Near Dark: Film #98 of FIlm 365

Saturday 10th December 2011

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Year: 1987
Stars: Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henrikson, Bill Paxton

I watched Near Dark many years ago, when I was about 15. I remember enjoying it at the time, but not much about what actually happened. So when I discovered it was being shown on TV I was keen to watch it again and remind myself of why I had enjoyed it first time round.

Near Dark is all about Caleb (Pasdar), a man who meets a girl but doesn't realise exactly what she is - until it's too late. It's a pretty traditional take on the vampire movie, but with things that clearly date it to the 1980s. Not that that makes it a bad movie - it's still an enjoyable story, and well paced. I'm less keen on the ending - it just felt a little too Hollywood for me.

I don't have any problems with Near Dark, but having rewatched it, I remember why I enjoyed it all those years ago - but also why it never made my list of most loved movies. The Lost Boys may be far more '80s, far less slick and far less critic-friendly, but it's a lot more fun and the vampires are just so much, well, cooler.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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I live in Bristol with my husband Dan (who I married in July 2007), my son Joe (born 2012) and daughter Jess (born 2015). I work at UWE (the University of the West of England) in Bristol as a Research and Open Access Librarian. I'm orginally from Exeter, so moving back to Bristol is a bit like coming home - especially as I studied for my undergraduate degree here (also at UWE). I love travelling and movies, although I get to do a lot less of both since the birth of our children. Although we have still managed to fit in holidays to the Isles of Scilly, Chamonix and a summer in California since Joe was born.