Vampires: Collector's Edition (4K UHD Review)

Reviewed by: Stephen Bjork
Review Date: Jan 23, 2025
Format: 4K Ultra HD

Director

John Carpenter

Release Date(s)

1998 (February 11, 2025)

Studio(s)

Columbia Pictures (Shout! Studios/Scream Factory)

Film/Program Grade: B+
Video Grade: A
Audio Grade: A-
Extras Grade: B-

Review

John Carpenter has been a lifelong fan of Westerns in general and Howard Hawks in particular, but while he’s made plenty of allusions to the master storyteller in several of his films, he’s only addressed Hawks directly in three of them—and no, that’s not including his remake of The Thing from Another World. In that case, he may have been directly remaking a Hawks production (yes, I said production), but Bill Lancaster’s script stripped any Hawksian elements from the story, substituting Lancaster’s patented dysfunctional family ethic instead. It’s well known that Carpenter’s first real attempt at making an homage to Hawksian professionalism was Assault on Precinct 13 in 1975, which was a thinly-disguised reworking of Rio Bravo (with more than a whiff of El Dorado thrown in for good measure). Toward the end of his directorial career, he returned to similar material with Ghosts of Mars in 2001, which was really a reworking of Assault on Precinct 13’s reworking of Rio Bravo. Of course, neither of these films were explicitly Westerns, although they explored Hawksian themes in different contexts.

The reality is that Carpenter has never directed a true Western, but for a single brief moment in 1998, he managed to unite his love of Hawks and his love of the Western genre into single film: Vampires. While it’s ostensibly a horror movie, it’s filled with Western elements and homages to Hawksian professionalism. The fascinating thing is that little of that was actually present in Carpenter’s source material: the 1990 novel Vampire$ by John Steakley. The Southwestern setting was already there, and a vague “gunfighter” theme as well, but Hawks would have rejected Steakley’s group of vampire slayers with naked disgust. They spend more of their time talking about their job rather than doing it, and they’re filled with existential angst, too. While there was plenty of talking in Howard Hawks Westerns, his characters were still men of action who accepted that they had a job to do, and they didn’t complain about it, either. Supernatural elements aside, Hawks would have been bothered by these so-called professionals the same way that he was offended by Marshal Will Kane in High Noon.

While Carpenter isn’t always able to clearly articulate why he makes the choices that he does, it seems that he felt the same way about the characters in Steakley’s novel. Carpenter was brought into the project after it had been in development for a while, and there were already two different scripts by Don Jakoby and Dan Mazur. Carpenter took elements from each of them, as well as other details from the book and a few ideas of his own, and reassembled them into something quite different than what Steakley had envisioned. The basic setup is similar: a group of professional slayers led by Jack Crow (James Woods) clears out a nest of vampires in a small New Mexico town, but the Master vampire who created them is nowhere to be found. Later, while celebrating their partial victory at a seedy motel, the Master Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith) tracks them down and wreaks havoc. That leaves Crow on the run with his surviving team member Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) and a sex worker named Katrina (Sheryl Lee), the latter of whom has been bitten by Valek and is starting to turn. Crow’s team was hired by the Vatican, so he’s called back in by Cardinal Alba (Maximillian Schell), who orders Crow to assemble a new team and assigns Father Adam (Tim Guinee) to assist them in hunting down this unusually powerful Master.

This setup is indeed similar, but not identical, and fans of the book will recognize where it starts to deviate from what Steakley had devised. Yet once Valek attacks Crow’s team at the hotel, the film version takes a radical departure from the novel by killing off a key character and then never bothers to introduce another one after that, all of which leaves Jack Crow as the central figure for the rest of the story. That’s for the best, because this version of Crow is one of the best antiheroes that Carpenter has ever brought to the screen, rivaling even Snake Plissken in his understated intensity. Crow only cares about his team and the job at hand, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to finish it. He doesn’t much care about anything or anyone else. Viewed from that perspective, he’s the ultimate professional, although he lacks the “professional courtesy” that Hawks mentioned in El Dorado. Crow has no courtesy whatsoever, treating women like Katrina as little more than meat.

Crow doesn’t even have any courtesy for his fellow team members, but he loves them in his own curmudgeonly way, and that’s where Carpenter introduced another element borrowed from Hawks. While the central conflict in the film is between Crow and Valek, the secondary conflict is between Crow and his loyal but equally fractious lieutenant Montoya. It’s a variant on the surrogate father/son relationship between Thomas Dunson and Matthew Garth in Red River, although in this case, they’re both equally wrong-headed. Yet the bond between the two of them still holds through to the end, however bitter it may be, without Katrina serving as a Tess Millay figure in order to bring them to their senses. They’re still true to themselves, departing from each other on their own tough guy terms. Viewed from that perspective, their misogynistic behavior towards Katrina (among others) makes perfect sense. There are no true Hawksian women in Vampires, so the male harmony has to carry the tune on its own terms, however misogynistic it may be.

That said, Sheryl Lee is remarkably intense as Katrina, and she gains strength throughout the film in her own way regardless of how the men treat her—it’s just not a way that could ever make her a part of Crow’s team. (Lee also gets to perform one of the most memorable female orgasms ever seen on screen, but that’s a story for another day.) She’s matched in that intensity by Thomas Ian Griffith, who may seem like a counterintuitive choice for Valek, but his catlike grace as a marital artist is perfect for the role. Even Tim Guinee acquits himself admirably as Father Adam, a very different character than the one that he played in the other major vampire film from 1998, Blade. Yet Vampires is Jack Crow’s story, so it’s the James Woods brand of mercurial intensity that carries the day. Woods is wonderfully abrasive as Crow, and it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the part.

It’s also hard to imagine anyone other than John Carpenter standing behind the camera to guide him. While the book has its own cadre of fans who may take umbrage at this statement, Carpenter managed to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse with his adaptation. He used his love of Westerns and Howard Hawks in order to radically rework the source material, crafting something quite unlike what Steakley had in mind, but it ended up being pure John Carpenter instead. In this case, his usual possessory credit really makes sense: this is indeed John Carpenter’s Vampires.

That’s true down the memorable score that he wrote, incorporating performances by a bar blues band that he put together that included Steve Cropper on lead guitar, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on pedal steel, Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass, and Rick Shlosser on drums. In addition to his usual synthesizer work, Carpenter also played rhythm guitar in this band, charmingly dubbed the Texas Toad Lickers. (Daniel Davies and a then 13-year-old Cody Carpenter also contributed to the score, laying the foundation for the work that they would all do together a couple of decades down the road.) While one of Carpenter’s themes borrows pretty heavily from the Goblin title music for Suspiria, it’s not like he didn’t already borrow from Led Zeppelin for his main theme to Assault on Precinct 13, so in a way, that just brings his influences full circle.

Vampires may not be Carpenter’s best film, but it’s still a perfect summation of all of his personal obsessions up to that point of his career (video games excepted, but those came later). John Steakley fans may want to give it a wide berth, but John Carpenter fans who really understand the filmmaker that they love should find plenty to appreciate here. Yet like the Hawksian male harmony on display here, just remember to take all of Vampires on its own terms.

Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe shot Vampires on 35mm film using Panavision Panaflex Gold cameras with anamorphic Panavision E-series lenses, framed at 2.39:1 for its theatrical release. This version uses a 4K master supplied by Sony that was based on a 4K scan of the original camera negative, cleaned up and graded for High Dynamic Range in both Dolby Vision and HDR10. Vampires has always leaned into warm reddish-amber hues, especially for the highly filtered exteriors, and this new grade magnifies and enhances what was already there. The opening Columbia logo displays rich colors including the blues, but once that’s over, the rest of the film lets red, oranges, bronzes, and browns predominate. If you’re looking for Dean Cundey style cool blue lighting, you’re not going to be happy with the look of Kibbe’s cinematography for Vampires as rendered here in 4K with HDR, but it’s true to what he and Carpenter intended.

The contrast range is excellent, with deep blacks that don’t lose detail where they shouldn’t (although sometimes, a shadow is just a shadow in Vampires). Even in the darkest interiors, there are clear delineations between Jack Crow’s black shirt, his black leather jacket, black gloves, and his not quite black hair. It’s all pretty subtle, but it’s still better defined than in non-HDR versions. There isn’t a trace of damage visible, and there’s a subtle but noticeable uptick in fine detail. While there are plenty of big closeups in Vampires, facial textures don’t benefit quite as much as the background details do. They’re crisper and better defined here, and even the grain is tighter than in previous HD versions. The visual effects in Vampires were composited optically, so those shots were derived from dupe elements and look softer than the surrounding material, but they’re still few and far between. Most of the effects in Vampires were of the practical on-set kind.

(As an aside, there’s a single shot in Vampires that may have employed hand rotoscoping, either in the analogue or the digital domain. It doesn’t quite look like a traditional traveling matte. It’s the shot of James Woods at 29:18 where he’s framed against the sky, and some cloud effect may have been added that required manually rotoscoping a holdout matte around Woods’ body. Step through frame-by-frame and you’ll see what I mean.)

Audio is offered in English 5.1 and 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, with optional English SDH subtitles. Vampires was released theatrically in 5.1, and that’s definitely the way to go in this case. (It’s not clear if the 2.0 version is the theatrical matrix-encoded Dolby Stereo track or a fold-down of the 5.1, but it doesn’t really matter since 5.1 is the best option anyway.) It’s a dynamic track with some nice kick from the gunfire and the explosions, and it also offers plenty of directionality as well, although it’s doesn’t provide the most immersive of soundstages. There are subtle ambient sound effects in the scenes set in the vampire nests, but the mix doesn’t take full advantage of the possibilities in creating a genuinely eerie atmosphere. Still, it’s the music that drives Vampires more than anything else, and it sounds fantastic in this version. Carpenter has always enhanced the soundstage with his synthesizer tones, and Vampires is no exception. Plus, the Texas Toad Lickers tunes are well-recorded, with genuine depth.

Shout! Factory’s Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD release of Vampires is a two-disc set that includes a Blu-ray with a 1080p copy of the film. (The Blu-ray is a remastered disc, not just a repressing of their previous one). There’s also a slipcover that duplicates the theatrical poster artwork on the insert. Of course, Shout! Factory being Shout! Factory, that’s not necessarily everything. Depending on which version that you order, there’s also an extra slipcover featuring new artwork by the CRP Group, and separate posters for the theatrical artwork and the new CRP artwork. Regardless, the disc-based content is the same, and the following extras are included:

DISC ONE: UHD

Audio Commentary by John Carpenter

DISC TWO: BD

Audio Commentary by John Carpenter
Time to Kill Some Vampires (HD – 12:25)
Jack the Vampire Slayer (HD – 22:18)
The First Vampire (HD – 9:38)
Raising the Stakes (HD – 10:20)
Padre (HD – 12:45)
Original Making-of Featurette (Upscaled SD – 23:41)
Theatrical Trailer (HD – 2:06)
TV Spots (Upscaled SD – 3:16, 5 in all)
Still Gallery (HD – 6:12)

The commentary with Carpenter was originally recorded for the 2003 DVD release of Vampires. Like most of his solo tracks, it’s a relaxed, laid-back affair, and he’s prone to narrating the action sometimes, but it’s still an invaluable record of his thoughts about the film. He explains his interest in Westerns and takes full credit for adding the Hawksian elements to Steakley’s story—although he gives the actors full credit for their improvisations, too. He notes that Vampires was his 19th film and his 15th score, and that for all of the budgetary limitations, he had a relatively luxurious five weeks to put the music together. As usual, Carpenter is open about issues with his own work, pointing out some lighting flaws and screen direction errors as they occur. He also addresses accusations of misogyny, although he never really answers the valid questions that have been raised about that. (The opinions on the subject in the film review are entirely my own.) While Carpenter’s commentaries are always better when he’s paired with someone like a Kurt Russell, there’s still plenty to appreciate in this track.

The next few extras are all interviews that were conducted for Shout! Factory’s 2019 Blu-ray release of Vampires. Time to Kill Some Vampires is with John Carpenter, Sandy King Carpenter, and Gary Kibbe, all of whom were recorded separately and then edited together. They provide an overview of the production and offer their perspectives on the story. Jack the Vampire Slayer is with James Woods, who admits up front that he was thrilled to make the film because he always wanted to be in a Western. Woods talks about the differences between Steakley’s novel and Carpenter’s film, and he also shows appreciation for Carpenter’s willingness to let the actors improvise. The First Vampire is with Thomas Ian Griffith, who recalls his own enjoyable experiences working with Carpenter. Raising the Stakes is with KNB veteran Greg Nicotero (although it opens with both of the Carpenters praising his effects work). Nicotero explains a few of the gags that they used in the film, admitting that he’s most proud of one of the single goriest moments (anyone who’s seen the film will know which one that we’re talking about). Padre is with Tim Guinee, who says that he had a blast making the film.

The Original Making-of Featurette is a compilation of six different EPK videos that were produced back in 1998 in order to promote the film. They combine behind-the-scenes footage with interviews that were shot on the set, including John Carpenter, James Woods, Thomas Ian Griffith, Sheryl Lee, Daniel Baldwin, Greg Nicotero, stunt coordinator Jeff Imada, and more. While the interviews are inevitably a bit guarded and perfunctory, the on-set footage alone makes this work the price of admission.

The only significant thing that’s missing from previous North American releases of Vampires is the isolated score track that was on Shout! Factory’s 2019 Blu-ray and Twilight Time’s 2015 Blu-ray as well. There are also a few things from international releases that also aren’t include here, like part one of the two-part The Guardian interview with John Carpenter that was on the 2017 Region B Blu-ray from Powerhouse/Indicator in the U.K., as well as an episode of The Directors that was on the R2 DVD from Columbia Tristar in France. That’s all pretty slim pickings, though, so while you may want to hold onto any of those discs to retain all the extras, there’s no reason not to add Shout! Factory’s new 4K Ultra HD version to your library. It easily trounces all of the previous HD versions Vampires. And if you’ve never been able to warm up to the film, this is the best possible way to start.

-Stephen Bjork

(You can follow Stephen on social media at these links: Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, and Letterboxd).