How the film "Vampires" was filmed: footage from filming and 11 interesting facts about the film (12 photos)

“Vampires” is based on the novel of the same name by John Stickley and has a very superficial relationship to the original source. Apart from the main character and the location, there is nothing in common between them.





1. The film "Vampires" was not invented from scratch. It is based on the novel of the same name by John Stickley. After Stickley watched the film, he said that only the dialogue from his novel remained in it, and many important moments and plot points were omitted and completely redone.



2. Initially, Russell Mulcahy, who had previously directed such films as “Highlander” (the first and second parts) and “The Shadow,” was supposed to sit in the director’s chair.

But in the end, Russell Mulcahy decided to leave the project, and in his place they invited John Carpenter, who was known as a master of horror, having directed such cult films as “Halloween” (the first three parts), “Christine” (based on Stephen King), “The Thing” " and other popular tapes.





John Carpenter was pleased with the offer, as he had long wanted to make a film about vampires. According to him, he had two options: either make a classic film in the spirit of “Dracula”, or experiment with this genre. And in the end he chose the second option. Moreover, he even decided to make fun of classic films about overdressed romantic vampires, giving a separate line about this to the character of James Woods when he was telling the Padre about vampires.



John Carpenter, director

By the way, Carpenter himself not only directs, produces and writes scripts, but also writes music for his films. The film "Vampires" was no exception. And John Carpenter even received the Saturn Award for the music for this film.

3. Initially, action star Dolph Lundgren was supposed to play the main role. And he even agreed to participate in the film, but just before the start of filming, he leaked. According to one version, he was not satisfied with the size of his fee.



John Carpenter offered the lead role to Kurt Russell, with whom he had already worked on the set of The Thing, Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China. But due to certain circumstances, Russell was unable to take part in this film.

As a result, the main role went to James Woods, who, by the way, played his character with a bang.



James Woods and Daniel Baldwin

Woods himself was delighted that he was offered the role of a positive protagonist in an action film, since before that he had either played villain roles or calm characters, such as a lawyer.

4. The studio bosses also put a spoke in the film's wheels, since they initially promised to allocate $60 million for the production of the film. But due to some issues (including the departure of Dolph Lundgren from the project), the film's budget was cut three times and amounted to only $20 million.



James Woods, Daniel Baldwin and John Carpenter

Due to budget cuts, the script urgently had to be changed in order to meet the required amount, which, of course, became an additional “hemorrhoids” for the filmmakers.

5. The shooting of vampires being burned when they came into the area of sunlight was also interesting. The actors wore special suits equipped with devices that lit up in the right places at the right moment. After that, members of the film crew ran up to the actors and extinguished them.



Then the actors were replaced by mannequins, which were already burning to the fullest. According to special effects specialists, it was not an easy shoot, and it took more than one take to get everything right. But in the end everything worked out.



Replacing a live actor with a mannequin

6. John Carpenter wanted to make a film in the spirit of Westerns. That is why New Mexico was chosen for filming. By the way, another cult film about vampires, “From Dusk Till Dawn,” was filmed in the same state.

7. With a budget of $20 million, the film earned $20.3million, which of course was a failure. However, the film was saved by the VHS industry, as the film earned just over $30 million from video sales.



8. A cameo role in the film was played by the famous director Frank Darabont, who directed such cult films based on Stephen King's novels as "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Green Mile" and "The Mist". It is from his character that Montaya takes away the car in one of the scenes.

9. Despite the fact that the film "Vampires" did not become a box office success, audiences still loved it. Therefore, the filmmakers decided to make a sequel, and already in 2002 the film “Vampires 2. Day of the Dead” was released, where the famous rock musician Jon Bon Jovi played the main role. This time John Carpenter was no longer the director, but took on the role of producer.



Movie "Vampires 2"

True, the film turned out to be less successful than the first part, and the audience remembered it much less.

10. The film “Vampires” was filmed over two months in the hottest weather, namely from the beginning of June to the beginning of August 1997.

11. The role of one of the vampire hunters was played by actor Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa, known for his role as Shang Tsung from the film “Mortal Kombat”. Unfortunately, his character was wasted almost at the very beginning of the film.