Sorry, this movie sucks

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Considered something of a modern day classic in the vampire genre, NEAR DARK immediately dispels many of the myths we have come to associate with the bloodsucker. There are no traditions in this film; no crosses, or garlic, or even fangs. No robed figures in shiny black capes, no widow's peaks. No fake Transylvanian accents. The vampires here (the word "vampire" is not even mentioned in the film) are simply a pack of marauding murderers, compelled to drink human blood. The only indication that they are the traditional vampires of lore is the way they burn up in the sunlight (done to very good effect here).Now, I don't know about you, but the film for me is much more realistic - and therefore frightening - than many other vampire films I have seen. The Christopher Lee Dracula movies are my favourite vampire films, but let's face it, they're so far removed from contemporary times that they just aren't scary at all. But the vampires in NEAR DARK are ferocious killers who enjoy playing with their victims before they move in for the kill, and that makes them all the more horrible.NEAR DARK is as much a romance story as a horror, as the plot centres on the two leads and their relationship. Adrian Pascar and Jenny Wright are both effective performers and their love is totally believable. Along for the ride are four other actors and actresses of note. Firstly, Jenette Goldstein as the 'mother' of the vampire family, putting in a similar gung-ho performance to her role as commando Vasquez in ALIENS. Also added into the mixture are Lance Henriksen, who has appeared in countless horror films and who is now quite well-known for his role in Chris Carter's MILLENNIUM. Henriksen plays a typical character, an evil and twisted, yet noble, murderer. Tim Thomerson, star of hundreds of straight-to-video schlock features, has a small role as Caleb's dad, but the star of the show has to be Bill Paxton. Paxton, now something of a mainstream hero, appeared in lots of films in the horror genre in the '80s and this is one of his best roles. He steals the picture every time he's on screen and his portrayal of the twisted psychopath is truly memorable. Interestingly, Paxton, Henriksen, and Goldstein have all teamed up from 1986's ALIENS. There's a lot of violence in this film, especially in the bar scene where a man's throat is slashed open by a spur on someone's shoe, and excellent special effects in the form of the vampires burning.The only criticism I would level is that the film has such a powerful plot (you're watching all the time to see what happens next) then there is no particular reason to watch it again. However it is a very good contemporary vampire film which treats vampirism as something akin to drug addiction (a theme used quite often, watch THE ADDICTION for example). If you're looking for something different to the usual fang-and-cape crusades then this '80s slice of anarchy is definitely for you.

Kathryn Bigelow's dusty, ambient vampire western is a timeless classic for me, and a lived in genre entry with stellar performances, razor sharp writing (Eric Red power), and confident direction from Bigelow, at her very best when working in the pulpy realm of action, crime and horror. Once again Tangerine Dream contributes wonderfully atmospheric work (they seem to be a running theme with the movies I watch, can you tell I like them?) that compliments the bloody spectacle on display. Aimless young cowboy Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is transfixed one desolate night by a eerie, gorgeous drifter girl (Jenny Wright) who's passing through his small town. She takes him on a night ride into the outskirts of town, and in a delirious make out session beneath the stars, bites his neck, changing him into one of her kind (the word vampire is never actually mentioned throughout the film). She takes pity on him and convinces her roaming pack of fellow blood sucking no,ads to try and take her in as one of their own. They are led by ruthless, violent patriarch Jesse (Lance Henriksen, a spectral force of enigmatic intimidation), his girl Diamondback (Janette Goldstein) and young Homer (Joshua Miller). The real standout, however, is Bill Paxton as Severin, the loony toon psychopathic whack job of the group. There's a blood freezing, prolonged sequence where the clan terrorizes an interstate roadhouse, and Paxton cuts loose and raises all hell, proving his talent to bring an audience their knees with his good ol boy ferocity. Caleb is very reluctant when forced to feed on innocent humans, and keeps relying on Mae to give him blood from her own veins, refusing to resort to predator instinct like the others. Meanwhile, his farmer father (Tim Thomerson, always welcome) and little sister search for him across the southwest. There's some truly memorable set pieces here, the bar scene I mentioned earlier, a smouldering climax on barren highways, and a sickening sequence where a blood deprived Caleb feverishly tries to purchase a bus ticket home. Bigelow infuses her love for visceral action and vivid characterizations together with the melodic nature of the story, resulting in a broad,backwater fable that's equal parts brutal and beautiful.

Near Dark (1987) I did see this once before but' it's years ago and I could not remember anything from movie, so I gave it another. With out sounding like broken record, I not big fan of vamper movies, most are pass for me, there are some I enjoyed , From dusk till dawn, Vampire 1998, 30 days of night and stake land and samles 'lot are the only ones that I actually like. I thought Near Dark was okay movie, i didn't think it's all that great, I liked how the movie didn't take long to start of. The movie flowed okay but for me, it's stayed one level, they didn't even try to get another stage, I wasn't bored or anything. it's just that I was hoping for more, I didn't like how they burn in the sun, was good, I liked the fact that they could fixed. I found the ending to be bit meh! 5 out of 10

Greetings again from the darkness. It's always fun to take a fresh look at a cult favorite, especially after a quarter century since initial release. Near Dark is best known as Kathryn Bigelow's first solo directorial effort ... yes, the Oscar winning director of The Hurt Locker (plus Point Blank and Zero Dark Thirty). But that's not why this one has a loyal following. It's actually a very stylish vampire/road trip that focuses on family. And it's one of the very few vampire movies where the word "vampire" is never uttered.Ms. Bigelow co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Red, who also wrote The Hitcher. Similarities abound, yet this one stands on its own thanks to the photography and the performances. We can't help but notice three main actors come directly from James Cameron's Aliens ... Bill Paxton, Lance Henrickson, and Jenette Goldstein. Of course, Mr. Cameron and Ms. Bigelow were in a relationship that resulted in marriage (and later ended in divorce). Near Dark lost at the box office to another vampire movie released at the same time, The Lost Boys. Having its production company go out of business provided no marketing help and Near Dark has since experienced a rabid following thanks to cable, DVD and midnight showings.The basic story has a young local (rural Oklahoma) boy (Adrian Pasdar, who is married to one of the Dixie Chicks in real life) meeting a stranger in town (Jenny Wright, who played Rob Lowe's wife in St Elmo's Fire). Their initial sparks lead to necking .. get it? Next thing we know he is being dragged into a runaway Winnebago by Paxton, Henrickson, Goldstein, Wright and Joshua John Miller. We soon enough figure out it's a traveling troupe of vampires and Caleb (the young local boy) is in big trouble.There are a couple of well known/classic scenes: the sequence in the bar where we really get to see the personalities of each of this group, and the bungalow shootout where the bullet holes in the walls allow the deadly rays of sunshine to wreak havoc with the bloodsucking clan. Additionally, you will note some beautiful shots that confirm Ms. Bigelow's background as an artist - the backlit shot of the group in the fog, and Caleb's horse riding scene.For those accustomed to seeing the "cool" Bill Paxton, they will be surprised at his frenetic wild man act. You might also recall his stint in the The Terminator as one of the blue-haired punks that naked Arnold meets on his arrival. Jenny Wright is fun to watch here and it's a reminder of her talent, and a shame that she retired/disappeared from the acting world in 1998. Others in support include Tim Thomerson as Caleb's dad and (a very young) James LeGros as the frightened teenage cowboy playing pool in the bar scene. Caleb's sister is played by Marcie Leeds, who played young Sarah (Barbara Hershey's character) in Beaches.A sure sign of 1980's horror is the electronic score provided by Tangerine Dream. Sure, the score would be much different today, but it's very much a part of the film's fabric and style. In addition to the key actors coming from Cameron's film, you will also note Aliens on the town's theatre marquee.Bram Stoker published "Dracula" in 1897 and since then it's provided source material and inspiration for an amazing number of films. Some of the best known include: Nosferatu in 1922, Bella Lugosi in 1931, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), Frank Langella as Dracula (1979), The Hunger with Catherine Deneuve (1983), Francis Ford Coppola and Gary Oldman (1992), Tom Cruise in Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire (1994), Robert Rodriguez' From Dusk til Dawn (1996 with George Clooney), Blade (1998), and most recently the Twilight franchise, TV's "True Blood", the excellent Let the Right One In (2008) and the animated Hotel Transylvania (2012). Next up is a NBC series with Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the title role. For the undead, it's quite a family tree of entertainment and horror.