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| == Plot == | == Plot == | ||
| Caleb Colton is a young man in a small ] town who talks one night with Mae, an attractive young ]. Shortly before ], while kissing, she bites him on the ] and runs off. Caleb discovers that the rising sun causes his ] to burn. As he suffers in the sunlight with his father and sister looking on, Mae and her group of roaming vampires pick up Caleb and sweep him away from his family's home |
Caleb Colton is a young man in a small ] town who talks one night with Mae, an attractive young ]. Shortly before ], while kissing, she bites him on the ] and runs off. Caleb discovers that the rising sun causes his ] to burn. As he suffers in the sunlight with his father and sister looking on, Mae and her group of roaming vampires pick up Caleb and sweep him away from his family's home. | ||
| Caleb cannot bring himself to kill, even at the cost of his own survival, which alienates him from the gang of vampires. Unwilling to permit Caleb to be killed by her companions, Mae repeatedly kills for him, and allows him to drink from her wrist. Jesse and the gang are only temporarily mollified when Caleb puts himself at great risk to rescue them from a ] raid on their motel during daylight hours. | |||
| Anguished at his son's disappearance, Caleb's father searches for the group of drifters he believes has ] his son. With Caleb's little sister Sarah in tow, he canvasses the surrounding towns for news of his son while the police conduct their own investigation. When the young vampire Homer sees Sarah at a roadside ], a ] develops. Homer wishes to transform the girl into a companion for himself, but Caleb demands that she be allowed to leave unharmed. While the gang argues over what to do, Caleb's father arrives, demanding at gunpoint that Sarah be released. Jesse challenges him, and when Caleb's father fires the gun, Jesse responds by regurgitating the bullet and wrenching the gun from his hand. In the confusion of the moment Sarah opens the door and flees, forcing the vampires to hide from the sunlight streaming into the motel room. Caleb chooses to return to his family, and jumps into his father's ], his skin burning and smoking in the sunlight. He suggests a transfusion to his distraught father. | |||
| In the darkness of the barn Caleb's father ] his blood into Caleb's veins, weeping in fear that his son is lost. The transfusion reverses Caleb's transformation, and he is again human. His father's previously gruff manner is now tempered by evident relief at Caleb's return. That night, Mae and the rest of the vampires come looking for Caleb, knowing he can identify them and the threat they represent. Homer remains fixed on the idea of turning Sarah into his mate. While Mae distracts Caleb with conversation outside the house, the others slip inside and kidnap Sarah. When Mae ascertains that Caleb cannot be convinced to return to her, she runs away, leaving Caleb to discover the kidnapping. | |||
| Realizing that Sarah is gone, Caleb goes after her. The gang has taken the precaution of slashing the tires, so Caleb must ride one of the family's ] into town. On the town's main street, Caleb encounters Severen, who attacks him while decrying his lack of loyalty. When a ] approaches, Caleb commandeers the fuel laden vehicle to run down Severen. Severen is only injured and, enraged, he begins to climbs the front of the cab toward the driver's seat. Caleb forces the truck to ] before jumping clear, killing Severen in the ensuing explosion. Homer remains less than interested in Caleb and holds onto the kidnapped Sarah. Jesse and Diamondback are now intent on torturing and killing Caleb. They begin to chase him, but as dawn breaks, they return to the car and flee toward the receding dark. Mae is not only reluctant to see Caleb hurt but realizes that she cannot permit Sarah to become another child-like ]. While the vampires drive away from Caleb in the first rays of morning, Mae breaks out the back of their ], pulling Sarah with her. Mae is badly burned by the sun as she runs with Sarah into Caleb's arms, and Caleb covers her smoldering body with his coat. Homer, desperate to keep Sarah for himself, leaps out of the car to follow her and is destroyed in a fiery explosion as the sun takes its toll. With no shelter from the sun nearby, Jesse and Diamondback are beginning to blacken and burn. In a final effort they turn the car around and attempt to rundown Caleb and Sarah, but the car veers off the road and explodes as they become completely engulfed in flames. | |||
| In the final scene, Caleb open the door to the Colton family ] where Mae lies hooked up to transfusion equipment, her burns fully healed. As morning sunlight spills into the barn, Mae's initial reaction is fear, but she has ceased to be a creature of the night and Caleb comforts her with the reassurance that she need no longer fear the sun. | |||
| == Cast == | == Cast == | ||
Revision as of 15:09, 29 January 2009
1987 American film| Near Dark | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Kathryn Bigelow |
| Written by | Eric Red Kathryn Bigelow |
| Produced by | Steven-Charles Jaffe |
| Starring | Adrian Pasdar Jenny Wright Lance Henriksen Jenette Goldstein Bill Paxton |
| Cinematography | Adam Greenberg |
| Edited by | Howard E. Smith |
| Music by | Tangerine Dream |
| Distributed by | Anchor Bay Entertainment |
| Release dates | October 2, 1987 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $5,000,000 |
| Box office | $3,369,307 |
Near Dark is an American vampire/Western horror film, written by Eric Red and Kathryn Bigelow, and directed by Bigelow. The movie was released in 1987, and has a sizable cult following.
Plot
Caleb Colton is a young man in a small Oklahoma town who talks one night with Mae, an attractive young drifter. Shortly before sunrise, while kissing, she bites him on the neck and runs off. Caleb discovers that the rising sun causes his flesh to burn. As he suffers in the sunlight with his father and sister looking on, Mae and her group of roaming vampires pick up Caleb and sweep him away from his family's home.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Adrian Pasdar | Caleb Colton |
| Jenny Wright | Mae |
| Lance Henriksen | Jesse Hooker |
| Bill Paxton | Severen |
| Jenette Goldstein | Diamondback |
| Joshua John Miller | Homer |
Production
Kathryn Bigelow wanted to film a Western movie that departed from cinematic convention, which at the time was strongly identified with the films of John Wayne and John Ford. When she and co-writer Eric Red found financial backing for a Western difficult to obtain, it was suggested to them that they try mixing a Western with another, more popular genre. Her interest in revisionist interpretation of cinematic tradition led her and Red to the idea of combining two genres that they regarded as ripe for reinterpretation: the Western movie, and the vampire movie, whose conventions largely derived from Bela Lugosi's performance in Dracula. The film was scored by the German electronic music group Tangerine Dream, who also penned the soundtracks for Risky Business and Legend.
Reaction
Near Dark was released on October 2, 1987 in 262 theaters, grossing USD $635,789 on its opening weekend. It went on to make $3.4 million, below its $5 million budget.
In her review for the New York Times, Caryn James wrote, "Ms. Bigelow's too-studied compositions - Caleb in silhouette riding a horse toward the camera - clash with her unstudied approach to the characters' looks". Jay Scott in his review for the Globe and Mail wrote, "Bill Paxton as the undead sex symbol - is exceptional, but not exceptional enough to put across the cop-out that concludes the film".
Near Dark is ranked 34 on Rotten Tomatoes' "Top 50 Horror Movies" list of the 50 best reviewed horror movies of all time.
Remake
A remake from Platinum Dunes was originally planned but has since been put on hold thanks to the similar vampire film Twilight; says producer Brad Fuller, “I think that Twilight was the same type of thing we were going for although Near Dark was a much darker, sexier, rated R version of that. But I’m concerned that, conceptually, that Near Dark and Twilight are too similar in terms of a vampire movie. For now, that movie is on hold.”
See also
References
- http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/the_new_cult_canon_near_dark
- "Near Dark". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - James, Caryn (October 4, 1987). "Near Dark, a Tale of Vampires on the Road". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Scott, Jay (October 2, 1987). "Vampire myth spawns new terrors in seductive demons of Near Dark". Globe and Mail.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - "Top 50 Horror Movies". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-09-30.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Empire: Near Dark Remake Is Off
External links
- Near Dark at IMDb
- Template:Amg movie
- Near Dark at Rotten Tomatoes
- Near Dark at Box Office Mojo
- Bright Lights Film Journal essay
| Films directed by Kathryn Bigelow | |
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