Written and created by Matthew Pejkovic

Contact: mattsm@mattsmoviereviews.net

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AWFUL
POOR
GOOD
GREAT
EXCELLENT
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1987
NEAR DARK

STARRING:ADRIAN PASDAR,JENNY WRIGHT,LANCE HENRIKSEN,BILL PAXTON,JENETTE GOLDSTEIN,JOSHUA JOHN MILLER,TIM THOMERSON, MARCIE LEEDS

WRITTEN BY KATHRYN BIGELOW & ERIC REED

PRODUCED BY STEVEN-CHARLES JAFFE

DIRECTED BY KATHRYN BIGELOW

GENRE:HORROR/ACTION/WESTERN

RATED:AUSTRALIA:R/UK:18/USA:R

RUNNING TIME:95 MIN

In 1987 The Lost Boys and Near Dark, two contrastingly different yet highly entertaining vampire movies were released. Near Dark tells the story of local boy Calep (Adrian Nasdar) who falls for beautiful drifter Mae (Jenny Wright) and gets more than he bargained for when she bites him on the neck, turning him into a vampire. Kidnapped by Mae's family, Calep has one week to prove his worth to his new family while his original family try to locate his whereabouts.
The movie has a unique take on the vampire genre. Writer/director Kathryn Bigelow has merged to very different genres with great effect, with the movies western elements bringing a great sense of fun. While The Lost Boys stays true to the rules and traditions of the vampire myth (vampires turn into bats, no garlic, no crosses etc.), Near Dark does away from these restrictions with the exception of two; sunlight kills and you must drink blood to stay alive. Even the word vampire and all its equivalents (nosferatu, the undead) are not uttered once nor are any fangs shown.
The characters that make up Mae's vampire family are a twisted bunch of misfits lead by Jesse (Lance Henrikesn), the elder of the group who is so old that he fought for the south in the American Civil War. Diamondback (Jennette Goldstein) is Jesse's wife and surrogate mother to Homer (Joshua John Miller, who ironically is the step brother of The Lost Boys star Jason Patric), an elderly man trapped in a young boys body. Rounding off the group is the psychopathic Severen (Bill Paxton). Together they travel around America always wary of the sunlight, feeding off the blood of the innocents during the night, the 'family' more than willing to kill as shown in brutally violent scene where the patrons of a red neck bar are massacred.
Adam Greenberg's cinematography is excellent, as is the score by German band 'Tangerine Dream'. Acting wise the performances by Adrian Nasdar and Jenny Wright can be wooden at times, and I clearly remember cringing when the family of vampires introduce themselves to Calep thanks to the actors' cheesy delivery. But the chemistry between the Aliens three of Henriksen, Paxton and Goldstein (so called because they were all apart of the James Cameron classic) is self evident, with Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton in particular delivering great performances.
***1/2
 
 

 

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