Near Dark

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source: Near Dark

Trailer—Near Dark

Near Dark

Here's another memorable and interesting vampire movie, but one that left a bad taste in my mouth, pun intended.....sort of. Actually, as interesting as it is, it was a bit too profane, gory and with too many unlikeable characters for a nice guy like me to enjoy. The special-effects are excellent. Horror movies seem to bring out the best in the FX department. These are vampires with a bad attitude (not that they are generally nice guys), led by Bill Paxton's "Severen," who is really brutal, over-the-top, really. He is helped in the nasty department by Adrian Pasdar, Lance Henriksen and other mean-looking actors. Another complaint: too much usage of the Lord's name in vain. The female lead is played by a new face (and an interesting one): Jenny Wright. Overall, if you like these mean-edged films, you'll love this. It has evil written all over it.

Cowboy Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar) picks up beautiful Mae (Jenny Wright). She's a vampire and she turns him. She and her 'family' are on a crime spree across America. Kathryn Bigelow is the director and a co-writer. I like the biker sensibilities and the easy pacing western style. I would like more kinetic energy in more vampire action. Bigelow is more artistic in her violence. It has an odd tone which is intriguing but not the most compelling.

This film is obviously stolen by Bill Paxton and although the plot is very simple there are some interesting points of discussion for example the whole blood transfusion scenario. It is an enjoyable vampire western, however the word vampire is never expressed in the film. It neglects all the vampire clichés, and is impressive for it's time. It's quite obvious that films such as From Dusk Til Dawn and The Forsaken have taken there inspiration from this movie. The best scene is by far the bar slaughter. For Kathryn Bigalow's first film it is a triumph and a film to be proud of. I think that anyone who hasn't seen this film should give it a look, because it cleverly combines comedy, drama, horror and gore, but for people who are slightly sickened by the site of blood and horrific killings, be wary of Severens' spur to the neck slaughter.

Not a very good movie; do not believe otherwise. Obviously filmed with an unfinished/incomplete script, so gaping plot holes abound. I watched it again for the first time since seeing it in the theater and it did not age well. That group of imbeciles would not have lasted weeks, much less years, or decades. Don't waste your time on this garbage. The three stars are for Jenny Wright, Tim Thomerson, and the exploding Josh Miller.

The musical question is, with Bigelow behind the camera and big names in front, how can you go wrong? The answer? This is, was, and always will be a B grade film done on the cheap with a small ensemble cast. As such it does offer historical interest for cinephiles especially since the idea of looking at the "human" side of vampires was at least 10 years ahead of the curve and that deserves credit. Ditto for the fact that script -- which is sharp in some places and terrible in others -- does not even use the word "vampire" which, for the era, was a sign of great restraint. However that said, the truth is that this is not really a classic and does not hold up that well over time. There is also an internal imbalance, the first half of the film is much tighter and more coherent than the second, as money ran out during shooting which, given the era and the genre, might have actually happened.