Near Dark

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.

Caleb Cotlton (Adrian Pasdar) is a young man living an unspectacular life in the dusty wilderness of Oklahoma. One night he encounters at lusty femme fatale vampire and this small town boy is changed forever... or at least for the next 80 minutes.

Near Dark has garnered a reputation as the thinking mans Lost Boys. Over the years it has attracted a cult following and retrospective critical plaudits. There is no denying that the film has many strong elements that are worthy of considerable praise but as a whole this film falls flat when faced with closer scrutiny.

The first thing that strikes you when watching Near Dark is the thick atmosphere that the dusty twilight generates. The numerous low angle long shots help carve the inhuman creatures into the scorched landscape and the moody, tension building score just about manages to avoid that oh-so 80's feel.

The ensemble cast, featuring Bill Baxton and Lance Henriksen amongst others, is a delightfully perverse and diverse bunch of freakish and menacing killers. But they are given neither back-story nor the exposition of time and space in which to grow or develop.

Kathryn Bigelow is a filmmaker comfortable with directing action. In fact she excels at it. A sequence in a redneck bar where our motley crew of vampire desperados massacre the patrons is expertly done, the sense of grotesque fear and hopeless desperation is emphasised with a series of fixed shots on straddled limbs and open wounds when most directors would flinch after a few seconds and point the camera elsewhere. Similarly the shootout with the police at the motel is a fantastic and gory adrenaline fuelled piece of slightly soggy popcorn entertainment.

While Adrian Pasdar's Caleb is both bland and one dimensional, Bill Baxton shines are the psychotic Severen. Paxton's wild eyed portrayal of a cowboy killer is one of the highlights of the film.

As the end of the movie approaches it becomes clear that all the promise is slowly being squandered alongside any sense of plausibility. The bad vampires burn up in the sun after only a few seconds, the good vampires last for weeks, Caleb blows up a truck but pulling a handbrake, a simple blood transfusion administered by a farmer cures our hero of his carnivorous tendencies and the once powerful uber-vamps cannot seem to kill a little girl and her teenage brother no matter how hard they try.

Overall Near Dark deserves praise; the evocative atmosphere is second to none, the action is brutal and stylish. But there is complete lack of plausibility in terms of plot. The lack of motivations for the characters and an unwillingness to grant even the most prominent with a back-story make Near Dark a near miss. More money and a longer running time and this could have been something very special indeed.

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.

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!

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.