Near Dark (1987)

Plot Summary: A young midwestern cowboy is turned into a vampire after being bitten by a alluring drifter, joining her nomadic clan of bloodthirsty outlaws as they travel across America.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Producer: Steven-Charles Jaffe
Screenplay: Eric Red, Kathryn Bigelow

Starring:
Adrian Pasdar as Caleb Colton
Jenny Wright as Mae
Lance Henriksen as Jesse Hooker
Bill Paxton as Severen
Jenette Goldstein as Diamondback

Music: Tangerine Dream
Cinematography: Adam Greenberg
Editing: Howard E. Smith

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⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

A Divisive Neo-Western Vampire Cult Classic

The second day and the second non-typical vampire film, from 1987, we have "Near dark" by director Kathryn Bigelow. It was an agonizing hour and a half. For me, the main disadvantage of the film is its plot, a stupid, naïve story, with a gigantic number of badly worked-out moments. "Near Dark" seemed crazy to me, because not everything in the world can be returned, not everything can play back. To recover from vampirism, as from a regular flu - what nonsense!

Hey Krasnaya, boy you really didn't like this movie, huh? As for me, the cult just got a new follower. I absolutely love "Near Dark", especially for its characters (50 points just for that). This movie has one of the most brutal, horrifying and original vampire gangs that I have come across yet. Yes, the plot is rather weak sometimes, especially towards the end. Some scenes are silly and there's cheesy and bad acting all around. But, as a horror fan, I find this low-budget movie amazing. It has some really beautiful cinematography and awesome special effects and make-up. Unlike you, I like that this movie came up with a cure for being a vampire. Why not? It's all make believe.

Standout Performances and Brutal Bar Scenes

That's the positive side. I have to agree, I can note the beautiful night shots and the presence of good special effects - explosions, flaming or smoldering body parts are well made. Acting is average. Bill Paxton as Severen is the brightest in this film, a psychopathic vampire, a violent sociopath who really terrified me. Lance Henriksen (Jesse Hooker) was moderately important. He has a charismatic presence. Adrian Pasdar (Caleb Colton) throughout the film reminded me of a drug addict, suffering from withdrawal symptoms and sometimes partaking of the blood that Mae (Jenny Wright) lovingly donates to him. Jenny Wright is only interesting at the beginning of the movie. For the rest of the movie I had the feeling that she was either half drunk or crazy.

I'm sure almost every cult fan of this movie will have the bar scene as his favorite scene. It's just so fucked up. Bill Paxton is absolutely awesome with his mockery and one-liners. No matter how many clichés we might have here, the gang just nails it at being extremely terrifying and making every hell demon proud. The reactions of the people at the bar might seem a little bit off, but how the fuck would you react if you saw someone slowly jugulate a waitress with a child present at their table? I would be messed up for real and probably wouldn't move like the snooker guy. Also, all the slow killing action happens to the sound of the cover version of "Fever" by one of my favorite psychobilly bands - "The Cramps", and for that it gets 10 more points. We saw Lance Henriksen recently playing a relatively benevolent role in the movie "No Escape" and I have to say that I prefer him 100% more as a baddie. The ending moments of Jesse (Lance Henriksne) and his lover Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein) have outstanding and memorable photography.

Bloody Entertainment vs. Smelly Suffering

Now, what I categorically didn't like was the general constant presence of blood and dirt (a lot, a lot of dirt and dirty, smelly, unwashed bodies. It was a real suffering to me watching that endless bar scene where the homeless gang of vampires mocks people, downright enjoying the killings. I almost threw up for real. Now, if Caleb, remaining a human inside, rebuffed the sadists in the bar, it would be a different matter.

To be over with, this is the worst vampire movie I've ever seen by far! Too dark, too dirty and with a poorly developed plot.

Now, I would like to share yesterday's experience with you, the reader. This blog, besides the movie talk, is about getting to know us, me and Krasnaya, or getting to know a personality through the movies and things we like and dislike about them. You can see it like a puzzle. So, yesterday I was feeling like complete shit. I wanted to lay down and close my eyes for the day. I was lethargic and dragging. I had a really difficult time at work, almost having a panic attack at lunch time when surrounded by my colleagues. It took me forever to write the movie review for "Martin". This happened because I decided to cut my medication in half 1 week ago. I have a mental condition that I'm not going to reveal right now. You can probably guess it. It's usually in vogue. Let's leave it a mystery for now. Some movie reviews will eventually reveal it.

What I want to share is that this movie made me forget about how miserable I felt, it broke the negative loop that I wasn't able to shake off. It worked just like a happy pill. You should probably be afraid of me, because a bloody horror movie filled with psychopaths is what cheers me up, but no, this was simply just great entertainment. Great entertainment makes you feel like a child again and that seems to work for my mental problems. Blasphemous Krasnaya, on the other hand, probably becomes too much of a child because she can't handle all the fake blood and gets bad nightmares 😂😛. Anyway, I'm feeling better today and I love this movie and I 100% recommend it if you are truly a fan of the horror genre.

Krasnaya's Score

11/100

Freddy's Score

85/100

FINAL SCORE

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