Near Dark is a movie that I have known about ever since I was a kid. I would always see the VHS cover and was always interested in actually seeing the movie but for whatever reason I just never actually watched it. I am glad now that I did not. Near Dark can best be described as a Vampire Western. I cannot remember ever coming across a movie that could best be classified as a Vampire Western. Oh by the way this movie has a little actor in it by the name of Bill Paxton maybe you have heard of him.
Yes, THE Bill Paxton. Over many years I have grown to have a fondness for Bill Paxton and his roles. I cannot think of a single Bill Paxton movie I did not enjoy. He has such a Paxtonian way about him that really cannot be described with any other word except for Paxtonian. I do not want to call him an over actor or imply that he is not good at what he does. But the man just has a way with delivering lines. From Aliens, Predator 2, and Weird Science the uniqueness that is Bill Paxton can be down right entertaining. However, his role as Severen in Near Dark blows them all away. Bill Paxton pulls off crazy so well as this a little too enthusiastic vampire that it goes beyond creepy and almost reaches scary. He is reigned in only by the perfectly cast Jesse, played by another all time great Lance Henriksen.
As the leader of the traveling group of Vampires Lance Henriksen's Jesse Hooker conveys a sense quiet dominance that leaves you wondering if anything would actually surprise this guy anymore. The other vampires fear/respect him and it is conveyed rather convincingly.
The movie does have a romance element that fits along nicely with the tension and the intrigue. And is what sets the movie on its course. Caleb, played by Adrian Pasdar and Mae, played by Jenny Wright are at the center of the movie as the main characters. Caleb being a human gets wrapped up in the deadly web of vampires after offering to give Mae a night to remember. Something he ends up getting in return.
He is eventually turned in a vampire by Mae and is rescued by her so that he may learn the ways of being a Vampire so that he will be able to survive. I really enjoyed the way Caleb despite being a Vampire never loses his innocence and stays true to his morals despite the need to eat. At the same time I enjoyed Mae's deep affection for Caleb that enabled this behavior which is of course looked down upon by the elder vampires who threaten Caleb's life he is not able to support himself.
The movie has many high tension scenes that involve a lot of violence. But it is a movie about Vampires. And Vampires need to eat and while I do not know for certain I am pretty sure that feeding off of a human's blood is not exactly a clean dining experience.
The setting, the characters, the acting, the direction. Pretty much everything works about this movie. It all fits together very nicely. There is violence but I would not consider it over the top. I really enjoyed that these vampires are never actually shown to have fangs or glowing eyes or are afraid of garlic or any of the old vampire tell tales. The do not even refer to themselves as vampires. The only thing that really lets you know that they are vampires is their need to feed on blood, the fact that they burn in the sun, and the lengths they all seem to possess. Which really made this movie seem what I imagine realistic vampires to be like.
The only minor complaints I have with this movie that keep it from being a 10 on IMDB or 5 on this blog is I really did not care for the ending and the explanation of the "Happy Ending". That and I do not think the actor portraying the ancient vampire did a great job. The way I took it was the character was supposed to be the oldest of all the vampires, but I do not think it was carried out very well.
This is probably a hidden gem to the general audience and more likely a favorite among those who are into horror movies. I would recommend this movie to anyone. Like I said only two very small complaints keep this movie from getting a perfect score. If it were possible I would have enjoyed to see a sequel or even prequel to this movie but too much time as passed and the actors have all aged too much. I did read that there were plans for Near Dark to be remade but they were cancelled after the success of Twilight out of fear that the romance angle was too similar. I would of course be interested in seeing a remake. But I do not see how it is even possible to be better.
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Rating: 4¾ Stars
IMDB: 9
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