Kathryn Bigelow's revisionist vampire picture, cowritten with Eric Red, can be lumped in with all those other revisionist vampire pictures released over the years. Adrian Pasdar is Caleb, an aw-shucks cowboy in Oklahoma who hooks up with weird girl Mae (Jenny Wright). She brings him home to meet the family, who all happen to be vampires. A little love nip gets Caleb hankering for some blood, and he reluctantly goes along with the band of psychotic human hunters. Caleb's dad Loy (Tim Thomerson) tracks down Caleb and takes him back home. A blood transfusion fixes Caleb right up, but the pack of vampires follows him.
Lance Henriksen is Jesse, the leader of the pack, and he is great. He has never received the recognition he deserved. Bill Paxton plays Severen, "the crazy one," a vampire who enjoys killing. In short, it seems to be the same role Paxton played in every other film or so. Pasdar and Wright are okay as the bloodstruck couple, but there is no real body heat between them, so to speak. My problem with this film is the lack of spark throughout. Everyone goes through the motions, but no one looks like they are really into this. Like Red's other notorious film, "The Hitcher," this film opens badly. I felt like I sat down in the middle of the film, not the beginning. Pasdar and Wright are not given enough time to generate this Romeo and Juliet kind of love they are supposed to be experiencing. The vampire "family" are all nuts, and are not given enough time to show any care for each other, which means we eventually do not care either. Thomerson as the veterinarian dad is very good, but in an underwritten part. The film certainly looks good. The special and makeup effects are great, especially the infamous scene of a little fifth grader-looking vampire running down a highway in sunlight and bursting into flame. Bigelow's direction is good, if a little sloppy. There are a couple of editing errors, but she does a good job of keeping things going. When you think things are finally clicking, the film makers throw in a silly scene that makes you rethink your previous joy at the film- the blood transfusions and the really dumb second kidnapping of one character provide grist for the mediocrity. Throw in an inappropriate musical score by Tangerine Dream, and this film is a definite mixed bag. I slightly recommend "Near Dark," but with some huge reservations.
Lance Henriksen is Jesse, the leader of the pack, and he is great. He has never received the recognition he deserved. Bill Paxton plays Severen, "the crazy one," a vampire who enjoys killing. In short, it seems to be the same role Paxton played in every other film or so. Pasdar and Wright are okay as the bloodstruck couple, but there is no real body heat between them, so to speak. My problem with this film is the lack of spark throughout. Everyone goes through the motions, but no one looks like they are really into this. Like Red's other notorious film, "The Hitcher," this film opens badly. I felt like I sat down in the middle of the film, not the beginning. Pasdar and Wright are not given enough time to generate this Romeo and Juliet kind of love they are supposed to be experiencing. The vampire "family" are all nuts, and are not given enough time to show any care for each other, which means we eventually do not care either. Thomerson as the veterinarian dad is very good, but in an underwritten part. The film certainly looks good. The special and makeup effects are great, especially the infamous scene of a little fifth grader-looking vampire running down a highway in sunlight and bursting into flame. Bigelow's direction is good, if a little sloppy. There are a couple of editing errors, but she does a good job of keeping things going. When you think things are finally clicking, the film makers throw in a silly scene that makes you rethink your previous joy at the film- the blood transfusions and the really dumb second kidnapping of one character provide grist for the mediocrity. Throw in an inappropriate musical score by Tangerine Dream, and this film is a definite mixed bag. I slightly recommend "Near Dark," but with some huge reservations.