While taking a look at various horror movies this month for Halloween I thought I'd revisit a film I haven't seen eince the 80's. That being Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark, a violent western-themed Vampire film.
Genre cinema is much better off for the presence of director Kathryn Bigelow. She takes the same directorial style, eye for action, and understated power of her ex-husband James(I'm richer than God) Cameron and applies it to films that Cameron would never touch because they’re considered “b-movies” or “exploitation.” But in Bigelow’s capable hands, they become visceral action classics (“Point Break”). “Near Dark” is a bonafide hallmark of horror cinema, a “Vampire Western” from the 80’s that effectively re-imagines vampire lore for the modern era. Bigelow forgoes the shadowy creatures of “Nosferatu” and “Dracula”, as well as the gloomy, self-loathing aristocrats of Ann(can't write for shit) Rice’s novels, and instead portrays her vampires as a roving band of homicidal maniacs akin to the Manson family. The result is a sleek, stylish film with action that hits like a freight train(the fucking badass shootout at the motel) and characters that disgust you at the same time you can’t take your eyes off them. Too many vampire movies make the mistake of wallowing in the vampire genre, obsessing over points of vampire mythology and lore (think the dogshit“Underworld” series). “Near Dark” returns the concept of the vampire to its most basic roots and makes these creatures primal and terrifying once again. The performances are solid all around: Jenny Wright is the portrait of dark innocence, and the moment she is introduced eating an ice cream cone it’s easy to see why the protagonist is so taken with her; while Bill Paxton takes his over-the-top and obnoxious punker character of the 80’s (“Terminator”, “Aliens”) to its excessive peek, coming off like Beavis & Butthead with a bloodlust – somehow he makes it work. “Near Dark” is a cult classic and a horror masterpiece; moody, exciting, and action-packed. This is – dare say it? – possibly the best vampire movie ever made. And the characters never once mention the word “vampire”! Naturally, that’s exactly what makes it work.
Genre cinema is much better off for the presence of director Kathryn Bigelow. She takes the same directorial style, eye for action, and understated power of her ex-husband James(I'm richer than God) Cameron and applies it to films that Cameron would never touch because they’re considered “b-movies” or “exploitation.” But in Bigelow’s capable hands, they become visceral action classics (“Point Break”). “Near Dark” is a bonafide hallmark of horror cinema, a “Vampire Western” from the 80’s that effectively re-imagines vampire lore for the modern era. Bigelow forgoes the shadowy creatures of “Nosferatu” and “Dracula”, as well as the gloomy, self-loathing aristocrats of Ann(can't write for shit) Rice’s novels, and instead portrays her vampires as a roving band of homicidal maniacs akin to the Manson family. The result is a sleek, stylish film with action that hits like a freight train(the fucking badass shootout at the motel) and characters that disgust you at the same time you can’t take your eyes off them. Too many vampire movies make the mistake of wallowing in the vampire genre, obsessing over points of vampire mythology and lore (think the dogshit“Underworld” series). “Near Dark” returns the concept of the vampire to its most basic roots and makes these creatures primal and terrifying once again. The performances are solid all around: Jenny Wright is the portrait of dark innocence, and the moment she is introduced eating an ice cream cone it’s easy to see why the protagonist is so taken with her; while Bill Paxton takes his over-the-top and obnoxious punker character of the 80’s (“Terminator”, “Aliens”) to its excessive peek, coming off like Beavis & Butthead with a bloodlust – somehow he makes it work. “Near Dark” is a cult classic and a horror masterpiece; moody, exciting, and action-packed. This is – dare say it? – possibly the best vampire movie ever made. And the characters never once mention the word “vampire”! Naturally, that’s exactly what makes it work.
3 comments:
Hey, it's richiedagger from the agony booth... can't say I've ever heard of this, but it sounds awesome. Also, the guy in the pic looks like Glenn Danzig with better corpse make-up.
one of my favorite vampire movies ever.
great pick!
See this is what happens when you lose the password to your own blog.
Thanks for some of the responses.
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