Review of Near Dark (1987) by Eric H — 28 Mar 2014

Most vampire films suffer from a lack of what this film has a lot of. It has a lot of great scenes of gore, whilst if you really think about it, most vampire films don't have enough or at least simply have very very campy gore. It has a creepy score by Tangerine Dream, it has a compellingly creepy atmosphere, and the story is nothing more than an adaptable vehicle for a moody, grungy gorefest.

Diverting, absurdly evil Bill Paxton steals all of his scenes, and complaisant, indispensably hot Jenette Goldstein surely deserved much more screen time. She, as well as director Bigelow, are very underused in their talents. Goldstein needs to be cats in something other than just bit parts, and Bigelow is perhaps the most talented B movie director of the last 20 years. I say this because I don't believe she should be as unsuccessful as she's been. Near Dark, even if it nearly falls apart in its last 10 minutes, is a great little piece of dark film-making, and her later films, the underrated Blue Steel with Jamie Lee Curtis and the epic Strange Days with Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett, should've surely put her on the map. There's something sort of amiss, because she hasn't had that hit yet. Her talent is severely underrated. Watch Near Dark and see how brilliant she is at creating ambiance and impressionistic settings, making what could've been lesser films much more enjoyable.