Near Dark
All actors and roles (10)
All team (132)
Short description
Caleb, a young farmer in Oklahoma, meets a girl named Mae one night and is drawn to her immediately. What begins as a kiss turns into a bite, and Caleb is pulled into her world: a travelling group of vampires who move through the country in a light-proof camper and sleep through the days in motels. Mae's companions include their leader Jesse Hooker, the volatile Severen, Diamondback and the teenage Homer. They expect Caleb to prove himself by killing for blood, something he finds far harder than they do, while his father Loy and younger sister Sarah search for him. Sunlight is the one thing the group cannot survive.
Near Dark was released in 1987 and runs 94 minutes. It is the first film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, who wrote the screenplay with Eric Red and whose later work includes Blue Steel, Point Break and The Hurt Locker. Adrian Pasdar plays Caleb, Jenny Wright plays Mae, and Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein appear as the vampire group, with Tim Thomerson as Caleb's father. Steven-Charles Jaffe produced; the credited cast numbers 33 and the crew 132.
Made for about 5 million dollars, the film took roughly 3 million at the worldwide box office. On IMDb it holds 6.9 out of 10 from over 43,000 votes, on TMDB 6.8 from more than 900. A critics' rating of 7.4 from 75 reviews places it somewhat above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- The word "vampire" is never uttered during the course of the film.
- The film was originally conceived as a Western. However, in the 1980s, this genre was not popular, while horror films were all the rage. Therefore, it was decided to make a film that combined elements of Western and horror.
- During breaks between filming scenes in the desert, Lance Henriksen, without removing his makeup and staying in character, would get into his car and drive off wherever his eyes took him.
- When Caleb wanders around town, you can notice that "Aliens" (1986) is playing at the local cinema, which also starred Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, and Janet Goldstein.
- "With the coming of darkness" was the last film released by DEG (DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group). The studio went bankrupt the year the film came out. As a result, the film lacked advertising support and flopped at the box office.
- "With the coming of darkness" is Kathryn Bigelow's debut as a director and producer. Edward S. Feldman (the film's producer) told Kathryn that she had five days to justify her choice as director. If she didn't cope with her duties, he would fire her.
- In the scene where Caleb lets the young man go, you can notice an advertisement poster with the inscription "Bill + Louise." Bill Paxton, who played Severin, was married to Louise Newberry.
- In the scene where Severin and Jesse set fire to the RV, Severin asks Jesse if he remembers the fire they started in Chicago. Severin is most likely referring to the fire of 1871, which left about one hundred thousand people homeless. The cause of the fire remains a mystery to this day.
- Michael Biehn declined an offer to star in the film because he disliked the script.
- Johnny Depp auditioned for the role of Caleb.
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