John Steakley’s Vampire was a fantastic book to read. It’s modern-day vampire hunting backed by the Vatican. The leader of the group was Jack Crow, a former NFL football player. But the most fascinating character in the book was Felix, Jack’s calm and reserved teammate who happens to be an ace gunslinger using silver bullets to kill vampires.

What made this book fascinating was that Jack and his team used what you’d normally think of if YOU had to hunt vampires. First, they hunted while the sun was out. Then they formed a military-style infiltration team when entering dark areas. And brilliant of all, they used harpoons, cable, and wenches to pull vampires from the dark to burst in sunlight. At times, they even employed dynamites and explosives. They did not use archaic means that contradicted the common sense of modern times.

I’m not sure if John Steakley’s Vampires was responsible for modern-day treatment of vampire hunting, but we’re certainly seeing updated technology being employed in stories that came after the book, e.g. the Initiative from Buffy TV series.

In 1998, the movie Vampires by John Carpenter came out. It was suppose to be a film adaptation of the book and John Steakley was even credited as a writer. However, because of studio politics and budget cuts, the only ties that the movie had with the book was the name only. The storyline was so badly butchered that they Felix was not even in the film. But remnants of the core theme that made Vampires the book memorable remained. Still, fans of the book dismissed the movie as D-rated by chastising it whenever possible. They were right and I was initially of the same opinion. Or so I thought when I first saw the movie in 1998.

Seeing Vampires by John Carpenter again recently, I came to appreciate it more, but not in storytelling sense. The movie was still a travesty compared to the book. But James Wood as Jack Crow made the movie watchable. In fact, he was enjoyable. His portrayal as the fiery vampire hunter always stood out in my mind all those years. Still, it was not the impression I had of Jack Crow after reading the book. But James Woods was great. He was fiery, but oozes cool. He delivered one-liners with the best of them.

I was fond of the following Jack Crow lines:

- To Valek: “Let me just ask you one thing – after 600 years, how’s that dick workin’, pretty good?”
- To Father Adam: “Look padre… I’m starting to like you… so don’t make me hurt you. Come on… tell me what you know… I’ll buy you a beer and get you laid. If you don’t i’m gonna have to start cutting on ya.”
- To Montoya: “Vaya con Dios”

With all the reboots that have been going on lately, John Steakley’s Vampire deserves one so that fans of the vampire movie genre can finally see how modern-day vampire hunting is done. Perhaps it be should rebooted with James Woods playing a fiery priest this time.

Vampires and Halloween mix to become one evening of monster fun. So don’t forget to try an adult werewolf costume or a Jason Voorhees mask. It will scare the hell out of you.

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