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One of the best modern vampire flicks around is this stylish, funny, and all around adventurous cult classic.

Young cowboy is literally bitten by a beautiful stranger and ends up joining a band of blood-suckers who roam the American heartland.

Although Near Dark is often over-shadowed by the ultra-hip vampire movie The Lost Boys (1987), Near Dark is a far juicier treat for horror fans. Eric Red, who also wrote The Hitcher (1986), gives us a seemingly old-fashioned tale of struggle between human nature and savage lust with a nicely spun sense of modernism. Not to mention plenty of touches of dark humor. It's a story that does well with avoiding the obvious clichés of the vampire genre. Director Kathryn Bigelow gives this film terrific style, not only adding scenic beauty but sharply creating plenty of intense action sequences. Near Dark also packs some great makeup FX and occasional gore. The entire sequence in the bar has became a favorite among many. Adding even more to the film is the beautiful music score by Tangerine Dream.

The cast is quite good. Adrian Pasdar is believable as our formerly-human hero. Lance Henriksen is genuine in his role as the leader of the vamp' band. However it's young Bill Paxton who does most of the scene stealing (and the comic relief) as a scary, yet cheeky vampire thug.

A modern vamp classic that delivers on all levels, Near Dark firmly remains a favorite of the genre and one of the most entertaining horror films of the 80's.

**** out of ****

A real gem of a film which deserved a lot more credit than it ever received. Director Kathryn Bigelow went on to produce Aliens and direct Blue Steel and Point Blank, while writer Eric Red went on to direct the brilliant but rarely-glimpsed Coen and Tate, an equally dark movie. In this stylish tale of modern-day vampires, gothic horror is mixed with modern-day American society. The hero, Caleb, is plunged into a shadowy world of immortal vampires that exists just below the ordinary world as the bad guys imitate modern mortals to hunt their prey. With atmospheric music by German techno-band Tangerine Dream, an impressive and evocative horror film with the added attraction that it features my favourite actress, Jenny Wright!

Interesting and atmospheric little vampire film. The soundtrack was provided by Tangerine Dream and is absolutely fantastic. Some of the dialogue, especially in the beginning, seems a little cringeworthy and trite but overall the script is well done. It really shines in the way that it gives us a humanistic approach to the vampires. The whole thing has a low key, yet powerful and poetic vibe. At times the humor seems to simply detract from this atmosphere instead of providing anything akin to comic relief or real laughs and I think it would have been a stronger film without the comedic elements. Overall this is quite an offbeat but good film and the soundtrack is amazing.

Watched last night, it's reminiscent of the first terminator film in some ways. Bill Paxton nails every second of screen time that he has, definitely worth watching for just for him.

Near Dark is the definitive vampire road movie. It's the most realistic and non-traditional portrayal of vampires in my mind. They're cruising the country...you know, just bored. And wouldn't they be bored? I mean if you live forever, wouldn't you run out of things to do? They spend their time getting in and out of trouble. And that's all they do. I love it. The cast (Aliens anyone?) is top-notch. Adrien Pasdar is as underrated as they come. He plays our likable hero who gets involved with our gang of vamps by accident. Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein (all from Aliens), Jenny Wright, and Joshua Miller are all perfectly cast as the nocturnal family. Miller, oddly enough, is Jason Patric's half brother and Near Dark was released just a few weeks after The Lost Boys. Henrikson is appropriately evil and Paxton's Severen character is highly quotable and memorable. Tim Thomerson and James Le Gros also put in an appearances. Eric Red's script is every bit as cool as his earlier road movie, The Hitcher. Kathryn Bigelow will go down in my book as having directed the best vampire flick that I can think of.

Note for genre buffs: The word vampire is never used in the film.