Near Dark 1987

Near Dark is a vampire film released in 1987 starring Adrian Pasdar (Carlito's Way and Heroes), Jenny Wright (Out of Bounds and I, Madman), Lance Henriksen (Aliens and Pumpkinhead), and Bill Paxton (Twister and Apollo 13).  Pasdar is bitten by Wright, a newly turned vampire that runs with a group of outlaw vampires including Paxton with Henrickson being their elder leader.  Near Dark was both Pasdar and Wright's first starring roles on the big screen.  The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow who also co-wrote the screenplay along with Eric Red, who also wrote The Hitcher.  Bigelow would go on and direct Point Break, The Hurt Locker, and Zero Dark Thirty.  The latter two Bigelow also served as executive producer. 

 One of the most impressive thing about this movie is that the word vampire is never spoken by anyone in the film.  If the title Lust in the Dust had not already been used by a comedy western a few years before this was released it would have been a perfect name for this movie.  It is full of lust (both sexual and blood in nature) and dust.  It's sometimes difficult to tell what time of day it is during the movie due to the fact that it seems there are usually dust storms going on.  Are we on the planet Mercury and nobody told us?  The film has a desperate bleakness to it that is filmed perfectly by the cinematographer Adam Greenberg who also did the work of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  Before I forget I also have to give credit to Tangerine Dream for a really great film score.  All of the actors do a really good job of selling the script and story.  All are very believable including some supporting roles from Tim Thomerson, who plays Pasdars's father and Joshua John Miller who plays the younger vampire, Homer.  I also don't want to leave out Jennette Goldstein who plays the female elder vampire.

Let's go back and talk about Bill Paxton for a second.  His portrayal of Severen, the loose cannon of the group, is both the most violent character in the film but also has the best lines as well.  His performance is the one you will remember the most and other than Twister it is the role I think of when I hear his name.  The real shame here is that this film is extremely overlooked by the mainstream and I'm not really sure why.  Could be that it was too serious for the time as comedy vampire films were the norm at the time.  Also a similar vampire film The Lost Boys was released around the same time.  It did not do well at the box office and the film was considered a flop even though it garnered positive reviews.  In the years since it has gained a cult following and deservedly so.  If you have not seen this film and are a Bill Paxton fan I suggest you put it one your watch list.  Even if you are not a Paxton fan this should be on your list as there's a good chance it will make you a Paxton fan.  He's that good here.  It's a perfect way to remember the late great actor.  The Horror Honey and I are back on the same page and we both give this one 3 and a half Bloody Spurs out of 5.