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| DIRECTED BY |
| Kathryn Bigelow |
| STARRING |
| Jenny Wright |
| Adrian Pasdar |
| Lance Henriksen |
| Bill Paxton |
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I haven�t hated a supposedly great film this much in quite some time. From what I read, �Nark Dark� is supposed to be one of the most innovative and interesting vampire horror films of all time. It didn�t take me long to realize how truly awful �Near Dark� is, however, I sat through the whole thing nonetheless. Here�s what initially confused me: how could anyone call this innovative when it has �clich� written all over it? Everything from the unlikely love between a vampire and a human to the police search subplot and everything in between is trash.
Sure � it�s well done trash � but that still qualifies it as trash. Some of the special effects are impressive, particularly the combustion that occurs when the vampires touch light. The subtle, haunting soundtrack by Tangerine Dream deserves all of the recognition that it has received over the years. And Bigelow�s framing is surprisingly beautiful at times � a shot of the vampires on top of a moonlighted hill and Adrian�s second wrist-sucking scene amongst oilrigs are both not to be forgotten, but these occasional bright spots do not save �Near Dark� from being anything more than a mindless slasher flick.
Fans seem to love the fact that these vampires have been modernized � they certainly don�t wear long cloaks or suddenly turn into bats and fly away. What I�d like to know is � so what? The film doesn�t actually go anywhere but down with this premise, and if vampires must be depicted as insanely irrational murderers then couldn�t it have been done in a slightly less juvenile, idiotic way? There are no good characterizations in this film � everyone fits a stereotype, right down to the unfortunate patrons of the bar that the vampires terrorize. The vampires act so over-the-top that, combined with Bigelow�s in-your-face direction, the film is more forcibly laughable than creepy or frightening in any way.
The traditional vampire story is very interesting, but this film is in no way an intelligent riff on the genre. The better part of this film is basically about showing how incredibly stupid these vampires are by coming up with newly creative ways of offing people � and no doubt they are creative, which probably accounts for the cult following that this film has of people who get their kicks out of watching mindlessly exaggerated killings. The acting is awful all around, although there wasn�t really much of a script to work with anyway. The dialogue is horrid � perhaps if both the vampires and the humans talked like everyday people then the film would�ve achieved the gritty, realistic tone that it was clearly going for.
The film even contradicts its overall aim in showing us that humanity perseveres by having the protagonist happily endear himself to the amoral vampires (witness the scenes following the police shootout escape.) The plot relies on coincidences to progress the storyline � wow, Caleb�s father and sister just so happen to be staying at the same motel! And there are some hilarious inconsistencies � it turns from night to day unbelievably quickly at that same motel. And I had to repress my laughter when we see Caleb ride his horse through an open street � this juxtaposition just doesn�t work well at all.
The way that the film moves along even has a made-for-TV thriller quality about it, with standard cutting between the distraught father and the vampires� murderous actions. �Near Dark� could have at least tried to be slightly complex or remotely thoughtful instead of simply focusing on how entertaining it can be to see people getting their throats slashed open. It�s really is a shame too, because Bigelow�s obvious visual flair � when coupled with a plausible screenplay � can potentially produce a great film.
