Vampires
1998, US, Directed by John Carpenter
Colour, Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD, Region 2, Columbia, Video: Anamorphic 2.35:1, Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Somewhere in New Mexico the Catholic organisation are funding a team of vampire hunters, a group of guys who travel around locating undead bloodsuckers and destroying them - their procedures now second nature, down to a fine art. During one particular heist of a nest that’s masquerading as a derelict house, the team leader, Jack Crow, is concerned when there’s no sign of a Master - the one responsible for immortalising his underlings. Later on the entire team and a group of hookers are attacked and slaughtered in their hotel suite by the hitherto absent Master, leaving only Crow, Montaya, and an infected prostitute to escape. It becomes clear that the Master knew more than he should have and there may be an informer among the Catholic administration but, not only that, the being may well be the supremely powerful Valek, the first vampire who has existed for hundreds of years and is now searching for a black cross that will enhance his powers and make him invulnerable in sunlight. Using the prostitute as a psychic link to Valek they decide to try to hunt him down and eliminate him before he finds the black cross.
While no doubt a talented film-maker, Carpenter always seems to have found consistency to be a challenge, embarking on a duff project at approximately every second or third increment. The book that this is based on could hardly lay the greatest claim to originality (a simple glance at the title is indicative of that) but, despite the omnipresence of clichéd characters and dialogue, the material has been transformed into an entertaining adventure. A bit of a musician too, Carpenter provides the western-orientated rock score (this is not the first time he’s musically contributed to one of his own movies) and it brings a touch of laid-back anticipation to the proceedings. Another standout element is the efficient Panavision cinematography, a recurring constituent of the director’s work - many of the images created here are striking. James Woods as Jack Crow is a bit too old to be cool now (the last time he managed that was probably Videodrome in 1983) but he always makes an alluring lead, even if he is a little corny here. The suggestion that his parents were murdered by the undead is also too unimaginative to create any sympathy for his character’s motivations. There’s plenty of well-executed gore to get your teeth into (excuse the pun), as well as some welcome nudity and violence. For its shortcomings it’s a world that can be revisited and immersed in many times.
Columbia’s disc presents the film correctly framed with image flair in abundance. There is some question about the colours - releases in other territories seem to look surprisingly different chromatically, but until we see a ‘director approved’ version we won’t know for sure which is the most accurate. Detail could be sharper but Vampries is a good experience on DVD.