Near Dark Review
Near Dark is one of those horror films that simply got lost in the shuffle. Based on quality, the film probably should have been a box office success and not an under-seen classic. The film features a stellar cast, many of whom had previously worked together on Aliens the year before, including Bill Paxton (A Simple Plan, Twister), Lance Henriksen (Pumpkinhead, Stone Cold), and Jenette Goldstein(Terminator 2, Aliens).
The film is about a group of vampires that roam across the country feeding and just generally having a good time. One of the vampires turns a young hillbilly into a vampire. He struggles to fit into the group, fighting to preserve his relationship with the mildly attractive female vampire while at the same time longing to go home and ditch the sadistic new family that he has become a part of.
The film is directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Strange Days), in her first solo effort. Near Dark is uneven in many parts and drags from an excessive focus on the relationship between the hillbilly and his girl. The film is full of angst-sodden moments of unrealistic love, and the relationship never really fits into the story and is a poor focus for the film. The visuals in the film are sparse and barren, which works for the desolate nature of the movie. Where Bigelow shines is in character development, as she actually manages to turn a group of bloodsucking, conscienceless freaks into a likable group.
The acting in the film is amazing. Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen relish their roles and it shines through on film as they fully immerse themselves into the dark and sadistic nature of their characters. It’s hard to believe that anyone would not want to be a part of their sick little family. The rest of the cast is ok, even if they’re not anything special. Tim Thomerson (Trancers, Dollman) shows up as the hillbilly’s father and manages to bust some cops balls while he is searching for his missing son.
The best part about this film is the fun that the vampires have as they try and turn the hillbilly into one of them. There is one scene in a bar that is worth seeing the film for all by itself. Paxton and Henriksen are amazingly creepy as they tear their way through the bar flexing their vampiric might and laughing while they do it.
On the surface Near Dark seems kind of lame, but it’s refusal to play by typical vampire traditions actually sets the film apart from the plethora of bloodsucking flicks that have been slapped together over the years. The vampires are not euro-trash wannabes parading around in capes and oozing homoeroticism. They are just as real as the average person and subject to the same thoughts and feelings. The true beauty of Near Dark is that it doesn’t set the characters up as “others;” it sets them up as us… something that most vampire flicks fail to do in their clichéd romanticism of the subject. If you want to see bats and homosexual undertones, check out a different vampire flick… because this ain’t it.
Final Synopsis: Near Dark is an original vampire film in a subgenre that lacks originality; that alone makes it worth seeing. Add in some classic performances from Paxton and Henriksen, and you’ve got yourself a cult classic. Watch the film, and even if the relationship stuff bores the fuck out of you, just wait until the bar scene. Rent this and watch it.
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