Customer Reviews

near dark is near perfection - By: Susan Belcher, 12 Dec 2008

This is a masterpiece of a film from director Kathryn Bigelow. It has been described by Ms Bigelow as a story of two families, a daylight family & a night family; others have called it a cross between a horror film, an action film & a western. It is a recorded fact that Ms Bigelow had wanted to make a western, but because westerns weren't popular at the time, it was decided to turn it into a horror film with a basic western feel.

The story startsin a backwater Texas town where Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar) meets a young woman called Mae (Jenny Wright) outside the quiet town's ice cream parlour. Mae tells Caleb that she needs a ride home & Caleb, fancying his chances, agrees to give her a ride. Things, however, don't go his way when she nibbles his neck. Come morning & Caleb starts to feel sickin the sun.

He is staggering across the fields near his home when the occupants of an RV grab him & drive away, all this is witnessed by his little sister Sarah (Marcie Leeds). Caleb's father, Loy (Tim Thomerson), tires of waiting for the local police to do something to find his son, so decides that he & his daughter will go out & look for Caleb themselves.

Caleb has been taken by Mae & her vampire family - Jesse Hooker (Lance Henriksen), Severen (Bill Paxton), Diamondback (Jeanette Goldstein) & Homer (Joshua Miller). He doesn't want to kill, but his body now needs blood to survive & we watch as Caleb's internal fight what he knows is wrong & what his needs tell him to do.

As the film builds to its climax Caleb must make the decision between his two families, between day & night.

Whether James Cameron had an influencein the casting of the main characters (he was at the time that the film was made married to Ms Bigelow).

The vampire family consists of Lance Henriksen (Aliens' android Bishop), Bill Paxton (PFC Hudson from Aliens) & Jeanette (Vasquez) Goldstein all give excellent performances, but, once again, it is Bill Paxton who delivers the most memorable performance of the entire cast.

Having watched the film, both with & without the commentary I have to say that I would have preferred the ending that had been planned, rather than the one that we ended up with, but the one that we ended up with is satisfying all the same.

The two disc special edition is exactly that - special. The extras include interviews with the cast & crew, deleted scenes & behind the scenes stills gallery.

This film is thoroughly enjoyable. One of the greatest vampire movies ever, though interestingly the term vampire is never usedin the film itself.

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Brilliant - By: J. Freeman, 07 Jul 2008
For me this really is the only vampire film actually worth watching. The script, the acting, the cinematography all top notch however for me the ending lets it down. Though this more down to the fact that i would have prefered the main character to remain with the vampires & turn his back on normal society. And the whole blood transfusion cure really does seem rather weak. However those points aside, this is still probably thr best vampire film around.

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Masterful horror! - By: Stephen Lloyd, 10 May 2007
This is the best vampire movie ever made. No debate!

This film was releasedin 1987 I believe, around the same time as `The Lost Boys' a far inferior vampire flick aimed at the MTV market. `The Lost Boys' was box office candy rakingin a fortune. `Near Dark' however sank without trace albeit doing so with a smattering of positive plaudits & heading towards cult status.

Today, & certainly for the last few years, `Near Dark' is rightly lauded as a film noir horror masterpiece.

Given the age of the film (now 20 years old) it has stood the test of time remarkably well. The portrayal of the characters are all pretty much flawlessin their individual presentations although special praise must go to Bill Paxton's hedonistic & sadistic vampire Severence & also to Lance Henrikson as the elder & leader of the pack, Jesse.

The story is great (though I do know that many view the ending as a little too saccharine!) the direction by Katherine Bigelow is excellent, & the photography is stunningly beautiful at times. There is a particularly memorable scene towards the end of the film when the youngest vampire combusts into flames which is truly breathtaking.

In fact this film has got it all. Everything that is except pointy teeth! I think this is one of the first films, if not the first , to portray vampires without fangs. They mayin fact have fangs but you never actually see them even though the bloodletting is pretty much continuous throughout the movie.

`Near Dark', though free with the blood, is not a particularly gory movie. It is the tension built around the vampire slaughters, particularly the bar room scene, which creates masterful horror.

Ultimately though, 'Near Dark' is more than a horror film which is why it is so good. It works on a number of levels not leastin it's exploration of the concept of relationships, family & alienation. This is a rewarding multi layered film worthy of repeated viewings & well worth purchasing.

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Original and unique - By: S J Buck, 24 Mar 2007
This is the best modern (although now 20 years old) vampire story filmed to date. It has nothing to do with Dracula or gothic horror, but instead reimagines vampiresin a modern setting as a group of outlaws living on the edge of society.

Essentially the film is a love story. A farm hand Caleb is snared by the lovely Mae & then becomes a reluctant member of the gang. However he has problems becoming one of them... One of the key scenesin the film is where the gang take Caleb to a bar so that he can kill for the first time. This scene is brilliantly shot & truly scary & funny at the same time.

Some of the rules of traditional vampire movies are thrown out of the window so although the vampires can't go out into direct sunlight, if they black out the windowsin the house or van they are able to survivein daylight (a lovely touch is that if exposed to direct sunlight they catch fire). Theres no reference to crosses or holy water & essentially its not a good & evil story - these vampires are just trying to survive.

The cast are excellent, with perhaps Bill Paxton taking the honours as the very scary Severen. If you haven't seen this, you've missed one of the best modern horror films of all. Certainly you should see it before the remake which is coming out next year.

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One of the best films Ive ever seen. - By: Vote for Pedro, 05 Mar 2007
In 1987, two vampire movies were realesed head to head. The hollywoodish, teenage-orientated Lost Boys, & the dark, romantic & scary Near Dark. In terms of box office records, The Lost Boys was the winner of the two, but to this day, Near Dark stands out as the triumphant film, becoming a horror classic that is considered one of the best horror movies ever made.

Farm boy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is out one night trying to get rid of his bordem where he sees & is captivated by mysterious beauty Mae (Jenny Wright). Caleb takes Jenny for a ride & when the two share a passinoate kiss, Mae bites Caleb on the neck before running off into the night. In the day, Caleb finds himself burningin the sunlight before Maes "family" of vampires appear & take Caleb hostage. Caleb, now a vampire himself, is forced into a world of violence as he tries to earn the respect of the vampiresin order to be with Mae.

Near Dark boasts very fine performances. Unusally for a horror movie, the entire cast is top notchin terms of acting. Pasdar & Wright are charmingin their roles of star crossed lovers Mae & Caleb, Jenette Goldstein & Lance Henriksen shinein their roles as immortal vampires, but the film belongs to Bill Paxton whose performace as sadistic vampire killer Severen is funny, scary & brutal.

Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to ever direct a horror movie with Near Dark & although she would go on blockbusters like Point Break & K19: the Widdowmaker, Near Dark remains her finest movie, boasting a great stroyline & a refreshing revival of the vampire sub-genre.