John Carpenter's Vampires (DVD)

'Even now, on the eve of the 21st century, vampires rise from loamy graves in search of human prey. The blood they crave is the nectar of immortality, their thirst insatiable as needy fangs tear through the flesh of innocents. It is the rare man who would take up arms against them. Jack Crow is such a man. A skilled and cunning vampire slayer, he is the last crusader in a long-waged war, the leader of a contingent of mercenaries known as Team Crow.' 'John Carpenter's Vampires', directed by, yes, you guessed it, John Carpenter, is a 1998 horror film described by Carpenter as 'Vlad the Impaler meets The Wild Bunch' and based on a novel by John Steakley. The ...  Read the complete review

Is James Woods the biggest name in this? Daniel Baldwin is nobody (to me anyway, I couldn't think of another film he's been in) & Maximillian Schell (playing a cardinal) was only known to me for Disney's The Black Hole. Basically this is about a group of Vampire Hunters who go around killing Vampires until most of the group are killed by Vampires! I was annoyed by the big goof that the vampire entered their hotel suite without being invited (twice, when he bit the hooker and when he came in the front door). This is a really well known horror rule (that a vampire can NOT enter an abode without being invited) and that annoyed me. I also ...  Read the complete review

John Carpenter is one of the biggest names in t horror films, responsible for the creation of many of the defining films of the genre, so a compination of his direction and James Woods as leading player should make for a classic film.The storyline is not overly original but does keep you interested. Jack Crow (Woods) is the leader of a team of vampire hunters, employed by the Vatican and working in the arid backwaters of the deep south of the USA. After one mission to destroy a nest of vampires they cross paths with Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith) the original master vampire who reaps his revenge by ambushing and destroting most of Crows team. Escaping with only one ...  Read the complete review