Near Dark Near Dark Anchor Bay 1987 / Color / 1:78 anamorphic 16:9 / 95 min. / Street Date September 10, 2002 / $29.98 Starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein, Tim Thomerson, Joshua John Miller Cinematography Adam Greenberg Production Designer Stephen Altman Film Editor Howard E. Smith Original Music Christopher Franke, Tangerine Dream Written by Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Red Produced by Edward S. Feldman, Steven-Charles Jaffe, Charles R. Meeker, Eric Red Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
	Reviewed by Glenn Erickson A fresh and hip reinvention of vampire myths that never vocalizes the word 'vampire', but makes intelligent use of the iconology, Near Dark is much more satisfying than the endless romantic retreads of Anne Rice's Lestat novels. A breakthrough film for director Kathryn Bigelow, this cinematically astute piece really knows how to rev up the violence factor, often resembling a spin on the Western as much as the horror genre. The hype on this reverent special edition from Anchor Bay posits the film as one of the best horror efforts of all time, which goes a bit too far. But Near Dark is very good, and deserves recognition beyond its already considerable fan base. Synopsis: Young cowpoke Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar) is bitten by Mae, a pickup girlfriend (Jenny Wright) and joins her in the ranks of the undead, blood-drinking ghouls who kill by night and hide from the sun during the day. She's part of a gypsy-like group of murderous nomads: clan head Jesse (Lance Henriksen), who may be over 150 years old; his faithful moll Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), Severen (Bill Paxton), who likes to go berserk on his victims, and Homer (Joshua John Miller), an adult fiend trapped forever in the body of a child. Caleb at first doesn't understand his body's transformation, and then can't bring himself to do the killing necessary for survival. But just as he's fitting into his new 'family', his old human one comes under threat from the group. Near Dark doesn't have to hide behind the name 'genre hybrid'; it stands alone and sells itself as one watches it, and our familiarity with oldfashioned vampire conventions is used but not abused by the filmmakers. Eric Red and Kathryn Bigelow's script shows us how the ghouls go about their business, and what rules govern their behavior, without anybody explaining them for us verbally. There's no Van Helsing character here, even if having a veterinarian for a dad ends up being very convenient for impromptu blood transfusions. There's a lot of blood in Near Dark, and a lot of brutality, that was very much a part of 1980's horror films. If the show were reissued today, the MPAA would certainly insist upon an N-17 rating. These vampires are nasty and cruel, and they mix sex, sadism and blood in big doses. Their siege on a bar-poolhall is a concentrated orgy of nasty mayhem of the kind that just doesn't get into a mainstream release any more - innocents being slashed and drained while the killers make jokes. Just the same, the deadly seriousness goes unrelieved for long stretches at a time. The saving grace of the show for non-gore fans is the relationship between cowboy Caleb and Mae, the knowing young thing who patiently watches him twist into horrendous physical knots, waiting for him to realize how his new appetites must be appeased. Caleb is torn - he soon sees that in his new twilight existence, this is how it must be, but his loyalty to warm-blooded humans dies hard. This tension carries the story through the over-the-top gore for many a viewer. The other night-feeders are a dynamic mix. Jesse, Diamondback and Severen are three different kinds of trouble, and really a variation on the Western badmen cliché - varmints who'd sooner kill you with a smart remark, as give you the time of day. All three actors are well known playing off one another in the previous year's Aliens. It's certainly a career highlight for all three, especially Bill Paxton, who is as loose a cannon as one can find. Once again, good storytelling makes a lot of loopholes unimportant: one would think after dealing with this same problem night after night, the group would take to keeping light-proof suits handy. Their peculiar reaction to sunlight (horrendous burns that heal quickly) also makes their choice of the hot desert for a prowling ground rather questionable. The film keeps us very aware of burning skin. By the time the explosive conclusion comes around, we almost feel allergic to the sunlight ourselves. Visually, Near Dark almost reinvents the look of night and dawn in the open country. Ms. Bigelow has a fresh eye that helps Caleb's horse ride-to-the-rescue fit right in, and gets us to accept weird lighting setups, as when the tattered group approaches the target roadhouse, over a ridge silhouetted by bright backlight. There's a trendy, music-video look to many shots, which doesn't go over the edge. As always, Tangerine Dream's music is a moody asset. Anchor Bay has presented Near Dark in a very classy way - the THX certified sound mix really is impressive, and Savant thought the video quality was splendid, not noticing the 'compression flaws' mentioned in at least one post on the net. Most of us saw this on cable television, and the restored widescreen gives the picture scope while focusing our attention on the sharp compositions. There's both a full commentary by Bigelow as well as a docu where the whole crowd get to share their thoughts: Paxton, Henriksen, Pasdar, Goldstein, producers Jaffe and Feldman, and director of photography Adam Greenberg. They come out with their share of 'huh?' statements (this is the first non-Gothic vampire movie?) but in general stick to their specialties. At 47 minutes, the docu separates the true fans from the curious rest of us, but lovers of this picture will flip over it. Kathryn Bigelow also comments on one deleted scene, which shows Mae and Caleb together and would need a lot of work to communicate all the nuances she wants it to. The usual trailers and galleries fill out the second disc of this 2-disc special package. The nice thing about these two-DVD packages, is that the first disc can be set aside for a feature with a dense bit rate, which has clearly been done here; with titles of this caliber, Anchor Bay is equalling Criterion for care and attention to its releases. On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Near Dark rates: Movie: Excellent Video: Excellent Sound: Excellent Supplements: Commentary with director, Docu Living in Darkness, deleted scene, trailers, storyboards, galleries, screenplay on DVD-rom Packaging: Folding plastic and cardstock slip case Reviewed: September 11, 2002 [Savant Main Page] [Savant Links] [Article Index] [Review Index] [Savant 5 Year Report] DVD Savant Text © Copyright 2007 Glenn Erickson Advertise With Us Review Staff | About DVD Talk | Newsletter Subscribe | Join DVD Talk Forum Copyright © MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use