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Near Dark (1987)

7.0
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Ratings: 7.0/10 from 18,529 users  
Reviews: 195 user | 141 critic

A young man reluctantly joins a travelling "family" of evil vampires, when the girl he'd tried to seduce is part of that group.

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Title: Near Dark (1987)

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
...
...
Mae
...
...
...
...
...
Homer (as Joshua Miller)
Marcie Leeds ...
Kenny Call ...
Ed Corbett ...
...
Bill Cross ...
...
Cajun Truck Driver
Thomas Wagner ...
Robert Winley ...
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Storyline

A mid-western farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of southern vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars. Part of his initiation includes a bloody assault on a hick bar. Written by Keith Loh <loh@sfu.ca>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

farm | blood | vampire | truck | bar | See more »

Taglines:

...pray for daylight. See more »

Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

2 October 1987 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

Cuando cae la oscuridad  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$3,369,307 (USA)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (cut)

Sound Mix:

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See  »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Was the last movie produced and released by DEG (DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group) as the studio went bankrupt. As a result, the film did not receive much publicity during its release in the fall of 1987 which lead, in turn, to its box office failure. See more »

Goofs

When Caleb shows Mae the horse, the man holding the animal when it rears is clearly not Adrian Pasdar. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Caleb Colton: [crushing a mosquito] Dumb suck.
See more »

Connections

Referenced in Habit (1995) See more »

Soundtracks

"THE COWBOY RIDES AWAY"
Performed by George Strait
Written by Sonny Throckmorten and Casey Kelly
Courtesy of MCA Records
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
and they didn't even say the 'V' word!
14 January 2006 | by (Brentwood, USA) – See all my reviews

One of the best modern vampire flicks around is this stylish, funny, and all around adventurous cult classic.

Young cowboy is literally bitten by a beautiful stranger and ends up joining a band of blood-suckers who roam the American heartland.

Although Near Dark is often over-shadowed by the ultra-hip vampire movie The Lost Boys (1987), Near Dark is a far more juicier treat for horror fans. Eric Red, who also wrote The Hitcher (1986), gives us a seemingly old-fashioned tale of struggle between human nature and savage lust with a nicely spun sense of modernism. Not to mention plenty of touches of dark humor. It's a story that does well with avoiding the obvious clichés of the vampire genre. Director Kathryn Bigelow gives this film terrific style, not only adding scenic beauty but sharply creating plenty of intense action sequences. Near Dark also packs some great makeup FX and occasional gore. The entire sequence in the bar has became a favorite among many. Adding even more to the film is the beautiful music score by Tangerine Dream.

The cast is quite good. Adrian Pasdar is believable as our formerly-human hero. Lance Henriksen is genuine in his role as the leader of the vamp' band. However it's young Bill Paxton who does most of the scene stealing (and the comic relief) as a scary, yet cheeky vampire thug.

A modern vamp classic that delivers on all levels, Near Dark firmly remains a favorite of the genre and one of the most entertaining horror films of the 80's.

**** out of ****


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How it should have ended betelgeuse-5
Who's your favorite Near Dark character? SleepKills
What makes the Vampires of Near Dark so unique? celestialphoenixreborn
the infamous bar scene... endingtheworld
remake!!!????... avo4077
To bad they couldn't finish the film neon_bunny
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