John Carpenter Actually Buried Actors Underground In Vampires
In 1998, horror master John Carpenter put his stamp on the vampire genre. "John Carpenter's Vampires" deals with many familiar tropes within the well-trod horror sub-genre, but in true Carpenter fashion, it certainly adds some fun elements to the mix. The film centers on Jack Crow (James Woods), whose parents were killed by vampires. He dedicates his life to hunting them down, until one day he comes face to face with an ultra-powerful vampire kingpin.
Even if this isn't hailed alongside some of Carpenter's more influential films, such as "Halloween" or "They Live," there are several stand-out scenes contained within — perhaps most notably, the hotel massacre sequence. Speaking with Filmmaker Magazine in 2015, Carpenter addressed another memorable scene that sees several vampires digging their way out of the ground after a night's sleep. It turns out, the director actually buried the actors to pull off the scene.
"It was in the script. It was a tricky scene to shoot, because we actually had to bury the actors with oxygen tanks so that they could breathe underground. They were under there a long time while we got the shot set up, and one guy panicked, which we expected, but eventually I got everybody to calm down and relax."
It's a little unclear how, precisely, Carpenter got the actors to calm down for the scene. After all, they were buried alive — albeit with oxygen tanks. Be that as it may, it's easy to see why an actor would be unsettled by the experience. But Carpenter has always been something of a no-nonsense filmmaker. Hence, his first response when asked where he came up with the idea is simply, "It was in the script." So be it.
'It's an exhausting job, I must tell you'
In the same interview, Carpenter was complimented on his ability to craft a great "cheap scare." The filmmaker took no offense. "I'm a cheap guy," Carpenter said in response. "That's all just instinct. You try them and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't." Given his straightforward approach to filmmaking, it's not hard to see why he would look at a scene that involves vampires coming out of the ground and think that the best possible solution is to bury people so that they can come up out of the ground. Cheap and effective.
As for the whole "calming the actors down" bit, Carpenter also addressed that in a roundabout way later in the interview. Discussing dealing with actors in a broader sense, the director likened it to being a father. For him, it's a matter of determining the type of father an actor needs to do their job:
"You just have to figure out what each actor needs. Most of them want a father, and you have to determine as you're working with them if they respond best to a strong father, a nice father, a severe father – what's going to get the best out of them? Sometimes you have a group of actors who each need different approaches, and it's tough to know what to do in that situation; you just do the best you can. It's an exhausting job, I must tell you."
The exhausting nature of the job may be why Carpenter hasn't directed a feature film since 2010's "The Ward." But he did recently direct a TV show from the comfort of his couch, which we have to look forward to. That undoubtedly makes it far less exhausting. Maybe if he could make a movie from his couch, he would get back in the game and bury some more actors for the sake of entertainment.