Rating: Summary: Bit off more than it can chew! Review: If you're going to make a movie about vampires, but change all the norms that normally come with vampires, then you need to make sure that it's a good film. The problem with this is that the beginning is so good, the rest of the film is a letdown as it gos into run of the mill mode! Okay, don't be put off with this video though as this film is good! It has daft one-liners like 'How do you like your stake?' You get the picture! James Wood is good as the head slayer and lo-and-behold, another Baldwin actor surfaces. I've never actually heard of the DAniel Baldwin actor before but he's actually quite good considering the film! The premise of this film is that James Wood has been setup, so his whole team gets wiped out. The rest of the movie is about chasing the Master Vampire before he finds a relic that enables him to walk through the day. I'm not going to ruin the end as you probably know it anyway as what started promising turns into typical run-of-the-mill film making at it's best. however, it's still very enjoyable! Buy this if you want too have a good laugh with your mates, or, you could just buy it for the over the top gore and killing. Either way,you won't be dissapointed!
Rating: Summary: He's baaaaack! Review: I have been in love with John Carpenter's movies since the seventies, when he first showed up. For longest time I believed that the writer/composer/producer/director could do no cinematic wrong, then came the nineties where he has had a real hit and miss decade. But VAMPIRES shows that he can still put together a fun and nasty rollercoaster ride of a movie. The story, about The Master Vampire's search for the power to walk in daylight and the surviving Vampire Hunters that must stop it from finding it, may slip a bit here and there, but the interplay between the principle characters and the action/attack sequences are very well handled. And his score for this is one of his best ever. Recommended to those in the mood for gritty, politically incorrect, and quite gruesome fun.
Rating: Summary: THE SNAKE AND THE CROW Review: John Carpenter's heroes have always had the peculiar mission to save the world or, at least, the President of the U.S.A., from an upcoming danger. Aliens, the Devil, nuclear terrorists have already been defeated. Now the time has come for vampires to challenge John's last hero : Jack Crow. If you are familiar with the cinematographic world of director John Carpenter, you will recognize Snake Plissken's brother in Jack Crow ; his way to light his cigarillo has betrayed him. Like Snake, Jack doesn't expect the world to thank him for risking his life in order to save it. In fact, all Carpenter's crusades are hidden and Jack Crow cannot count on anybody else to help him. One can find these themes in ASSAULT, THE THING , ESCAPE FROM A L.A. and in most of Carpenter's movies. The style of this director is also recognizable in 5 minutes; Carpenter shoots every scene as if he was in a western. So tension is palpable in every move, in every word of his characters. Another Carpenter gimmick is the music he composes for his movies : minimal, electric and haunting. If you haven't seen yet a movie of this director, just try one and you won't be able to stop the movie until it ends. And you will always be pleased to watch it again and again because John Carpenter is one of the last giants of cinema. A DVD for the Master.
Rating: Summary: What happened to the book? Review: As a stand alone movie I think it works quite well, James Woods plays a vampire hunter in neither the Prof. Van Helsing or Buffy Summers mould, Instead he is the brutish leader of band of Catholic Church sponsored, biker wannabee thugs with pikes and sub-macine guns. However, Gone from the book are not only some major characters like Felix, Davette, Annabelle and the inimetable "Cherry Cat", but also the entire plot, replaced by something about the origional vampire trying to finish a faulty exorsisam to allow him to walk arround in the daylight and become all-powerfull. All in all I think 3 stars for this story, but as an adaptation, what I think cannot be posted here.
Rating: Summary: Misses The plot Review: I've always had the greatest respect for John Carpenter, and a huge love of b-movies; so I was really excited about seeing this, I would have even bought it if pay day had come before I had had the chance to see it. I was sorely disappointed. This film is a very poor offering from Mr Carpenter. I respected his choice to revert back to a more traditional vampire (no Buffy like effects)but the the film falls short in all areas. The actor who played the main role was someone, who has a very familiar face; you know you've seen him in lots of things but you can't for the life of you remember who he is. The rest who knows? The film had a very good beginning, lots of action, but there was a huge boring bit in the middle where you were waiting for something to happen, which spoilt the end,which again was quite entertaining. I can see what he was trying to do, but personally I don't think he managed to pull it off, which is a shame because it had some elements that could have made this a really fun film. I still have the greatest respect for John Carpenter, but this film left me wishing that i'd watched another movie.
Rating: Summary: The Second Best Vampire Movie I Have Ever Seen! Review: I haven't seen the new version of Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I don't suppose it exactly fits into this genre. It is horror with vampires, but it is more of the vampire hunter-type like Blade. Blade is the best of those movies. I don't like some of the special effects as much as in Blade, but it does have some pretty awesome scenes. Valek, the master vampire, is a very cool vampire. In the scene where he attacks James Wood's rag-tag band of vampire hunters he shows himself to be a very powerful monster. He cuts a guy in half using his hand like a sword, and easily kills the whole team of hunters except for two of them. He then pursues a truck down the road on foot at nearly 100 mph and leaps fifty feet into the bed. He is more of the old-style vampire, unlike Frost in Blade, who is a newer, hipper vampire. If you like vampires or just good action movies, you should see this.
Rating: Summary: My favorite vampire movie Review: The concept of professional vampire hunters is so cool that I couldn't resist trying this movie. It starts off with a swaggering group of macho guys killing a nest of vampires and looking pretty tough doing it. It doesn't take long for things to go wrong though as most of them get wiped out by a single master later when they're caught unawares. I don't want to give away too much, but most of the movie involves the few survivors attempting to stop the vampire that attacked them. James Woods is not only the star, he makes this movie work. If you don't like him or his sense of humor, you won't like this movie. He's very intense and Woods fans will surely love this performance. One other thing one should realize about this film is that it really doesn't fit the mold of the gothic vampire film that we traditionally see. At it's heart, it's really a buddy movie with lots of action and humor. The vampires just happen to be the bad guy that stirs up the trouble instead of a robot, rogue general, or some other movie cliche'. By the way, I've also read the book recently and Carpenter certainly did make changes. At the same time, you can't take any book and get it all into one movie, it would have to be 8 hours long. Those who rip the movie solely for not being the book should get a clue on this. If you can't tell, I highly recommend this move provided you like James Woods and action movies. Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: Vampires for fun NOT horror Review: Carpenter's Vampires has a decent plot but lacks character development. If you are expecting the horror and suspence commonly associated with Carpenter, look elsewhere - but if you are looking for a movie to share with the whole family (language excepted) this is a good film. You have the choice of wide-screen or standard - and the wide-screen is by far the best. Some of the extra features are certainly worth the price of the film, alone.
Rating: Summary: John Carpenter should call it quits now Review: Just like any other recent John Carpenter movie, starts out good but has a really bad ending. Loaded with lots bloody violence, but lacks allot of creativity, and the idea has been done to death.
Rating: Summary: Vulgar, gratuitously violent, testosterone pumped bloodbath Review: In other words, I LOVED IT! Yes this is a very explicit,bloody, politically incorrect, occasionally offensive Carpenter film.And that is precisely its appeal for a certain male audience (you know who you are!). On paper it may seem like a pretty unoriginal, unambitious yawn-fest. But Carpenter pulls it off with such style and successfully combines the best elements of several B-movie genres: the horror flick, the spaghetti western and the run of the mill tough guy action flick. Spirited performances from all the actors, simple but shockingly realistic special effects and a great soundtrack help to polish off the entire package. It is a much better vampire busting movie than Blade, in my opinion. As long as you treat it as a fun B-movie flick you'll enjoy it (that is, if you enjoy this genre to begin with). If you go into it expecting an oscar nominee for best film, then you will most likely be quite disappointed. But honestly, how can you go into a movie about a bunch of tough guys who kill vampires and expect an oscar winner?
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