Near Dark (1987)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 41
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 4
Near Dark is at once a creepy vampire film, a thrilling western, and a poignant family tale, with humor and scares in abundance.
Average Rating: 7/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 1
Near Dark is at once a creepy vampire film, a thrilling western, and a poignant family tale, with humor and scares in abundance.
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Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 23,304
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Movie Info
In Kathryn Bigelow's tale of vampires in the American Southwest, the creatures of the night aren't elegant, cloaked aristocrats. They're a gun-toting gang that dresses and acts like a motorcycle gang. Caleb (Adrian Pasdar), a restless young man from a small farm town, meets an alluring drifter named Mae (Jenny Wright). She reveals herself to be a vampire, who "turns" Caleb into one of her kind rather than kill him. But the rest of her "family" is slow to accept the newcomer. The ancient leader,
Oct 2, 1987 Wide
Sep 10, 2002
Lions Gate Films
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Adrian Pasdar
Caleb Colton -
Jenny Wright
Mae -
Lance Henriksen
Jesse -
Bill Paxton
Severen -
Jenette Goldstein
Diamondback -
Tim Thomerson
Loy Colton -
Joshua John Miller
Homer -
Marcie Leeds
Sarah Colton -
Billy Beck
Motel Manager -
Roger Aaron Brown
Cajun Truck Driver -
Kenny Call
Deputy Sheriff -
Ed Corbett
Ticket Seller -
Bill Cross
Sheriff Eakers -
Troy Evans
Plainclothes Officer -
Leo Geter
Caleb's Friend -
S.A. Griffin
Police Officer at Motel -
Neith Hunter
Lady in Car -
-
James LeGros
Teenage Cowboy -
Gary Littlejohn
State Trooper -
Tony Pierce
Highway Youth -
Theresa Randle
Lady in Car -
Bob Terhune
State Trooper -
Thomas Wagner
Bartender -
Robert Winley
Patron in Bar -
Jan King
Waitress -
Don Pugsley
Second truck Driver -
Gary Wayne Cunningham
Caleb's Friend -
Gordon Haight
Highway Youth -
Danny Kopel
Biker in Bar -
Eddie Mulder
State Trooper
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Near Dark Trailer & Photos
All Critics (41) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (4) | DVD (30)
Near Dark has filmmaking finesse to spare, but puts its dank characters on display rather than cadging sympathy for them. It is the Blue Velvet of date-night spook shows.
Top CriticThis is on the whole a striking directorial debut, at once scary and erotic, with lots of sidelong touches in the casting, direction, and script.
High-powered but pared down, slick but spare, this is a tale that introduces the unearthly into the banality of rural American existence.
Bigelow's artful handling of the magic and menace of the night is hauntingly apparent.
A subtle study in the seductiveness of evil and a terrifying ride to the edge of darkness.
Top CriticYou might call this the scattershot school of film making.
Como terror focado em vampiros, empalidece diante de Garotos Perdidos, lançado no mesmo ano; como alegoria do submundo das drogas e de uma época em que o sexo se tornou letal, é óbvio e infantil. Como esta bobagem virou cult, não sei explicar.
Bigelow's night shooting has a stiletto crispness to it, her daytime scenes have a foggy haze, and her sunlight sears like a laser...
One of the better vampire films.
... both ferocious and lyrical, a moody horror film with the frontier community romanticism of a John Ford Western and the violent ferocity of a Sam Peckinpah film.
As much as it is a horror film and western, it is equally and perhaps more pronouncedly a romance.
Dark, bloody and very stylish, this genre-busting western-noir-vampire hybrid is a toothsome joy and definitely one of the best horror films of the 1980s.
An auspicious solo directing debut from Kathryn Bigelow.
Still by far Bigelow's best film, this seductive vampire tale is suffused with the unique beauty of the SouthWest and eerie pacing that enrich the narrative and elevate it to a reverie about the sanctity and unity of the family.
One of the best vampire movies ever made....if you liked "The Lost Boys", you'll love this!
Southern-fried vampire-noir romance action horror tragedy. I love this movie.
Audience Reviews for Near Dark
Super Reviewer
Almost the best of the 'Aliens' cast in a desert based vampire flick, seriously! 'Private Hudson' is reborn as 'Severen' hehe over the top and totally bad ass, Bigelow delivers another truly adrenaline pumping (blood draining) flick which came before 'Point Break', this woman knows how to make a good action thriller.
'I taught Severen everything he knows, but not everything I know'
Super Reviewer
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- Loy Colton: What in the God Damn Hell is goin' on here?
-
- Severen: It's finger-lickin' good!
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- Severen: Hey, Jesse, remember that fire we started in Chicago?
-
- Bartender: What do you people want?
- Jesse: Just a couple more minutes of your time... about the same duration as the rest of your life.
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- Severen: I'm gonna separate your head from your shoulders. Hope you don't mind none.
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Latest News on Near Dark
December 12, 2008:
Brad Fuller Declares Near Dark Remake DeadThat long-in-the-works "Near Dark" remake will remain unreleased: According to producer Brad Fuller,...
August 22, 2008:
Further Reading: Hammer Horror's MySpace Revival StumblesDoes a new collection of webisodes hosted on MySpace and featuring tabloid teen favourites Jamie...
July 17, 2007:
Kathryn Bigelow to Tackle Iraq War DramaJeremy Renner, Brian Geraghty, and Anthony Mackie have signed on to star in Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq...
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Foreign Titles
- Near Dark - Die Nacht hat ihren Preis (DE)
- Near Dark (Die Nacht hat ihren Preis) (UK)
When young Caleb is picked up by a marauding band of night-walkers, he is forced to learn how to survive in his new skin without abandoning what he knows to be right.
Created in the midst of the Reagan Revolution, with it's intense focus on private gain as opposed to the public good, young Caleb must learn to see his fellow humans not as equals, but rather as something to be exploited. He must learn that a way of life is something that has to be taken from others, even if that means taking their very lifesblood.
Politics aside, Bigelow deftly blends horror and the Western in a way that is, pardon the pun, very infectious. Accented by a Tangerine Dream score, this moody coming of age story is sadly underrated. Overshadowed by The Lost Boys, which hit cinemas a mere three months before the release of Near Dark.
Structurally, the film is a bit sloppy. Some scenes are awkwardly forced in to satisfy sub-plots and the end feels a bit slapdash. Also, the dialogue hasn't aged particularly well.
For example:
Caleb: What's going on?
Severen: It's not what's going on, it's what's coming off....your face.
So while not without it's flaws, Near Dark is a dark and fun piece of 80's cinema.