Vampires

ABOUT JOHN CARPENTER

     For his 19th film, "John Carpenter's Vampires" this master filmmaker of suspense, thrills and horror is treating for the first time the mythology of vampirism, a subject matter he has long wanted to visit. "It is," he says, "the form in which the horror genre, in literature and in film, has most directly addressed sexuality." Carpenter notes that vampires originated as the subliminal Victorian symbol for sex. "'Dracula' is entirely about sex, and our film will have a strong undertone of addiction and seduction".
     Carpenter, one of the esteemed graduates of the USC Film School who pioneered new directions for Hollywood over the past quarter century, personally helped return the horror genre to box office prominence and cutting edge artistic expression with the smash success of his "Halloween".
     The director's first vampire thriller, like his previous "John Carpenter's Escape from L.A" (the sequel to his 1981 sci-fi adventure "Escape from New York"), continued his history as a triple-threat filmmaker, composing the score as well as writing the screenplay and directing. He has composed the dramatic scores for 15 of his 18 previous film productions, often performing them as well on digital instruments. He is a highly regarded musician and was recently signed to score a video game, "Sentinel Returns", for Psygnosis,
     Born in Carthage, New York, and raised in Bowling Green, Kentucky, Carpenter was captivated by movies, especial westerns, as a youngster. The son of a college music professor, he attended Western Kentucky University, then enrolled in the University of Southern California's School of Cinema.
     After winning an Academy Award for his 1970 short subject, "The Resurrection of Bronco Billy" (completed while a film student at USC), Carpenter directed a series of low-budget, highly-commercial and critically-acclaimed movies including "Dark Star", "Assault on Precinct 13" and "Halloween", which earned over $75 million worldwide on a budget of just $300,000, still the highest percentage earning per dollar spent.
     Following "Halloween", he established his reputation further with such genre hits as "The Fog", "They Live", "Prince of Darkness" and "Christine". His rank as an action director on a wider scale is also evident in such productions as "Escape from New York", "The Thing" and "Big Trouble in Little China".
     His motion picture credits also include the comedy-thriller, "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", the psychological horror film "In the Mouth of Madness" the sci-fi love story, "Starman", which earned Jeff Bridges a Best Actor Oscar nomination, and "Village of the Damned" the terrifying remake of the classic 1950's horror story. For the small screen, Carpenter directed the thriller "Someone's Watching Me", the acclaimed biographical mini-series, "Elvis" and the Showtime horror trilogy "John Carpenter Presents Body Bags".
     As a screenwriter, Carpenter's first Hollywood credit was "Eyes of Laura Mars". He has also written original screenplays for "Halloween II", "The Philadelphia Experiment", "Black Moon Rising", "Meltdown" and the TV western "El Diablo", winning a Cable Ace Award for Best Screenplay. He co-authored the screenplay of "John Carpenter's Vampires" with Dan Jakoby and Dan Mazar from the novel by John Steakly, "Vampire$".
     Carpenter, ever the film student, is a scholar on the works of director Howard Hawks. He recently professored a master class on the great filmmaker at the British Film Institute and is preparing a biographical documentary film and book on him. Meanwhile, a volume on Carpenter is in the works in France.
     Carpenter is married to Sandy King who produced such recent films by the director as "John Carpenter's Vampires" (through her Storm King Productions for Largo Entertainment) "In the Mouth of Madness" and "Village of the Damned".
     Vampires' is really a western, James Woods called it "Once Upon a Time in Vampireland". So, in addition to all the heavy breathing horror stuff on the soundtrack, I composed a Spanish guitar tune riffing off of "De Guello", the Dimitri Tiomkin composition used in "Rio Bravo " and "The Alamo" I played the theme on a Korg Trinity music workstation. Jeff Baxter added the pedal steel guitar.
     We needed southwestern bar band blues so the Texas Toad Lickers were formed. I got to play with legendary musicians. I also got shit-faced drunk with one of them one night. It wasn't pretty.
     This was my second collaboration with the Robb Brothers. Bruce Robb held my hand and led me through it. He also played one mean B-3 organ. Of all my music collaborations, ours has been the best.
     I really dig this soundtrack. I hope you do too."

John Carpenter

Synopsis

     Even now, on the eve of the 21st century, vampires rise from loamy graves in search of human prey. The blood they crave is the nectar of immortality, their thirst insatiable as needy fangs tear trough the flesh of innocents. It is the rare man who would take up arms against them, Jack Crow (James Woods) is such a man. A skilled and cunning vampire slayer, he is the last crusader in a long-waged war, the leader of a contingent of mercenaries known as Team Crow.
     Outside an abandoned farmhouse in rural New Mexico, Crow and partner Tony Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) survey the situation before moving in. Team Crow is on assignment for the Vatican to destroy a nest of vampires suspected to be inside. As they enter the darkness, the silence is broken by the high-pitched shrieks of a female vampire. The slayers flash their weapons in response. Wooden stakes and gleaming pikes pierce her body until she is dragged screaming into the light. More vampires appear, their struggle heroic, but not enough to endure. One by one, each is overpowered, and reduced to ashes in the sun.
     When all is quiet once again. Team Crow retreats to lick their wounds and celebrate a victory short-lived. They have neglected to kill the master of the nest, unleashing the savage fury of the infamous Valek, the first vampire in recorded history, the greatest master of all.
     At the nearby Sungod Motel, the screams and shrieks heard now are the sounds of partying hookers, the finest prostitutes money can buy. They tantalize the macho warriors with swaying hips and breasts while the men drink in their luscious bodies. The night grows wild with wanton abandon until interrupted by the arrival of an uninvited guest, the legendary Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith).
Vampires       Shock explodes across the room. The dark-robed stranger sinks his teeth into the flesh of Katrina (Sheryl Lee), a particularly beautiful prostitute, then turns his wrath on Team Crow. The massacre is quick and brutal. Only Crow and Montoya are left to bury their dead. They take Katrina hostage as a weapon against Valek, his bite initiating her psychic link to him as master. They will hunt him through her senses, see him through her eyes.
     Valek now nears the end of a centuries-long search for the elusive Berziers Cross, the implement of ritual that can give him and all vampires succeeding him omnipotent power to walk in the daylight his years of darkness have only left him more determined, as has his battle with Crow. It is in their final confrontation that the fates will be decided.