10 Underappreciated 90s Horror Movies

The general consensus view seems to be that the once-great genre filmmaker John Carpenter had lost his way once the 1980s ended, and that this 1998 effort ranks among his lowest achievements. To this I say, hell no.

Let there be no misunderstanding here: Vampires is a really quite silly film. It's ludicrously over the top, bursting with unbridled testosterone, and clearly lacks the budget to really do justice to its madcap vision. But it manages one thing that a great deal of 90s horror struggled with: it is, plainly and simply, a hell of a lot of fun.

Clearly no one is having more fun than James Woods, in perhaps his only action hero role. That said, there isn't much conventionally heroic about Jack Crow, a shamelessly politically incorrect mercenary who leads a unit of vampire slayers in the employ of the Catholic church.

Crow relishes his line of work, until a double-cross sees most of his team slaughtered by Thomas Ian Griffith's master vampire Malek. Along with his old buddy Daniel Baldwin, Malek's most recent victim Sheryl Lee, and Tim Guinee's newbie priest, Crow sets out to uncover the truth and stop Malek before it's too late.

Given the sheer levels of machismo, misogyny and sadism on show, the easily offended (of whom we seem to have a lot these days) are unlikely to find Vampires amusing. However, those who appreciate bad taste humour and OTT B-movie action are sure to have a blast.