Vampires (1998 film)

Vampires
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Carpenter
Screenplay by	Don Jakoby
Based on	Vampires by John Steakley
Produced by	Sandy King
Starring	James Woods Daniel Baldwin Sheryl Lee Thomas Ian Griffith Maximilian Schell Tim Guinee
Cinematography	Gary B. Kibbe
Edited by	Edward A. Warschilka
Music by	John Carpenter
Production companies	Film Office JVC Entertainment Networks Largo Entertainment Spooky Tooth Productions Storm King Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures (through Sony Pictures Releasing; select territories) Summit Entertainment (International)[1]
Release date	October 30, 1998 (1998-10-30)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Box office	$20.3 million (domestic)

Vampires (also known as John Carpenter's Vampires) is a 1998 American neo-Western action horror film directed and scored by John Carpenter and starring James Woods. It was adapted from the novel Vampire$ by John Steakley.

Woods stars as Jack Crow, the leader of a team of vampire hunters. After his parents were murdered by vampires, Crow was raised by the Catholic Church to become their "master slayer". The plot is centered on Crow's efforts to prevent a centuries-old cross from falling into the hands of Jan Valek (a reference to Valac, played by Thomas Ian Griffith), the first and most powerful of all vampires. The film also stars Daniel Baldwin as Tony Montoya, Crow's best friend and fellow hunter; Sheryl Lee as Katrina, a prostitute who has a psychic link to Valek after being bitten; Tim Guinee as Father Adam Guiteau; and Maximilian Schell as Cardinal Alba.

The film was followed by two direct-to-video sequels, Vampires: Los Muertos (2002) and Vampires: The Turning (2005).