John Carpenter's Vampires

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John Carpenter's Vampires

R

Released Apr 15, 1998

1h 44m

Horror

Action

Western

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

44%

Tomatometer

54 Reviews

47%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

Ever since his parents were murdered by vampires, Jack Crow (James Woods) has had one purpose in life: putting stakes through bloodsuckers' hearts. With his battle-hardened crew of vampire killers and the assistance of the Catholic Church, Crow roams the New Mexico desert looking for undead lairs to annihilate. But he meets his match when, at a roadside motel, he comes face to face with Jan Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), a vampire kingpin possessed of incredible powers.

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Critics Consensus

Nothing but one showdown after another.

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Paul Tatara

CNN.com

So, John Carpenter's Vampires stinks, and "Paul Tatara's Review of John Carpenter's Vampires" won't be a review so much as it'll be a check list for posturing teenage boys.

Feb 9, 2018

Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

A suspense-free snark-fest desperate to turn its protagonist - vampire slayer Jack Crow (James Woods) - into a Snake Plisskin-style icon of supernatural-badass cool.

Rated: C-

Jun 5, 2011

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The movie has a certain mordant humor, and some macho dialogue that's funny... But the movie is not scary, and the plot is just one gory showdown after another.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Adrian Martin

Film Critic: Adrian Martin

It takes about two minutes for Vampires to prove that Carpenter is far from a spent force – at least to those who can appreciate a master filmmaker at work.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 30, 2025

Full Review

Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

It's not perfect but James Woods has serious swagger and it's a fun time

Nov 3, 2024

Full Review

Alan Jones

Radio Times

A well-wrapped horror package from a master of the macabre.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 13, 2024

Full Review

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Katherine S

The beginning of this movie was not good

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/07/25

Full Review

PDUB O

THIS is possibly the worst movie ever made. I will never get this 100 minutes back in my life.........James Woods must have needed some money to fund his boring life. Did I mention that I CANNOT stand James Woods "acting" anyway. He is. terribly untalented and a waste of space.......

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

07/30/25

Full Review

DennisFeinsteinCEO

Awesome vampire flick! If you're an 80's horror fan, you'll 100% dig this one. James Woods and Daniel Baldwin nailed this (pun intended) 🦇🧛

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/15/25

Full Review

Tyler N

This is a thoughtless and boring movie. The roles are miscast, there is absolutely no substance whatsoever, and I shut it off in the middle because I kept falling asleep.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/24/25

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Rody W

One of the best Vampire action movies 🍿

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/11/25

Full Review

Jason W

Typical Carpenter action flick. I'm a fan of They Live and Escape but I found this one more campy. The score was distracting at times for how bad it was. The Vampires were lame but maybe it worked for the late 90s. It did have a couple nice kills with great special fx courtesy of KNB effects. The acting was sub-par and I didn't buy James Woods as the Kurt Russel/Roddy Piper badass character. The drunken senior high-school type secondary characters were not great either.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/05/25

Full Review

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John Carpenter

Director

James Woods

Jack Crow

Daniel Baldwin

Montoya

Sheryl Lee

Katrina

Thomas Ian Griffith

Jan Valek

Tim Guinee

Father Adam Guiteau

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Vampire Hunting

3:02

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Vampiric Visions

1:43

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Elevator Kill

1:46

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - The Hunt Begins

1:55

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Beating up a Priest

2:58

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Valek's Attack

1:51

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Explosive Vampire Slaying

2:44

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - The Dark Ritual

2:15

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Monastery Massacre

2:41

John Carpenter's Vampires: Official Clip - Slaying Valek

2:17

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Synopsis

Ever since his parents were murdered by vampires, Jack Crow (James Woods) has had one purpose in life: putting stakes through bloodsuckers' hearts. With his battle-hardened crew of vampire killers and the assistance of the Catholic Church, Crow roams the New Mexico desert looking for undead lairs to annihilate. But he meets his match when, at a roadside motel, he comes face to face with Jan Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), a vampire kingpin possessed of incredible powers.

Director: John Carpenter
Producer: Sandy King
Screenwriter: John Steakley, Don Jakoby
Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Pictures
Production Co: JVC Entertainment, Storm King Productions, Largo Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Action, Western
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 15, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.2M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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