Near Dark

Traveta reviews

Near DarkDistributed by
Anchor Bay Entertainment

• Cert: R
• Cat.no: DV12121
• Running time: 94 minutes
• Year: 1987
• Pressing: 2002
• Region(s): 1, NTSC
• Chapters: 25
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Languages: English
• Subtitles: None
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: No
• Disc Format: 2 * DVD 9
• Price: $29.98
• Extras:Audio commentary by director Kathryn Bigelow,Living In Darkness documentary, deleted scene, theatrical trailers,storyboards, still gallery, talet bios, DVD ROM screenplay andscreensavers.
  

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  Director:

  Kathryn Bigelow

Screenplay:

Kathryn Bigelow and Eric Reid

Cast:

Caleb: Adrian Pasdar
Mae: Jenny Wright
Jesse: Lance Henriksen
Diamondback: Jenette Goldstein
Severen: Bill Paxton
Caleb’s father: Tim Thomersen

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Here I am again, reviewing yet another movie from the 80sthat debuted poorly but found it’s audience on video. Just how this movie never saysthe word vampire, I will never say the phrase cult following throughoutthe review.

Anchor Bay has given into the onslaught of fans who want to replacetheir murky VHS tape. It isn’t like Anchor Bay to let their fans downand they didn’t. Anyone that has no respect for this great studio shouldtake a look at this release andMad Monster Party.Anchor Bay continuesto please fans and in turn have debuted a great offering for the largefan base this movie has acquired over the past 15 years.

Near Dark has a simple story but it’s complex and interesting charactersmake it enjoyable. One Alabama summer night, small town boy Caleb istalking with some friends. Suddenly he sees this beautiful girl and isprompted to talk to her. He gives in and begins driving with her. Aftera few odd moments, the woman bites him on the neck and takes off beforethe sun comes out. Caleb disregards it as nothing and heads home.Suddenly the sun begins burning him alive and an RV takes him beforereaching home.

Inside the RV are a set of vampire drifters. These are the real heart ofthe movie. We’ve got the enigmatic yet cool Jesse, then there’s thesexy girlfriend of Jesse, Diamondback, then one of Bill Paxton’s bestroles as Severen, Mae the woman who turned Caleb, and a boy that isolder than any of them yet appears to be a kid on the outside, Homer.They wish to kill Caleb but they discover he’s already turned.Reluctantly, they take him in.

Being a vampire is tough for Caleb. He has no wishes to kill for foodand Mae must help him out. The drifters give him one more chance toprove himself or he’s out.

This is a cool genre-splicing experiment which came off well. Mixing awestern with a vampire movie proves successful and gives the film a coolatmosphere. The vampires in this movie are quite different. They areweak against sunlight but bite marks are not on their necks. Never isthe word vampire uttered. Like I said before, the characters are whatdrive this film. But there’s some cool scenes in there as well. Watchthe bar scene and the well done climax and tell me you’re not impressed.However good it may be, there are a few flaws that should be adressed.Some scenes like Caleb in the bus station are screaming to be cut, butat 94 minutes it still works.

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Anchor Bay realized that this was one of their most valuable propertiesand pulled out all the stops for the video presentation. The transfer isvery clean with only a hint of grain and some hard to noticepixelization only on background objects. The only other complaint isthat in the beginning there’s a lot of scratches on the print but theydissapear once the film begins. Overall, this is one of Anchor Bay’sbest transfers.

Sound is presented in two offerings. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DolbySurround 2.0 are offered in English only. Both tracks are effective andI had no problems with dialogue interlacing.

Anchor Bay has put all the extras, bar the first one, on the second disc.Here’s how it stacks up:

Audio Commentary with director Kathryn Bigelow.:Would have been coolto see all the cast members return but still works.

Living in Darkness:An original all new 47 minute long documentary.Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic. Very interesting and features most ofthe cast and crew in a series of interviews.

Trailers:Two theatrical trailers are presented here. Both areanamorphic. The first trailer is somewhat cool but doesn’t give a hintto the overall story. The second while boring does give into the storyand is put together well.

Deleted Scene:A dream sequence that was shot in black and white withinfared to simulate what Caleb was seeing in the dark. Commentary withKathryn Bigelow is not optional but there is no dialouge in the scene sothis is fine.

Storyboards:Several key scenes are broken down to show the original vision.

Still Galleries:Several photos ranging from promotion to prop photos.Includes posters as well.

DVD ROM features:The original screenplay and some screensavers are included.

The packaging is quite elaborate for Anchor Bay. It’s cardboard but foldsout on a slip case with pictures of the actors on each panel. The firstdisc says NEAR and the second says DARK. Also included is a 16 page bookwith posters and notes about the release. A cleverly designed package.

The menus feature scenes from the film and music in the background. Theonly complaint I have about the menus, and this is on every Anchor Baytitle, is that the scene selections are only hinted by text. There’s notstill frames or anything. A little nack, that’s all.

Overall, fans of the movie have been waiting for the definitive releaseof this movie and here it is. I found it very enjoyable and the DVDpackage is put together nicely. A solid effort from one of the beststudios in the DVD business.

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FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALLReview copyright © Traveta, 2002.

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