| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Adrian Pasdar | ... | ||
| Jenny Wright | ... | ||
| Lance Henriksen | ... | ||
| Bill Paxton | ... | ||
| Jenette Goldstein | ... | ||
| Tim Thomerson | ... | ||
| Joshua John Miller | ... |
Homer
(as Joshua Miller)
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Marcie Leeds | ... | |
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Kenny Call | ... | |
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Ed Corbett | ... |
Ticket Seller
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| Troy Evans | ... |
Plainclothes Officer
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Bill Cross | ... |
Sheriff Eakers
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| Roger Aaron Brown | ... |
Cajun Truck Driver
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| Thomas Wagner | ... | ||
| Robert Winley | ... | ||
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>
The musical question is, with Bigelow behind the camera and big names in front, how can you go wrong? The answer? This is, was, and always will be a B grade film done on the cheap with a small ensemble cast. As such it does offer historical interest for cinephiles especially since the idea of looking at the "human" side of vampires was at least 10 years ahead of the curve and that deserves credit. Ditto for the fact that script -- which is sharp in some places and terrible in others -- does not even use the word "vampire" which, for the era, was a sign of great restraint.
However that said, the truth is that this is not really a classic and does not hold up that well over time. There is also an internal imbalance, the first half of the film is much tighter and more coherent than the second, as money ran out during shooting which, given the era and the genre, might have actually happened.