A young man joins a traveling group of
vampires after being bitten by a drifter. HORROR
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Near Dark (1987)Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Written by Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Red Starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, Tim Thomerson, Joshua John Miller, Marcie Leeds |
Near Dark was one of the last few great vampire movies that I had never seen before. Choosing it for the podcast gave me an excuse to finally check this one out. It's an oddball, and a great vampire tale. Near Dark is one of the only vampire flicks I've seen that focuses almost exclusively on the vampires, with no hunter on their tail or romantic Dracula-like figure. Instead, these vamps are all about carnage on their eternal road trip, causing mayhem and drinking blood indefinitely, until they turn a farmer's son into one of them, and his conscience is stronger than their evil.
Caleb Colton (Pasdar) is breezing through town when he encounters a drifter, a beautiful young woman named Mae (Wright). Caleb and Mae fall in love pretty damn fast, and out of nowhere, Mae bites Caleb on the neck. Caleb escapes before she can do anything else, and finds himself falling apart. He's incredibly thirsty, normal food makes him vomit, and sunlight burns him horribly. Mae finds him and brings him into her posse of undead psychopaths led by Jesse (Henirksen), a centuries-old Southern vampire. These vamps take him in, but only if he promises to kill with him, which Caleb can't bring himself to do. The craziest of the group is Severen, a complete maniac played to perfection by Bill Paxton. The scene where he tears apart the bar patrons is pure horror and unforgettable. Near Dark isn't what I expected, but I still enjoyed the film. It's much more of a personal tale of inner good winning out over the dark pull of evil. Kathryn Bigelow did a fantastic job of making this seem as realistic as possible. Vampire tales are known for being fantastic and outside the realm of possibility. But this felt like it could happen on the Texas highway any day of the week. Not bad for her second film. |
Kathryn Bigelow has become a legendary director over the past forty years and has given us something special each decade. Near Dark has some western vibes, some vampire vibes, some horror vibes, and some romance vibes. It is very 80’s and got completely overlooked when it came out. That might’ve had something to do with The Lost Boys coming out just a couple months prior, but since then Near Dark has gained a cult following.
Caleb is a young man in a small town, who meets a young drifter named Mae outside a bar. He gets bit by her early on in the film and then a chaotic journey ensues. He tries to retreat back home but as the sun comes up, his skin begins to burn. Mae isn’t really alone as she leads some of her friends in a RV to capture him just outside his home where his father and sister witness it. The people in the RV aren’t really people and Caleb is in over his head with them. His father and sister search for him as the drifters wreak havoc in the Midwest. Near Dark is intense, creepy, and romantic as hell. A love story is at the center and you don’t know how it will unfold until the last minute. The RV full of drifters is one of the most interesting groups I’ve ever seen. Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen play two of scariest fuckers from the 80’s. Awesome stuff from both of them and then Adrian Pasdar fits the character of Caleb really well. That accent is remarkable! This is a very entertaining film that just needs to be seen more because it’s one of the coolest vampire stories I’ve ever seen take place. |