7.0/10
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Near Dark (1987)

A small-town farmer's son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is turned on by a beautiful drifter.

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4,229 ( 550)

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1 win & 8 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Mae
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Homer (as Joshua Miller)
Marcie Leeds ...
Kenny Call ...
Ed Corbett ...
Ticket Seller
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Plainclothes Officer
Bill Cross ...
Sheriff Eakers
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Cajun Truck Driver
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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 | vampire | blood | van | truck | See All (308) »

Taglines:

Blood is our life, Darkness, our feeding ground and sunlight, our eternal damnation. See more »


Certificate:

R | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Language:

Release Date:

9 November 1988 (France)  »

Also Known As:

Aux frontières de l'aube  »

Filming Locations:

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Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$3,369,307
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Company Credits

Production Co:

,  »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

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Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Both of the two 1987 movies about a "family" of attractive vampires who lure a young man and make him into a half-vampire before he seeks a cure (Near Dark (1987) and The Lost Boys (1987)) feature a son of Jason Miller in their casts: Joshua John Miller is in Near Dark, and his half-brother Jason Patric is in The Lost Boys. See more »

Goofs

When Caleb approaches Mae for the first time. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Caleb Colton: [crushing a mosquito] Dumb suck.
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Connections

Referenced in Sleepless Nights (2002) See more »

Soundtracks

FEVER
Performed by The Cramps
Written by Otis Blackwell (as John Davenport) and Eddie Cooley
Courtesy of I.R.S. Records
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Frequently Asked Questions

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User Reviews

 
mainly for cinephiles
18 November 2015 | by See all my reviews

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.


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