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.

Jack Crow leads his team of Vatican-sponsored vampire hunters in a daylight raid on an abandoned house in New Mexico.

Finding a 'nest' of vampires, the team subdue the creatures with gunfire, pikes, and wooden stakes, using a modified crossbow attached to a mechanical winch to pull them outside, where they are incinerated by sunlight.

After burying his team and burning down the motel, Crow reports to his superior, Cardinal Alba, who confirms that Valek was a disgraced priest who led a rebellion against the church, leading to his execution and transformation into the first vampire.

Valek has already killed another group of slayers in Germany, and Alba instructs Crow to form a new team, accompanied by archivist Father Adam Guiteau.

Guiteau reveals that Valek is seeking an ancient relic, the "Black Cross" of Béziers, and Crow welcomes him to the team as his new slayer.

Largo Entertainment bought the rights to John Steakley's novel in 1992 and planned on turning the film into the studio's next big project.

Although Carpenter, alongside Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, and Ron Underwood, had all been considered, Russell Mulcahy was the first to be the attached director.

[5] Shortly after finishing work on Escape from L.A., John Carpenter was thinking about quitting filmmaking because "it stopped being fun".

'"[6] Carpenter had always wanted to make a film that experimented with mixing the horror and western genres, and felt Vampires was perfect for him.

"[7] In terms of tone and look, Carpenter felt that his film was "a little more like The Wild Bunch than Hawks in its style, but the feelings and the whole ending scene is a kind of replay on Red River.

To accommodate the sudden budgetary concerns, he wrote his own screenplay, taking elements from the Jakoby and Mazur scripts, the book, and some of his own ideas, alongside writer and frequent collaborator Michael De Luca.

"[8] Carpenter was looking for someone unique to play the character of Jack Crow and was actively avoiding "just another musclebound meathead", eventually settling for James Woods.

"[6] Alec Baldwin, an outspoken fan of Carpenter's work, had been cast to play Montoya but quickly dropped out and recommended the role to his brother, Daniel.

Carpenter's wife and the film's producer Sandy King cast Thomas Ian Griffith because she and the director wanted "someone who looks formidable, but is also alluring.

[12] Although worldwide numbers are not official, Carpenter stated the film was a massive success overseas, particularly in Japan, and pulled in well over its $20 million budget.

[16] In its positive reviews, Liam Lacey of The Globe and Mail called it "crude, rude, nasty fun".

[17] Robert Gonsalves of efilmcritic.com gave the film four out of five stars, calling Vampires "grungy, disreputable fun — the kind of blood-and-tequila western that can only be made nowadays when disguised as a horror movie.

"[18] Sean Axmaker of Stream On Demand gave the film 3.5 stars out of four, calling it "Carpenter in his prime form", giving particular points to its world building and acting.

Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, and noted that it "has a certain mordant humor and charm", but was ultimately "not scary, and the plot is just one gory showdown after another.