MATT CHEETHAM
Arts Writer
Following the inescapable madness that is the Twilight phenomenon, I wanted to see a vampire movie that was actually scary.
It seems these days in movies and TV that vampires are becoming less and less monstrous creatures and more romantic interests — vegetarian douche bags who only care about your feelings. I was hoping to find a movie that would return to a feeling and sense of dread.
Near Dark is an interesting movie and not only is it now considered a cult classic but it also attempts to merge two genres: horror and western. Adding vampires to the equation makes it even more interesting.
This movie, which came out in 1987, came during a phase when these types of movies were trying to reclaim the horror genre and start shying away from previous humorous and tongue in cheek attempts.
When the film was released it bombed at the box office but it has made a comeback in recent years to become a cult classic and undiscovered gem in the library of vampire movies.
Near Dark is the story of a young farmer named Caleb, who lives with his father and young sister. He leads a pretty quiet life and existence of tending the farm.
One night Caleb meets a young drifter named Mae, who turns out to be a Vampire and bites him.Mae lives with a nomadic pack of other vampires who troll along highways hunting and killing. After it is discovered that Caleb is slowly changing, the pack takes him with them but somewhat reluctantly.
Caleb has a hard time adjusting, and his unwillingness to kill forces Mae to let him feed off her, straining the group even more. Eventually Caleb escapes and returns home only to have a final standoff between the two families; the vampires, thinking Caleb is a liability, kidnap the younger sister, which leads to a thrilling and tense climax.
The film was really interesting, not only because of the amalgamation of the two genres but also because of the ensemble of actors that take part, including Adrian Pasdar, Bill Paxton and Lance Henrickson. These particular actors were staples of that time in horror and sci-fi and all have made comebacks in recent years.
I liked that this movie was scary and intense. It was thrilling and edge-of-your-seat yet had a human story intertwined. As opposed to movies from recent years, there was romance present between the characters of Caleb and Mae but it was subtle. The characters obviously cared for one another and there was tension because of it. It also wasn’t jammed down your throats either.
If you are a fan of vampire movies and want something a little different and unfamiliar, you should check out Near Dark. You may enjoy it. Â