Although Vampires isn’t John Carpenter’s strongest non-Halloween movie, it’s still a fun, and bloody, romp made even better by an energetic performance from James Woods playing a frickin’ vampire slayer; that combo alone makes the movie worthwhile.
Vampires
(1998)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Horror
Twilight Time | R – 108 min. – $29.95 | October 27, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: John Carpenter Writer(s): John Steakley (novel); Don Jakoby (screenplay) Cast: John Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), English (DTS-HD MA 2.0) |
** Click Here to Purchase Vampires on Blu-ray from Screen Archives **
PLOT SYNOPSIS
John Carpenter’s Vampires stars the irrepressible James Woods as a Vatican-sanctioned vampire slayer assisted by a wise-cracking sidekick (DANIEL BALDWIN) and a naïve young priest (TIM GUINEE); they’re pitted against a centuries-old vamp (THOMAS IAN GRIFFITH) in an attempt to retrieve a religious relic that will allow the nocturnal types to stalk the world in the full light of day.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.0/5
Audio Commentary with Director John Carpenter has been ported over from the previous DVD release. It’s a fine track where Carpenter delves into the production of Vampires.
The Making of John Carpenter’s Vampires (6:10; SD) is a promotional featurette with on-set interviews with members of the cast and crew.
Original Theatrical Trailer (2:05; HD)
Also included is a 6-page essay booklet.
VIDEO – 4.0/5
Twilight Time releases Vampires onto Blu-ray with a good looking 1080p high-definition transfer (MPEG-4 AVC codec) presented in the film’s original 2.35 widescreen aspect ratio. These catalog titles, especially from masters provided by another studio, can be iffy but this one seems in keeping with how the film should look with a warm tone to all scenes while details are fairly sharp for close-ups but a tad murkier for distant ones. As I said, colors tend to move more toward reds and oranges though skin tones still look natural.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is rather impressive. From the word go, the LFE channel kicks into gear with Carpenter’s score over the opening credits to the first scene as Woods and company clear a home of vamps where their screams come through the center channel effectively.
OVERALL – 3.0/5
Although Vampires isn’t John Carpenter’s strongest non-Halloween movie, it’s still a fun, and bloody, romp made even better by an energetic performance from James Woods playing a frickin’ vampire slayer; that combo alone makes the movie worthwhile but adding in a decent enough story and strong supporting cast, this is well worth a try. The Blu-ray is rather basic. The video and audio transfers are both well done though the bonus material, while nice, is still on the limited side.
Published: 10/31/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.