Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: Near Dark (1987)

This Tuesday I place my second Kathryn Bigelow entry into ILC’s Overlooked Registry. It is (as my title indicates) Near Dark, the 1987 contemporary vampire thriller movie starring Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton. Over the years, has established quite a cult following.

Midwestern farm hand Caleb (Pasdar) meets up with a mysterious young woman Mae (Wright), who, it turns out is a vampire who before they part company, bites Caleb, thus initiating him into the realm of the undead. Mae rolls with a vicious cohort of fellow blood suckers led by Jesse Hooker (Henriksen) who reluctantly take Caleb under their wing.

In a parallel story, Caleb’s father (Tim Thomerson) and sister are in a desperate search for Caleb when it becomes apparent that he has been taken against his will.

Eventually the story threads merge into a denouement that one may not expect in a film such as this (at least in my mind anyways).

I will admit that this film is not for everyone (due to the level of blood and violence) and I left it knowing immediately it would require a re-watch on my part, so I can pick up on some of the details I missed in my initial viewing.

On another level I think that Near Dark is a good opportunity to see the early work of Bigelow, who is best known for her latest war films (Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty) and the FBI/Surfer Dude heist-er (Point Break).

Check out the trailer here:

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* Please be sure to check out other overlooked/forgotten films over at Todd Mason’s blog, Sweet Freedom.