In many ways Vampires is a return to form for John Carpenter, but in many other ways it's the same old disappointment we've gotten used to. The film has great potential, though, like the casting of James Woods as the head slayer and the New Mexico setting. And it starts up promising enough. In Wild Bunch style a full team of vampire slayers are introduced and then seen at work, taking out a nest of vampires hanging out in a deserted cabin. Great stuff, also introducing the best Carpenter-helmed soundtrack for ages (including some brilliant guitar playing by Steve Cropper). Unfortunately Carpenter decides to waste the slayer team already after 15 minutes and pretty much shoots his movie down. It's a shame. Had the whole movie been as cool as its first reel it could have been a grand return of Carpenter the Great.

With much of the momentum gone so early, the remaining 90 minutes is still a fair buddy western essentially, but with bigger guns and with vampires instead of indians. Carpenter always pays tribute to his favorite directors, like Howard Hawks and Sam Peckinpah, but here his homages is better suited for obvious reasons. And James Woods chew scenery like the madman he is, improvising out of control allegedly and no matter how, in the old days, Carpenter stalwart Kurt Russell was never like this.