The essential problem with the movie isn't that it's loud, violent, and gory, but that, before Carpenter ratchets up the tension in the final 35 minutes, it's not especially interesting.
50
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
San Francisco ChronicleBob Graham
The lead actors on both sides of the vampire divide are all strong personalities.
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie has a certain mordant humor, and some macho dialogue that's funny. Woods manfully keeps a straight face through goofy situations where many another actor would have signaled us with a wink. But the movie is not scary, and the plot is just one gory showdown after another.
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
James Woods adds another hateful, embittered creep to his gallery of losers, neurotics and junkyard dogs with vampire slayer Jack Crow.
Profoundly disappointing--though Carpenter's score is, as usual, good fun.
40
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
A gorefest of epic proportions.
40
Empire
Empire
For all the exploding gore, graphic eviscerations and combustible corpses, it’s not shocking, not sexy and not scary.
30
Salon
Salon
The sort of thing you can't believe anyone would want their name attached to.
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
It's just as well that John Carpenter makes horror movies, because here's a horrifying thought picture James Woods as an action hero. [30 October 1998, p. 44]