It's no secret, I love vampire movies, you can tell from my comments, I've seen a lot of them. From the 1920's to now, it doesn't matter, I love the myth, the horror and characters. In the 1980's, we had a few vampire movies, the most famous being The Lost Boys which is named as one of the all time favorites with fans when it comes to vampire movies. But it just so happened that the same year, another movie was made, a little independent film that kind of got the shaft in the advertising department compared to The Lost Boys and wasn't as much of a success, it's called Near Dark. I had always seen the cover whenever I went to the video store when I was a kid, but I have to admit that the VHS cover wasn't that appealing, so I feel bad that I gave the film a pass until now. I saw a lot of buzz on the internet when people talk about vampire films, this one came up quite a bit. I bought it on the spot and watched it a few weeks ago, I can see why this one made the top list a few times.
One night, Caleb, a young man, meets a young drifter named Mae. Just before sunrise, she bites him on the neck then runs off. The rising sun causes Caleb's flesh to begin to burn. Mae comes with a group of roaming vampires and takes him away. The most unsociable of all the vampires, wanting to kill Caleb, but Mae reveals she has turned him into a vampire. Their charismatic leader, Jesse, reluctantly agrees to allow Caleb to remain with them for a week to see if he can learn to hunt and become a trusted member of their group. Caleb is unwilling to kill to feed, which alienates him from the others. To protect him, Mae kills for him then has him drink from her wrist. They are running short on their tempers to keep him in the group. Meanwhile, his family is looking for him and the gang of vampires may have found a new way of initiation for Caleb.
So the good with this film: the vampires. One of the things I did like a lot that we don't get to see in some vampire films is that we get to know them not as monsters, but that they were once human. Also the frustration you feel for Homer, the little vampire, he's an old man trapped in a boy's body, something that was way before Interview with the Vampire with the character Claudia. Now it's not as detailed but it's still sad to see his struggles as he has a man's needs, but it looks wrong when you have a "young boy" hitting on an older woman. He's also smarter than the leader but can't do as much since it's an adult's world. Then we have Severon, played by Bill Paxton, and you can tell he had a lot of fun with this role. He looks and acts tough, he's the vampire you don't want to mess with, add in the dark humor and he's just vicious. Jesse, played Lance Henriksen, has charisma and you can tell off the bat, he's the "dad" of the family. Diamondback, played by Jenette Goldstein, is beautiful but deadly and like a mom to Homer. The love story between Caleb and Mae is sweet, but I don't think that was the true heart of the story as you find yourself more involved with the other vampires.
The costumes, make up and sets are very cool. You have a great set of a western with a mix of biker, which can be contradicting at times, it does over all work. But there are some flaws with the movie. The ending is a huge cop out, which a lot of people seem to be in agreement with. I like the whole myth that if you haven't fed, if there is a transfusion of human blood put back into your body after being bit, you can return to normal. But then they do this with Mae, who was a full vampire and it felt like a cop out with unanswered questions. Did she want to be human? She didn't complain that much about being a vampire. Also when she bit Caleb, she barely bites him and he's turning into a vampire 5 minutes after? That's like saying when I get bit by a mosquito, I'll turn into one. The ending wasn't very well thought out and this film had so much more potential than they give. Maybe with a better budget I think this could've beaten a lot of vampire movies out of the water. But it's still a good one that I would recommend and would gladly watch again.
7/10
One night, Caleb, a young man, meets a young drifter named Mae. Just before sunrise, she bites him on the neck then runs off. The rising sun causes Caleb's flesh to begin to burn. Mae comes with a group of roaming vampires and takes him away. The most unsociable of all the vampires, wanting to kill Caleb, but Mae reveals she has turned him into a vampire. Their charismatic leader, Jesse, reluctantly agrees to allow Caleb to remain with them for a week to see if he can learn to hunt and become a trusted member of their group. Caleb is unwilling to kill to feed, which alienates him from the others. To protect him, Mae kills for him then has him drink from her wrist. They are running short on their tempers to keep him in the group. Meanwhile, his family is looking for him and the gang of vampires may have found a new way of initiation for Caleb.
So the good with this film: the vampires. One of the things I did like a lot that we don't get to see in some vampire films is that we get to know them not as monsters, but that they were once human. Also the frustration you feel for Homer, the little vampire, he's an old man trapped in a boy's body, something that was way before Interview with the Vampire with the character Claudia. Now it's not as detailed but it's still sad to see his struggles as he has a man's needs, but it looks wrong when you have a "young boy" hitting on an older woman. He's also smarter than the leader but can't do as much since it's an adult's world. Then we have Severon, played by Bill Paxton, and you can tell he had a lot of fun with this role. He looks and acts tough, he's the vampire you don't want to mess with, add in the dark humor and he's just vicious. Jesse, played Lance Henriksen, has charisma and you can tell off the bat, he's the "dad" of the family. Diamondback, played by Jenette Goldstein, is beautiful but deadly and like a mom to Homer. The love story between Caleb and Mae is sweet, but I don't think that was the true heart of the story as you find yourself more involved with the other vampires.
The costumes, make up and sets are very cool. You have a great set of a western with a mix of biker, which can be contradicting at times, it does over all work. But there are some flaws with the movie. The ending is a huge cop out, which a lot of people seem to be in agreement with. I like the whole myth that if you haven't fed, if there is a transfusion of human blood put back into your body after being bit, you can return to normal. But then they do this with Mae, who was a full vampire and it felt like a cop out with unanswered questions. Did she want to be human? She didn't complain that much about being a vampire. Also when she bit Caleb, she barely bites him and he's turning into a vampire 5 minutes after? That's like saying when I get bit by a mosquito, I'll turn into one. The ending wasn't very well thought out and this film had so much more potential than they give. Maybe with a better budget I think this could've beaten a lot of vampire movies out of the water. But it's still a good one that I would recommend and would gladly watch again.
7/10