Halloween is right around the corner and here at MovieBuzzers we’re going to be giving you some of the best horrors, past and present, for you to watch throughout the month. I made sure that one of the films recommended to you was going to be one of my all time favorite vampire flicks, Near Dark. A film that put a certain talented female director well and truly on the map with her chilling vampire tale which, for originality and intensity, still struggles to be matched even today.
Co-Written and directed by (at the time) up and coming director Kathryn Bigelow, Near Dark was originally penned to be a Western, but studios worried about the recent success, or lack there of, of Westerns. They suggested changing it to a genre currently thriving. Bigelow, however decided to take the risk of mixing two genres that had only been combined a handful of times (and to very limited success) previously, and thus the Vampire/Western Near Dark was born. And boy did it work! While the numbers for its initial release were unimpressive, Near Dark has since gone on to a critical success and garnered an impressive cult following.
The film gets going almost straight away when Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) meets the mysterious Mae (Jenny Wright). After giving her a lift home Mae can’t help herself, one thing leads to another and she gives his neck a little nibble – as you do! Caleb turns into a vampire almost instantly and is abducted by Mae’s blood-thirsty clan/family. Here we meet Jesse and Diamondback (Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein), Homer (Joshua Miller) and the maniacal Severen played superbly by Bill Paxton. The roaming clan give Caleb a chance to prove his worth to the group and he begins to understand his strengths and limitations as a vampire, all the while being involved in a blossoming love story with Mae. Caleb can’t kill however, it’s not in his nature and the vampires begin to grow increasingly frustrated with him, Severen in particular. While the final act is rather underwhelming, it’s the 10 minute bar scene just past the halfway mark that really steals your attention as the demented vampires play mind games with Caleb as they slaughter the clientèle like lambs while making him watch.
If you haven’t seen this film, it HAS TO BE on your horror films to see during October, and here’s a few reasons why:
– It launched the career of Adrian Pasdar AKA Nathan Petrelli AKA Flying Man! (Heroes)
– Bill Paxton gives one hell of a deranged performance. To this day it’s still one of my favourite performances in film.
– It features on of the most brutal massacre scenes you’re likely to see!
– Its strange blend of the Western and Vampire genre is truly impressive and demands your respect.
Pasdar gives a true performance as someone being thrown into a world that has turned his life and everything he knew upside down, but it’s the flamboyant performance by Bill Paxton as the merciless vampire Severen that’s the game changer. During the 80’s the vampire genre was on the rise again with popular titles such as Fright Night and The Lost Boys, and Near Dark takes everything that made those films great – and the genre in general – and creates something just a little bit better. It’s beautifully shot which sees the intensity mixed perfectly with its stylistic tone that creates just the atmosphere at just the right times. You won’t find a darker more disturbing vampire film from the 80’s which leaves a trial of destruction in its wake.
Rating: Near Dark is a stylish classic which is a cut above its counter-parts. (8/10).
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