A mid-western farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of southern vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars. Part of his initiation includes a bloody assault on a hick bar.
Where to Watch Near Dark
- Jacob O’NealJuly 1, 2025Say what you will about Academy Award winning director Kathryn Bigalow. Sure, she made Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker to a lot of acclaim and awards. But she was never better than when she made this and Point Break. She took a simple vampire movie and turned it into a beautiful sprawling western at the same time. Adrian Pasdar stars alongside the cast of Aliens - Lance Henricksen, Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein. They wanted Michael Biehn as well, but he declined. I’m going to describe this movie as if it were a western with no vampire elements - a young Texas loner is restless and looking for adventure when a beautiful young woman crosses his path. But she’s not the kind of woman he should get mixed up with. She runs with a gang of nasty fellas, each one meaner than the last. But this is just what our young loner needs, adventure…until he gets it. When he sees the darkness first hand, the seduction wears off and reality sets in. Pasdar is one of those actors that never really broke through, but between this and the very short live TV series, Profit, I’d watch him in most anything. He was great in this movie, even if moments of his acting reminded me of a young Charlie Sheen. Henricksen, Paxton and Goldstein were great. Jenny Wright as the femme fatale did well. There was no weak link. Eric Red, writer of The Hitcher, and Bigalow wrote a script that worked as a drama, a western and a horror movie. This movie just works. I can’t say how they did it, but they captured lightning in a bottle with this film and no matter what happens in Bigalow’s career going forward, this Strange Days and Point Break are her best work.
- maddiechismDecember 6, 2025vampire the masquerade bloodlines but make it a western with a stupid straight romance in the center, despite which its still the best vampire flick oat with an incredible moody soundtrack which fits into the nocturnal landscape so well and has this certain x-files je ne sais quoi to it. just immaculate vibes.
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Near Dark was released on October 2, 1987.
Near Dark was directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
Near Dark has a runtime of 1h 34m.
Near Dark was produced by Steven-Charles Jaffe.
A mid-western farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of southern vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars. Part of his initiation includes a bloody assault on a hick bar.
The key characters in Near Dark are Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar), Mae (Jenny Wright), Jesse Hooker (Lance Henriksen).
Near Dark is rated R.
Near Dark is a Horror, Drama, Thriller film.
Near Dark has an audience rating of 7.4 out of 10.
Near Dark had a budget of $5M.
Near Dark has made $3.4M at the box office.