Near Dark(1987)

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jennette Goldstein, and Joshua John Miller

This is a vampire film. Its not your usual vampire film where you have candelabras and canopy beds and homoerotic subtext. Nope this is the blue collar Vampire film. And I mean that as a compliment. I really cannot stand the flowery overaggrandized gothic-romantic vampire stuff. I mean its nice, but DONE TOO DEATH!

Near Dark is the story of Caleb(Pasdar). Caleb meets the beautiful Mae. They spend the evening messing about and then before sunrise Mae bites Caleb. Then he turns in to a vampire and Mae's clan(Henriksen, Paxton, Goldstein and Miller) take Caleb in and try to show him the ropes. Try. Fail. Seems Caleb doesn't want to embrace the vampire lifestyle. So the movie involves an internal conflict with Caleb(he doesn't want to suck blood) and an external conflict with the Vampires(They want to cut Caleb loose and be done with it).

I think it would have been better had Caleb just fully embraced what he was becoming. But, in the interest of generating a conflict and an antagonist Caleb cannot become a vampire. He must fight(though its killing him) and resist Jesse(Henriksen, who is up for the idea of killing him).

In other vampire fare once a character is turned they seem to embrace the vampire within. In "Buffy the Vampire the Slayer' for instance, a demon takes over your soul thus explaining the bloodlust and turn of personality. That device isn't here. I wish it were. Because usually once you are made a vampire you cannot be unmade a vampire. Oh wait. Yes you can. Bigelow(who co-wrote this with Eric Red) has arranged a backdoor. Which leads to a human Caleb fighting the rest of the vampires.

Aside from all this, the movie seems to work. The love story involving Caleb and Mae is absolutely believable and drives the heart of this story. Its not so much a "BOO!" horror movie as it is a "Creepy" horror movie. Like Bride of Frankenstein the film is rich in atmosphere. Bigelow should be commended for her directorial choices. Especially in the staging of the bar sequence. Its horrifying and unsettling. All the things a good horror movie should be. Having cheap "Boo!" effects will only scare you for a minute, setting up a "Creepy" effect will scare you for hours maybe days afterward.

And even though the plot choices(Act the Third) are somewhat dubious, its at least different. Had the performances and action been weak the set-up would really have fallen apart. As it is, although you don't get what you want, you might get what you need. So check out Near Dark.

-N