If you’re a fan of vampire movies, 1987 was a good year. It was the year that The Lost Boys was released. That film went on to make $32 million at the box office. (That was a lot of money back then.) There was another vampire film released in 1987 that you may not be as familiar with. Near Dark only made $3.4 million at the box office. However, it’s receiving some publicity now because it was the first feature film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who directed the Oscar nominated film, The Hurt Locker.
Near Dark tells the tale of Caleb (Adrian Pasdar), an Oklahoma farm boy who meets Mae (Jenny Wright). Caleb tries his best to charm Mae, but Mae tells him that she’s not like any other girl he’s ever met. She proceeds to bite him on the neck and runs off into the night. Caleb finds himself arriving home just as the sun peaks over the horizon and as its rays strike him, Caleb begins to catch on fire. Clearly, Mae is not like any other girl he’s ever met. She’s, in fact, a vampire.
Before Caleb can make it home, he’s abducted by Mae’s clan of vampires. The clan, led by Jesse (Lance Henriksen), has been traveling the backroads of the southwest for a very long time. In fact, when Caleb asks Jesse how old he is, he replies, “Let’s put it this way, I fought for the South.”
The rest of the clan is furious that Mae has chosen to turn someone without notifying them. Severen (Bill Paxton) threatens to cut Caleb’s head off. Homer (Joshua Miller), who was turned as a small boy but who’s body hasn’t aged at all in 100 years, also threatens Caleb. Only Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), Jesse’s mate and the clan’s ersatz mother figure, gives him a break. Caleb is given a week to make his first kill or he’ll be slaughtered by the clan.
Near Dark is a stylish, brooding horror movie. It’s interesting to note that the word “vampire” is never uttered in the film once. In fact, this gives the ending — which some self-appointed vampire purists have argued is impossible — a little validity. Without saying what happens, the movie does make it clear several times that these creatures don’t know what they are. But since they do fall prey to one of the usual weaknesses of vampires – sunlight – it’s easy to classify them as such.
Kathryn Bigelow, who directs with a great visual flare, has a great cast to work with. Unfortunately, that blanket statement does not include the two lead actors, Adrian Pasdar and Jenny Wright. Pasdar lacks charisma and there’s no believable chemistry between him and Wright. Since their “romance” is the foundation for the entire movie, it weakens what is otherwise an effective and fun horror flick.
Still, Near Dark is worth seeing for several reasons aside from the curio value of being Bigelow’s debut as a director. First is the gleeful performance of Bill Paxton as the blood-crazed Severen. He drops enough cheezy one-liners to rival Schwarzenegger but does so in a way that is creepy rather than campy. Second is the cinematography. There are many memorable shots and sequences, including the clan silhouetted against the horizon and a gun battle that causes lethal streams of sunlight. Also of note is the soundtrack, which was done by the respected electronic band Tangerine Dream. It may sound somewhat dated now but it still gives the film a great atmosphere.
Those that see Near Dark after hearing it compared to The Lost Boys may find it disappointing. Near Dark is a deliberate and well-paced horror movie. Those that prefer the short attention span editing style of The Lost Boys may find it downright boring. However, Near Dark is a superior movie with better characters and much better direction. It’s a shame that the lead actors are so uninteresting. If not for that glaring problem, Near Dark would be a true classic instead of a diamond-in-the-rough.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
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