Review of Near Dark (1987) by James S — 11 May 2011

Kathryn Bigelow's seminal vampire movie is almost worthy of being counted amongst the great movies of the 80s, alongside the like of The Terminator and Aliens. That her ex-husband James Cameron was responsible for producing both those movies tells you that the couple shared a directorial talent.

Adrian Pasdar, who's movie career never really took off, is the farm hand who gives a lift home to a vampire. After pushing his luck with her, he winds up becoming a blood sucker himself and reluctantly having to join with her gang while his family hunt for him.

The story is a little bit wishy-washy but the pace of the film is good with the central relationship between Pasdar and Jenny Wright keeping it together. Much like in Aliens, a lot of the films pleasure comes from its supporting cast....most of whom were in Aliens. Lance Henriksen and the under-rated Jeanette Goldstien are cooly evil as the head of the vampire clan while Bill Paxton gives almost as memorable performance as he did as Private Hudson.

There are some extremely well directed and exciting sequences in the middle part of the movie which shows Bigelow's credit as an action director. The bar scene is a tension simmerer of great quality.

The film lacks some big exits for it's characters with only one being truly fitting, the rest feeling a little bit half hearted. There's also the annoying presence of the Tangerine Dream written soundtrack which threatens to destroy several scenes with it's out of tune, keyboard hammering.

Near Dark should certainly be included in the list of the greatest vampire movies. It is up there with 30 Days of Night, The Lost Boys and Interview With A Vampire as a unique interpretation of the creatures.