Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Near Dark (1987) Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

”Let's put it this way: I fought for the South. We lost.” Jesse.

Caleb Colton is a purdy little cowboy, and one evening he spots hisself a purdy little cowgirl, and he moseys over to have a palaver with this young filly named Mae, and they do a little neckin’.

Problem here is, Mae’s neckin’ is of a more serious bent than most girls, and when she runs off just afore dawn, Caleb is feelin’ all hot and bothered. But when the sun comes up, he really feels hot; smokin’ hot. In fact, he is smolderin’ as he staggers across the near 40 towards the house.

Suddenly, an RV with foiled over windows pulls up and yanks Caleb out the sun and into a new life. Now go ask Daddy what he thinks about that!

Okay, I can’t keep up the accent. Caleb finds himself in the RV with Mae’s family. The are Jesse, the elder, and his main squeeze, Diamond back, a tough little chica who is a walking billboard for why you do not over process your hair. Severen is the young buck, young, dumb, and full of vital juices, and a high opinion of himself and Homer is a little kid. “The name's Homer. H-O-M-E-R. Mispronounce it... and I wouldn't... wanna... be you.” He tells Caleb with a handful of the Colton family jewels. Mae’s family lead a nomadic existence, traveling from place to place, feeding off the locals, committing what mayhem strikes their fancy, and riding off before the law gets involved. Blood and booze are their only drink.

Caleb is sick, but they seem to expect that. They tell him it will pass, and a lot quicker if he will kill and feed. But Caleb resists. But it is getting harder.

Finally, it is kill or be killed time. Caleb must feed to complete the transformation and be one of the family. In a phantasmagorically gory scene in a honkeytonk, they give Caleb another cowboy to feed on. He takes off, right through the window, and Caleb is in hot pursuit. But when push comes to shove, Caleb can’t do it, and the boy gets away.

This is of course very bad news for the clan, since they count on no survivors to report things like this to the law. When the law comes for them in their motel bungalow, things look bad. Every gunshot lets in another deadly shaft of sunlight. Severen goes for the van, but is shot down. With only a blanket for protection, he’s beginning to barbeque.

Then Caleb makes the dash, drives the van through the wall, and every one loads up for a guns blazing get away. Caleb may not have made a kill, but he is one of them now. They take refuge in another no-tell motel.

Now Homer is one of the more interesting members of the clan. He is one of the oldest, but his body is twelve, and will be forever. This causes him no small amount of distress. He sees a little girl buying a coke at the motel, and invites her to come watch TV. It is actually innocent, but you can tell that the rest of the clan recognizes this as a danger sign.

Unfortunately, the little girl is Sarah, Caleb’s sister. And Severen fetched her father when he thought she was food. So now Caleb has to choose between his clan and his family. Here is the problem. No matter which he chooses, the other is not giving up.

The Cast
Adrian Pasdar ... Caleb Colton.
”I sure haven't met any girls like you.”
Caleb is a nice kid who gets in way over his head. Fathers often tell their sons, thinking with the little head will be the death of you. For Caleb, it’s true. Adrian Pasdar is excellent in this role. He is always good, especially when the role calls for him to “be intense”: Pasdar gives good intense.

Jenny Wright ... Mae
”No, you sure haven't.”
The love interest. Mae is cute enough to catch the eye, but her being caught between liking Caleb and liking being a vampire leaves her performance a little wishy washy.

Lance Henriksen ... Jesse Hooker.
” I taught Severen everything he knew, but not everything I know.”
Always good, Lance delivers as the leader of the clan. He often drove out in the desert between scenes sometimes in make up. One time he freaked out the cop who stopped him, enough that the cop put his hand on his weapon, and sent him on his way without a ticket. Lance also appeared in Aliens, which is the movie showing at the theater in town.

Bill Paxton ... Severen
”Howdy. I'm gonna separate your head from your shoulders. Hope you don't mind none.”
Cocky and mean, Severen is a big bully who enjoys his immortal existence. He also stared in Aliens. Paxton makes him kind of sexy, in a psychopathic sort of way. And you will never look at a set of spurs the same way.

Jenette Goldstein ... Diamondback
The Stong and Silent type, Diamondback backs Jesse’s play. The last of the Aliens trio, she adds a feminine, but not civilizing touch to the family. Great performance.

Tim Thomerson ... Loy Colton
”Caleb, those people back there, they wasn't normal. Normal folks, they don't spit out bullets when you shoot 'em, no sir.”
Caleb’s father shows us why Caleb is so centered, and how the bonds of family saved him. Somewhat understated from other scifi roles, Loy is a good man who stands by his family.

Joshua John Miller ... Homer
”Y'have any idea what it's like to be a big man on the inside and have a small body on the outside?”
Homer is a most tragic figure, a child vampire. Face of an angel, heart of a killer, and always on the outside looking in. In an interesting side note, Joshua’s half brother Jason Patric also starred in a vampire this year, the very successful Lost Boys.

Marcie Leeds ... Sarah Colton

One thing I love about this movie. From beginning to end, no one ever says the word VAMPIRE. There is no history lesson, no explanation of powers, no shape shifting, turning to mist, or hypnotic powers. They do not explain the show. Vampires are strong; they can knock a man back thirty feet. And they burn in sunlight. That is about all we know.

This movie had some interesting history as well. Michael Biehn considered a role which would have made four actors from Aliens, but in the end did not get on board. Johnny Depp and D. B. Sweeney both auditioned for the part of Caleb. This was Bigelowe’s directorial debut, and it was on probation. She was told that after 5 days, if she was not on track, she would be replaced. As you can see, she handled it.

This was also the last movie produced by DeLaurentis Entertainment Group as the studio went bankrupt. As a result, the film did not receive any publicity support during its release in the fall of 1987. This caused its box office failure, sad, because it is a good movie and deserved better.

This is a different kind of Vampire movie, and one well worth watching.

Bloodletting on Film: Vampires.

Twilight
From Dusk 'Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter
From Dusk 'Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money
From Dusk 'Till Dawn
Lost Boys: The Tribe
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Near Dark
Dracula (1979)
Vampire$
The Lost Boys
30 Days of Night

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age