Bigelow’s ‘Near Dark’: Some New Blood in Vampire Genre

In this era of mindless blood-and-guts splatter flicks, a truly intelligent horror film can be hard to find. That’s why Kathryn Bigelow’s stylish and multilayered “Near Dark” stands out.

In Heartland, USA, a handsome farm kid named Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) falls for Mae (Jenny Wright), a comely young woman who just happens to be a vampire. When Mae nips Caleb on the neck, he is involuntarily thrust into her “family” of marauding blood hounds. Cruising the highways in various stolen vans, trucks and RVs, this renegade sextet snares its victims by using all types of ploys and stunts. Clearly, this is one unique road movie.

Bigelow and co-writer Eric Red have given their preternatural outlaws an uncommon degree of humanity and free will. In “Near Dark” a successful vampire (i.e., one that endures) requires an undeniable toughness and callousness. Not everyone is cut out for the job.

Severen (Bill Paxton) and Jesse (Lance Henriksen)--two veteran night fiends--have survived precisely because they are so egocentric and insensitive. Indeed, Severen is downright malicious. They were born to live the vampire’s outlaw life.

Conversely, the less experienced Mae and Caleb are too sentimental and introspective for long-term survival as night stalkers. Caleb simply lacks a killer instinct.

But in “Near Dark” even some of the most hard-boiled vampires need affection. The bitter and cantankerous Homer (Joshua Miller) desperately yearns for female companionship. Though he is emotionally and psychologically an adult, Homer is trapped in the body of a young boy. He had the misfortune of being transformed into a vampire as a child.

“Near Dark” is also pocked with moments of wicked black humor. In one scene, Severen and Jesse bring out their heavy-duty weapons for a bloody game of Russian roulette. It’s all pretty serious stuff until you realize that it would take much more than a table full of guns to kill off these hoodlums.

In her solo directing debut, Bigelow (who went on to direct “Blue Steel”) proves a master at building tension and creating a chilling ambience. But more remarkably, she displays a rare talent for finding the love and tenderness amid all the fear and loathing.

Though it’s not for the squeamish, “Near Dark” is unusually insightful for a film so frightening.

“Near Dark” (1987), directed by Kathryn Bigelow. 95 minutes. Rated R.