Vampires Review

John Carpenter`s Vampires is an excessive, non-PC version of the fight between mortals and those bloodsucking creatures of the night. It`s gruesome, with unsympathetic foul- mouthed humans and I thought it was hugely enjoyable. James Woods plays Jack Crow who`s employed by the Vatican to hunt down nests of vampires. His sidekick is Tony, played by another in the inexhaustible supply of Baldwin brothers, Daniel. Their nemesis is Valek - Thomas Ian Griffith, supposedly the original vampire who was a 14th century priest who actually didn`t sound like a bad guy at all - he led a peasants` revolt and was tortured during his exorcism. One thing led to another and he was destined to walk the earth at night preying on the blood of innocent humans... but the humans in this film aren`t that innocent, they get drunk between jobs, towns have to supply them with whores, and when one of the women, played by Sheryl Lee is ecstatically bitten by Valek, Jack and Tony take her along to help in their search for him. They treat her so badly... why did I like this film?... well, it is really over the top as you`ll see...There`s something about John Carpenter as a filmmaker, he goes in boots and all and sometimes it works better than others, as it does with this. James Woods is incapable of playing a nice guy on screen, he`s got a presence that means trouble and it fits his character here perfectly. He`s given some disgusting lines which he absolute relishes. Vampires is quite an insidious film in its own way. Of its type it`s a well- but not nicely written film, directed with panache by an expert who as usual wrote and performed the music for the film. Vampires actually had me gurgling with laughter and gagging at the blood almost simultaneously. Not a bad way to spend time in the movies, if you`re into that sort of thing.