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

Caleb and Severen

Meanwhile, Caleb witnesses some gruesome goings-on (including the film’s iconic sequence, where the vamps slaughter an entire bar full of clueless, unfortunate rednecks, one of them played by the once-ubiquitous James LeGros) and even goes above and beyond ordinary bravery to save his newfound vampire family. And yet Caleb doesn’t have a homicidal bone in his body, even at the cost of saving his own life; is that noble or stupid? Whichever you decide, it must be said that Caleb is brave and bold, loving and loyal to a fault—excellent boyfriend material.

The word “vampire” is never mentioned. They don’t have fangs (though they, like any of us humans, can easily bite holes through skin). Nobody tries to fend off any of Jesse’s crew with a cross or a piece of garlic bread, but something tells me that they’d just bat it aside and laugh. They do, to great effect, burn in sunlight; they are long-lived and terrifically strong; and one little bite is all it takes to start the transformation. It’s a vampire movie, all right, but it occupies its own gritty, sensual niche, creates its own vampire mythology and rules, and then presents a set of memorable, individual characters, each with his or her own goals and motivations. A simple morality tale, this is not. These vampires are “people,” rounded, flawed, advantaged. They’re real.

So much beauty, so much intensity, so many brilliant lines (“I do what I wanna do when I wanna do it”) and an ’80s cheesy-yet-haunting Tangerine Dream soundtrack: Near Dark is the definition of a cult classic.

Notes On The Cast:

Adrian Pasdar: After a long string of semi-awful low-budget movies and TV shows, Pasdar was cast as Nathan Petrelli in the much-beloved, much-maligned series Heroes. Famously married to Natalie Maines, the Dixie Chick member with the biggest mouth and the punk-rock attitude. Plays rhythm guitar in all-actor charity rock group The Band From TV, along with Hugh Laurie, Greg Grunberg, Jesse Spencer, James Denton, and Scott Grimes.

Jenny Wright: Also famously featured in Pink Floyd: The Wall, Wright went on to roles in various TV shows and movies, including Lawnmower Man.

Lance Henriksen: Well, hell, he’s Lance Henriksen! Aliens! Dead Man! Millennium! Piranha 2! He’s the man, you already know who he is, and he’s inhabited more roles than most actors can dream of.

Jenette Goldstein: A favorite of James Cameron, she’s had memorable roles in Aliens, Terminator 2, and Titanic, as well as small roles on genre/stunt-casting-friendly TV shows like 24, ER, Alias, and Six Feet Under.

Bill Paxton: Again, you know him and love him already. Half of “Fish Heads” group Barnes & Barnes (with fellow actor Billy Mumy). Currently starring on HBO polygamy drama Big Love.

Joshua Miller: Ah, Joshua John Miller. According to his thinly-veiled autobiography The Mao Game, he was regularly using heroin while making this movie. The Mao Game is a deeply troubling, well-written, interesting book; I recommend it, especially if you’ve always been curious about that freaky kid who was in Near Dark, River’s Edge, and that one episode of 21 Jump Street.

Joshua Miller as Homer

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