a snack for his brides! To know him is to face the ugliness such power can bring and the fear in that knowledge. As hammy as the Hammer Drac pics may be to modern eyes, Christopher Lee got this. And there have been several films through the last nearly hundred years that have leaned into this to great acclaim. But they’re rare.

John Carpenter, he of Halloween fame (amongst many other horror classics), delivered a vampire tale that wasn’t a classic, a zeitgeist penetrating masterpiece, or barely a blip at the box office. But goddammit I loved it.

Vampires, adapted from the John Steakly novel of the same name, tells the story of Jack Crow (James Woods); a vampire hunter sanctioned by the Catholic Church to lead a specialised team of rag tag mercenaries to hunt down and destroy vampires. We meet this loose canon on the job, clearing out what they call a nest. But this job is irregular. It seems this nest has no master vampire, and Crow is jittery as all get out at this fact. He’s proven right when the master named Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith) ambushes them later and wipes out almost the entire team… and it knows Crow’s name. After he escapes (barely), a cardinal (Maximillion Schell) orders Jack to back down and train up a new crew before going after Valek, who they reveal is the first and most powerful vampire. But Crow suspects all is not on the level within the church and goes rogue with a new priest (Tim Guinee) he doesn’t trust, his only surviving team member (Daniel Baldwin) and a hooker (Sheryl Lee), who Valek has bitten. As more is revealed about Valek and his plans, the depths of how deep in the shit Crow is becomes deathly apparent.

This is a western, couched in a vampire mystery. You have an acerbic, irreverent lead, anti-authority, weathered and bearing the scars of experience. Great supporting characters with baggage of their own to deal with. A vicious and powerful villain, who says more with a look than with any lines. A terrific plot that unfolds its secrets organically, patiently (if not all together cleverly—they were in dire need of better red herrings). It’s your quintessential hero stands up to corruption fable, by the numbers.

What it has that elevates it above that summation is Carpenter’s love for that genre and an adept understanding on how to meld it with what he knows best: horror. He presents a real sense of threat with his choices throughout, pitting the characters against overwhelming odds that challenge their individual weaknesses. In addition, James Woods sells the shit out of anti-hero Jack Crow. He is hilariously over the top, offensively engaging and a treat to root for. Carpenter’s score also sells the Wild West element in spades.

All the performers are memorable in their respective parts, with Griffiths and Schell particularly standing out for me. The effects by Greg Nicotero are awesomely gory and convincing.

But what really stuck with me back in 1998 and still now is the representation of vampires as loathsome, horrid monsters. They are vicious, unrelenting and true monsters in this film. It was a welcome interpretation that contrasted the Buffy and Anne Rice type tales, where they were admired, even lusted after.

John Carpenter’s Vampires barely made back its budget domestically (although did spawn two bloody sequels—don’t bother), but I tell you what, I would take it over some of the aforementioned any day of the week.

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray Collector's Edition

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray - February 11, 2025
Screen Formats: 2.35:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Video: Dolby Vision; HDR10
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: 4K Ultra HD; Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set
Region Encoding: 4K region-free; blu-ray locked to Region A

VIDEO

Scream Factory released an awesome ‘collector’s’ blu-ray edition of this in 2019. But this edition is a new 4K native scan of the original camera negatives. The old 2K scan in 1080 was awesome, but this one is next level. Vampires has a lot of night scenes, which this scan handles in all its inky goodness with aplomb. Faces are significantly sharpened and detailed. The filtered cinematography is heightened in detail and emboldened by the Dolby Vision/HDR10 embellishments. This is a gorgeous looking horror movie.

AUDIO

We get a re-use of the DTS HD 5.1 surround mix that was weighty and nuanced that left no one complaining. You don’t get an isolated score this time around if that matters to you. I’m no audiophile, but this 4K disc seemed punchier to me. Whether effects noises, punches or Carpenter’s guitar strumming, it thumped to the back of the room. As before, effect and environmental are effective and immersive. Valek’s roar of frustration frightened the cat. Only the greed in me wants for more. Some 7.1 action in the mix would have been revelatory and shook the dust of the rafters!

Supplements:

Commentary:

• Audio Commentary by Composer/Director John Carpenter
• Audio Commentary by Composer/Director John Carpenter

Special Features:

They are, as always, of the legacy variety—all seen before, all offered before on earlier editions. They also are all on the included Blu-ray (which includes a 1080p downscale of the new scan) not the 4K. The 4K came with the original theatrical poster art (cool) on both the slipcover and disc but inexplicably Scream Factory’s awesome alternate artwork is not included this time. Guess they didn’t wanna pay the artist again. Shame.

• “Time To Kill Some Vampires” – Interviews With Director Jon Carpenter, Producer Sandy King Carpenter, And Cinematographer Garry B. Kibbe
• “Jack The Vampire Slayer” – An Interview With Actor James Woods
• “The First Vampire” – An Interview With Actor Thomas Ian Griffith
• “Raising The Stakes” – An Interview With Special Effects Artist Greg Nicotero
• “Padre” – An Interview With Actor Tim Guinee
• Original Making Of Featurette
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Still Gallery

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Composite Blu-ray Grade

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 108 mins
Director: John Carpenter
Writer: John Steakley
Cast: James Woods; Daniel Baldwin; Sheryl Lee
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline:The blood confrontation of the ages is about to begin.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Let me just ask you one thing - after 600 years, how's that dick workin', pretty good?"
Theatrical Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Official Site: https://shoutfactory.com/products/john-carpenters-vampires-collectors-edition
Release Date: October 30, 1998
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: February 11, 2025.
Synopsis: Recovering from an ambush that killed his entire team, a vengeful vampire slayer must retrieve an ancient Catholic relic that, should it be acquired by vampires, will allow them to walk in sunlight.