Movie breathes life

By Cynthia Orosco, On-Line Forty-Niner

Tuesday, November 3, 1998

John Carpenter is back with "Vampires," a movie with a western twang.

The movie has the good vs. evil theme with James Woods as Jack Crow, a brave vampire slayer. Crow has a sidekick, Tony Montoya, played by Daniel Baldwin, who like Batman's sidekick, Robin, can prove to be worthless and more of a liability.

The part of evil is portrayed by Thomas Ian Griffith, who plays Valek. The cast is rounded out by Sheryl Lee of "Twin Peaks" fame, who does a convincing job as the prostitute-turned-bloodsucking- vampire Katrina.

Crow plays the leader of a group of mercenaries who are on a vampire-killing spree. Crow and his sidekick have some semi-campy, humorous sarcastic lines that make the one-hour, 45-minute movie soar by, but be prepared for some gory and graphic violence as the vampires feast on humans.

Crow and Montoya go hunting for Valek, a 600-year-old vampire who has little to say throughout the movie, but uses his looks and presence to instill fear. Valek is after a powerful cross that he needs for a ritual in order to become the all-mighty, daylight-walking vampire.

Crow, who was raised by the Catholic Church, to become a vampire-killer, must find Valek and destroy him and his plan.

Crow uses Katrina as bait after she is bitten by Valek, which allows her to be mentally linked to him and eventually leads to an added twist to the plot when she also becomes linked to Montoya.

The seek-out and destroy scenes take place in the New Mexico desert, which adds to the reminiscent cowboy, bounty hunter feel.

Of course, Crow's cigar smoking and Montoya's vest wearing does not hurt "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" theme.

All that is missing are the flute and guitar riffs that were replaced by John Carpenter's own score, which is quite appropriate and only verifies the Southwestern feel.

The language and violence is strong for this horror comedy and might offend younger viewers.

Woods gives a great performance that is a positive change from his usual movie roles. His one-liners are amusing, but repetitive as he plays the part of the cool, tough guy who continually carries a crossbow and never sleeps.

Overall, this dark movie is entertaining and if that is what one is looking for, it is worth the money. The strong cast and twisted vampire theme is sure to make it a horror classic worth catching.