Near Dark [DVD]

Old movie from my teenage years.. Glad I owen it now..

Let's get one thing straight, Near Dark is a vampire movie. With that being said, it breaks almost all the rules when it comes to vampire movies.... There is almost no mention of religon (Except a hotel name and a hanging crucifix, both of which have to be pointed out in the extensive booklet that comes with this DVD to even be noticed), the vamps don't sleep in coffins or by hanging upside down, nobody tries to drive a stake through anybody's heart, and you can forget about garlic. Basically the only way to kill these vamps is by sunlight. Oh and boy does sunlight mess them up, unlike other vampire movies just seconds in the light horribly burns these vamps and then they catch fire and quickly explode... no drawn-out deaths as seen in other movies.The story of the movie is as follows, Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is a southwesterner who hits-on and convinces to take a ride with him, the beautiful Mae (Jenny Wright). Mae you can tell is kinda different, although you get a real vibe that she is lonely (KEY to the story). After attempting to kiss Mae, Mae insists Caleb take her home (To her RV camped out in a local trailer park). Caleb manages to convince her otherwise and things get romantic, in the heat of the moment Mae bites Caleb and then disgusted by herself runs off into the night leaving Calen wondering what's going on... Caleb's truck breaks down forcing him to walk home, yet he begins to feel ill and then gets caught in the sun and his skin starts to burn. Just as Caleb is in sight of his house and his little sister/father (Now staggering/crawling his way home), an RV pulls up and someone pulls him in. The RV drives off leaving Caleb's family wondering what just happened.In the RV you meet the family of vamps... Jesse (Lance Henriksen of later Alien Fame and the father figure), Severen (Bill Paxton, the wild-child of the group, and easily the most entertaining character in the movie), Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein, the mother figure), Homer (Joshua Miller, plays the child role), and of course Mae. What follows is Caleb trying to cope with his new life, the vamps assimilating (Sometimes against their own wishes) Caleb into the clan, Mae caring for/falling in love with Caleb, and Caleb's real family desperatly searching for him.The action is intense, especially the Roadhouse Slaughterhouse... which will give you gore-hounds your fill. Although the word "Vampire" is never mentioned and this movie hardly follows any of the vampire stereotypes it stands as one of the best vampire movies ever made. A fan of vampire movies at all? If so, BUY THIS MOVIE.As for the DVD, it is a Special Edition Anchor Bay... need I say more? Well, I will. It comes 2-Disc with an awesome case and informative booklet. Picture and sound are top notch, and features a "Making of" Documentary, commentary, and the usual added features (Trailers, etc.) Great Flick, Great DVD.

I'm not going to explain the movie, alot of other people have already done that better than I ever could. I am though going to tell you if the blu-ray version is better than the standard def release. The visual and audio quality of the blu-ray version of Near Dark is definitely a major improvement over its standard def counterpart. Their is also a few problems for example the only special features are a audio commentary, the living in darkness documentary, one deleted scene with commentary, and two theatrical trailers aswell as two English subtitles and one Spanish. All of the bonus material is in standard definition. The problem I have with the collection is with the special features. Since I had the Anchor Bay two disc edition from back in 2002. So I had hoped they would have added additional content, especially considering on the back of the box it says "deleted scenes" which to me implies more than one or maybe a new commentary with Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein and Adrian Pasdar since they all seem to have fond memories of the movie. At first when you watch the movie where the mosquito scene is at the movie looks a little like the dvd edition then after that it clears up noticeably. Skin tones are spot on crimson reds almost pop off the screen, and all things considered this movie looks incredible for its age and the fact it had a small budget. On the audio side the film has an English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio which can rattle the floors and other things if you have a good audio set up, an English 2.0 PCM Audio which is ok but even if you don't have surround sound use the DTS audio it still sounds better, finally the last Audio is a commentary with just Katherine Bigelow. When it comes to the box art the individual who came up with the twilight cover should be smacked upside the head for creating such terrible art. I'll end this review by saying if you want the upgrade by all means buy it just don't expect alot of additional content because you will be disappointed, if you haven't seen it and have a blu-ray player this is the best version to get since this movie looks and sounds alot better than it ever has. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the movie.

It was the first film directed by Kathryn Bigelow. In my opinion the very best of the vampire genre, right there alongside the other cult classic the Lost Boys. Near Dark has memorable scenes, cool cinematography alongside a musical score by the 80s Tangerine Dream and a great cast including a villain played to perfection by the late Bill Paxton. A must see for horror film fans or film lovers in general.

I had not seen this movie since the 90's, and when I wanted to, it was impossible to find. DVD was in good shape, no issues whatsoever, and shipping was timely.

Love this movie, was so happy to find a copy for a Christmas gift. Was perfect

Only copy of this movie I could find was On Amazon! Good movie kinda like the Lost boys! Its Got romance!

Solid performances. Bit dated. Plays like a matinee B movie that achieved cult status.

Katherine Bigelow's masterpiece has aged very well and could almost be set in today's world. The direction is faultless, Tangerine Dream's score is meaty, yet ethereal, Eric Red and Katherine Bigelow's script is superb. Jenny Wright is unforgettable as the feminine, seductive and dangerous predatory Mae. Lance Henrikson (Jesse) is complex, riveting and haunting as his vicious vampire clan's patriarch, all the actors are perfect in their roles, especially the late great legendary Bill Paxton 😎, who is unforgettable in one of his best ever screen roles as Severen. When we the audience and the movie's pure soul, Adrian Pasdar (Caleb), see Severen, Jesse and his vampire clan enter that bar and lay the unfortunate inhabitants to waste it's a movie scene has been often lovingly homaged in other movies, but rarely as memorably as shown here. This 2003 Studio Canal two DVD disc special edition has an amazing THX transfer that cleans away all the previous dirt and flecks present in the old 1987 VHS version so we can fully appreciate master cinematographer Adam Greenberg's sublime sunrise vistas and all compositions he lenses. The DTS track adds extra oomph! to the motel gunfight scene and physical sound effects. A beautiful movie😍.

Just a heads up for anyone looking at this one, ASIN B07DS3DJPD, the Studio Canal Blu-ray from France, the French subtitles are forced, as part of viewing in English, for both audio tracks (5.1 and 2.0). They are actually incorporated into the title of the film on the menu page, which should have been my first clue. The subtitles disappear when viewing with the 2.0 French language track. All attempts to remove the subtitles or block them on the disc, using both Blu-ray player overrides and computer overrides, have failed. As such, I can't recommend this release, unless you just can't find a copy on either Blu-ray or DVD to view. Given how incredibly distracting the bright white subtitles are on this unfortunate Blu-ray, I would say go with a DVD before this. Good luck.

Finally got to watch this 80s vampire film recently after years of wanting to watch it after seeing it on vhs in my local video shop way back in the early 90s aged about 16. It was worth the wait. Love Lance Henrickson as the lead vampire, and was good to see the late Bill Paxton (RIP Bill) in a very different role as the evil Severan. Adrian Pasdar, who I watched recently in the TV series Heroes as the president of USA was likable as the hero Caleb who falls for the beautiful and seductive Vampire Mae. Yeh would recommend this flm, hard to believe it's over 30 years old now, it's aged well

There's a reason why this film features in almost all lists of "best vampire movies". Which is because it deserves to. If you think being a vampire is about having power, lots of sex and money, a great wardrobe and having an all-round cool lifestyle for eternity you should probably see Near Dark. Being undead maybe isn't all it's cracked up to be.Why it's so hard to get hold of a copy I've no idea, it really is up there with the best of the genre.

A strange, sombre film, there's a reason why Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark has a cult following. It tells its linear story with strict fidelity, mixing horror, western and romantic tragedy to haunted effect. You may be surprised by how moving it is. It's not a typical 80s horror film - there's no real jump scares or busty teenagers - aiming instead for a more emotional tale which, like some of Wes Craven's best work, explores family dynamics, juxtaposing a savage, murderous unit against a traditional one.Adrian Pasdar plays Caleb Colton, a small town farmer's son. One night he meets Mae (Jenny Wright), a young woman who claims to come from a local trailer park. She's really a vampire, and in a moment of passion bites him. As he begins to lose his humanity Mae begs her "family", a gang of fellow vampires, to let him join them. The gang's led by Jesse Hooker (Lance Henrikson) and includes his wife Diamondback (Jenette Goldstein), psychopath Severen (Bill Paxton) and Homer (Joshua Miller), a child with an older soul. Meanwhile, Caleb's dad (Tim Thomerson) and sister (Marcie Leeds) go looking for him.What's interesting about Near Dark is that it needn't be about vampires, necessarily. It plays like a serial killer film along the lines of Badlands and Natural Born Killers, where disaffected psychos roam across a lonely world. Caleb's reluctance to kill for sustenance threatens his life while the family, except besotted Mae, tire of him. The gang, particularly its male members, are characterised as heartless sadists. Jesse's a Charles Manson-like figure and Severen's an obnoxious nutter, a role Paxton seemed to specialise in during this phase of his career (see also: Aliens and Predator 2). The most intriguing character is Homer, whose torment is that he's a boy with a man's needs. Diamondback serves as his mother, but what he desperately wants isn't a parent but a mate. The idea that while physically you don't age your personality does is one I hadn't seen before in vampire films. It's a Dorian Gray-ish conundrum. Diamondback isn't greatly distinguished, existing mostly, I think, to provide a matriarchal figure, but she still serves that purpose well.The acting's uniformly excellent, especially from Wright and Miller. Miller makes you believe he's a man inside as opposed to just a child talking tough, while Wright is a deeply sympathetic heroine. She's sad, lost and lonely, not quite sure of herself in a life she doesn't enjoy. Caleb's clearly her salvation. Their love story's touching in a way which recent supernatural romances don't understand. They're not wealthy, beautiful, priviliged mopers who scowl and whine; they're people adrift in a strange, barbaric world, bound together by chance.