Near Dark Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1987

Near Dark is a vampire movie that deftly avoids being pigeon-holed with other films within the genre, making it one of the standout horror films of not only the 80's, but all time. Sharp, attractive and masterfully directed, Near Dark is absolutely essential for fans of vampire flicks, and an equally delightful treat for those who find vampire films too campy or cheesy for their tastes (in fact, the word vampire isn't uttered even once during the film).

Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar) is a young man enjoying the evening with friends in a sleepy midwestern town, where he happens upon a beautiful and mysterious woman named Mae (Jenny Wright). The two take an instant liking to each other and share a necking session, but their romantic interlude comes to an abrupt end when she nips him on the neck and then runs away in a distressed state.

Returning home to the ranch owned by his father, the sun begins to rise and introduce a new day… a day that would mark an eternal transformation for Caleb's life. For some reason Caleb cannot understand, the sun is burning him to death, but just as he comes within eyeshot of his father (Tim Thomerson) and younger sister (Marcie Leeds) an RV with tin-foiled windows (to block the sunlight) drives up besides him and the unknown occupants abduct him before returning to a dark hideaway.

Amidst these abductors is Mae, the gal who unwittingly introduced him to this new world; Jesse (Lance Henriksen), the leader of the family of vampires; Severen (Bill Paxton), the wildcard within the group; Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), Jesse's female partner; and Homer (Joshua Miller), an old vampire stuck within the body of a young boy.

Caleb now faces an ultimatum; embrace his new lifestyle by preying upon humans, or be destroyed by the family for his weakness. Fascinated by his newfound powers, yet horrified at the thought of destroying innocents to feed his bloodlust, Caleb fights to retain his humanity even as he comes to understand that he is now destined to be a predator of the night.

This inner turmoil comes to a climax when Caleb's father and sister, who have been dutifully searching for their abducted loved one, stumbles across him and his new "family." Now Caleb must choose between the family he loves, and the family he has become dependent on.

Adrian Pasdar was a solid choice for the starring role; he has a small-town likeability that draws the viewer into Near Dark. Lance Henriksen is simply awesome as the ice-cold, calm and collected leader of the band, while Bill Paxton is a show-stealer with his manic representation of the sadistic, wisecracking loose cannon of the group. Jenny Wright deserves kudos for her performance also; she has accepted the vampire lifestyle, yet reflects a subtle inner sadness about her life (or lack thereof).

Jenette Goldstein didn't drop the ball, but she didn't stand out either. But to be fair, her entirely disposable nature may have been due to the role itself, rather than her performance. There was one disappointment in the movie though: Joshua Miller. That little kid was the most annoying vampire I've ever seen. If that's what the role called for, then boy did he nail it… but something about his performance just turned me off instantly.

Near Dark is such a classic success because it masterfully blends shocking horror with intelligent character development and flashes of dark humor. One of the highlights of the film is an encounter at an isolated rural bar, where the vampire family truly shows its vile nature as they kill the few inhabitants for both pleasure and feeding. It's during this night that Caleb must make his ultimate choice of killing a young cowboy to officially become part of the group, or be destroyed for being an outsider.

I loved this scene because whereas most similar movies would make the bikers and inhabitants inside the bar unrealistic tough guys, in Near Dark they react just as they would in real life… they are horrified by what they are witnessing and do their best to avoid confrontation with these seemingly insane foes. Seeing a toughened biker choked with fear and doing his best to talk his way out of a fight makes us react far more strongly to the happenings than we would had director Kathryn Bigelow gone the tough-guy caricature route.

Throw away all preconceptions you may have about vampire films when debating whether to watch Near Dark, because Anne Rice this is not. You won't find stuffy or aristocratic undead, crosses, garlic or vampire hunters; you won't even find the term vampire uttered once in the film. Instead you will discover a classic horror flick that combines brutal violence with intelligent character drama.

Movie rating: 9 stars

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