Near Dark: The Night Is So Bright It’ll Blind You

Published on September 29th, 2010 in: Halloween, Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies |

jesse
Lance Henriksen as Jesse

My teenage friends weren’t as focused on the star-crossed lovers; they reserved all their enthusiasm for Mae’s “family” of fellow vampires, who snatch up a confused, transforming Caleb and carry him away in their Winnebago From Hell. Severen (Bill Paxton), the most voluble and volatile of the group, just wants to slaughter Caleb, but Mae pleads that Caleb’s been bit, and thus should be welcomed into the group. The leader, Jesse (Lance Henriksen, rawboned to perfection) allows Mae to keep her new pet, as long as she looks after him. Jesse’s woman, peroxide-blonde Diamondback (the criminally underrated Jenette Goldstein), couldn’t care less, but Homer, the one who made Mae, hates Caleb just a little bit more than he hates everything else.

Homer, as portrayed by go-to creepy kid Joshua Miller, has been alive for more than 40 years, but remains forever trapped in the body of a chipmunk-cheeked, greasy-haired 12-year-old, and he hates it like poison. While Severen is the most outwardly crazy and homicidal of the bunch, Homer is a black hole of loathing, jealousy, self-pity, and rage; I would have loved to know more of his story, because what we see is obviously just the tip of the iceberg.

The agony-wracked Caleb repeatedly and unsuccessfully tries to escape and get back home, where his veterinarian dad (Tim Thomerson) and spunky little sister (Marcie Leeds) are freaking out, trying to figure out what happened to their handsome, trustworthy, but restless son. Of course the cops are no good (are they ever?) and Caleb’s devastated family have to manage things on their own.

severen
Bill Paxton as Severen

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4 Responses to “Near Dark: The Night Is So Bright It’ll Blind You”


  1. Jo:
    September 30th, 2010 at 8:40 am

    A really great piece on a very underrated film – thank you. I must buy this on DVD.

  2. Popshifter:
    September 30th, 2010 at 1:57 pm

    I was a TOTAL “Lost Boys” fan when it was out. It was actually the first R-rated movie I saw in the theater since my parents were pretty strict about that sort of thing.

    I heard about “Near Dark” around the same time, but I don’t know why I never managed to see it until just last year. It is such an excellent film!

    LLM

  3. Popshifter » A Nocturnal Nomad: Near Dark With Lance Henriksen:
    September 29th, 2011 at 9:00 pm

    […] a special guest. This year, we were treated to a screening of what may be the perfect vampire film, Near Dark, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, with Lance Henriksen (who plays Jesse Hooker) in […]

  4. Popshifter » Mixtape For The Apocalypse: An Interview With Author Jemiah Jefferson:
    September 29th, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    […] else. I was also heavily influenced by movies, particularly the sexual menace of The Lost Boys and Near Dark, and later by my favorite vampire film, […]







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