DVD Review: Near Dark (C-)

Near Dark (1987)
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright and Lance Henriksen
MPAA: R
Grade: C-

Review by Bobby Nashville

Back in the day, vampire movies starred strange old guys in castles. They wore capes and lots of jewelry. They drank the blood of beautiful women freshly picked from the surrounding farmlands. Old timers with torches would storm the castle with torches and wooden spikes. Nowadays, vampires carry shotguns and hang out in bars. They listen to rock music and hang in gangs. Cops chase them with semiautomatics. My how times have changed.

Near Dark has been widely regarded as a cult classic and a favorite of the horror film set. Near Dark's director Kathryn Bigelow is the gal to held responsible for Point Break though so I had my doubts going in. Checking the records I found out that she also directed the very interesting Willem Dafoe biker movie The Loveless. So I gave in to temptation and gave this film an honest shot.

Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is a nice boy living on the family farm. He's seduced by Mae (Jenny Wright), a cute little gal that runs with a crew of hell raisers. Caleb gets dragged along for the ride and soon they are testing him to see if he really belongs. Caleb and Mae's love story is a little hokey but the actors do seem to really have some chemistry. Toss in Lance Henriksen (Aliens) as the crazed vampire ring leader and that punky little boy from River's Edge and you have some interesting characters to this indie film.

I can see why this film has a cult following as Near Dark does have some catchy dialogue and a few interesting scenes. But this low budget yarn takes way to long to get into second gear. The lead character Caleb is so naive and frankly, just plain stupid that he can't seem to get a grasp on exactly what is going on long after the audience has it all figured out.

Although Near Dark has its moments, they are a bit too few and far between. Stylish but raw, Near Dark is a decent rental if you are a fan of vampire hunter films. Otherwise, severely lower your expectations and you might find this one entertaining.

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