John Carpenter’s last great film is coming to 4K! Shout! Factory has announced a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release for Vampires, the 1998 horror thriller from the Halloween director starring James Woods and Sheryl Lee about a vampire hunter determined to take down the mother of all bloodsuckers. The special edition will be released early next year on January 21, with pre-orders open now.
Vampires was originally released in 1998 — the same year this writer was born, just to make you feel old — and stars Woods as the leader of a band of vigilante vampire hunters called “Team Crow.” When Thomas Ian Griffiths’ master vampire takes out his entire team, Woods’ Crow vows revenge, taking one of his victims hostage and using her to track him down in order to destroy him. But when the vamp gets close to a relic that would grant him ultimate power, Crow must build a new team to keep him from turning the world into a bloodsucker hellscape.
The two-disc special edition of Vampires features a new 4K restoration pulled from the original camera negative, as well as remastered audio and a commentary from Carpenter. The Blu-ray disc also features a whole coven of special features, including:
- “Time To Kill Some Vampires” – Interviews With Director Jon Carpenter, Producer Sandy King Carpenter, And Cinematographer Garry B. Kibbe
- “Jack The Vampire Slayer” – An Interview With Actor James Woods
- “The First Vampire” – An Interview With Actor Thomas Ian Griffith
- “Raising The Stakes” – An Interview With Special Effects Artist Greg Nicotero
- “Padre” – An Interview With Actor Tim Guinee
- Original Making Of Featurette
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Still Gallery
If ordered from Shout! Factory’s website, the release also comes with a slipcover featuring the original theatrical artwork, an additional exclusive slipcover with art by the CRP Group, a limited edition 18” by 24” poster of the original poster, and another poster of the same size with art by the CRP Group.
Vampires will make its way to 4K — along with several other Carpenter releases from Shout! Factory — on January 21, and is available for pre-order now.
