Near Dark

Destroying the rules of vampire fiction set by Bram Stoker, Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark is a dust bowl saga of the undead that represents the best mixture of Americana and horror this side of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In Near Dark, our anti-hero villains (including Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, and Jenny Wright) are never called “vampires,” don't have fangs, and aren't deterred by crosses: they're just immortals who drink blood and fear the sun. The plot finds Caleb (Adrian Pasdar), an Okie farmer with no prospects, angling for a roll in the hay with the beautiful Wright but ending up with a bite in the neck instead and being dragged along for the ride as the pack traverse the Southwest in a van, chased by Caleb's father and sister. Bigelow and co-writer Eric Red place their vampires into traditional movie Western mythology, with taut set pieces such as a honky-tonk massacre and a face-off in a deserted street. Kudos to cinematographer Adam Greenberg, who makes the most of a film shot mostly at dawn and in the gloaming, as well as the super cast, which features Paxton at his most hilariously over-the-top and Henriksen at his most surly. Despite a slightly cheesy Tangerine Dream score, this 1987 cult favorite feels as fresh as ever. DVD extras on this double-disc set include a great commentary track by Bigelow, an all-new documentary, storyboards, and deleted scenes. Highly recommended. (D. Fienberg)