Review of Near Dark (1987) by Marcus W — 11 Feb 2008
They don't come as moody and atmospheric as this one! Kathryn Bigelow moves a familiar story to a new environment: modern Oklahoma. And boy does it work well! The script is a bit hokey at times, but somehow the actors make it work.
The feeling created here is very strange, and I wouldn't call it horror. As a whole, the movie is much more of a hypnotic romance, with vampires and graphic violence. A lot of the credit must go to the beautiful night cinematography by the great Adam Greenberg, and the trance-like, eerie score by Tangerine Dream.
It's unconventional and brave in every sense of the vampire genre. There are missteps here and there, but this is definitely one of the more interesting horror efforts of the last few decades, and its quiet influence can be seen clearly.
Numerous scenes from the film have found their ways into modern films, from "Natural Born Killers" to "The Devil's Rejects" to the oh-so-lavishly praised "No Country for Old Men".
This review of Near Dark (1987) was written by Marcus W on 11 Feb 2008.
Near Dark has generally received positive reviews.
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