Near Dark

Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to other reviewer...version on DVD is complete
Review: I dang near didn't buy this DVD based upon the review that said a lot of it had been cut out...don't believe it. I watched the DVD this weekend and it is the same version that I have always seen, both on VHS and when they used to show it endlessly on HBO. If you are a fan of this movie, pick it up without hesitiation.

Rating:
Summary: "Near Dark" IS uncut!!
Review: ... the Anchor Bay DVD release of this masterpiece is FULLY UNCUT!! I know, because I have seen "Near Dark" on different formats over the years (the theatrical release and on different video labels) and know this movie by heart. So, "Near Dark" fans, go out and by it! It's finger-lickin' good!

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Summary: What SHOULD have been the Halloween Weekend Movie of 1987
Review: Sometimes, there is a movie that just comes out at the wrong place, or the wrong time, or in the wrong setting. It is often a very good movie, and, some-times, has an incredible cast. However, due to something about the release, the movie is not re-ceived very well at all. This was the case for the movie Near Dark. Much to the loss of anyone who has never seen it.

The year is 1987. On Halloween night, two competing vampire movies are released. The first, an independent film about nomadic vampires, with minimal advertisement and only a simple poster, showing a young man named Billy Paxton on it with his head split open, the movie name, and the motto "Pray For Daylight." The other, a Warner Bros. film about nomadic vampires, which was advertised to Hell and back, and starred Jason Patric and Kiefer Sutherland. The first was Near Dark, and the second... a little flick called The Lost Boys. Simply due to the fact that most people I know have never even heard of the former, while the latter is practically a household name, it is pretty easy to figure out what happened. Near Dark was completely shadowed by the Warner Bros. film, and hardly even got a second look.

Well, here is that second look.

The setting is the small-town Midwest... Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, something along those lines. One Saturday night, a young man by the name of Caleb spies himself the prettiest young woman he's seen in a long time, and makes the attempt for her. The young woman, a young girl by the name of Mae, is willing to play along, and even accepts a ride home from this cowboy stranger. She's not exactly accommodating, and the little bite she leaves on his neck before running off... an attempt to get home before the sun rises, and her "family" gets upset... leaves Caleb with more than just a bruised ego.

With his truck broken down, he has to make his way across a few miles of open country, and when the sun starts making his skin smoke, it's not hard to see where things are going to go for our young hero. And when the Winnebago pulls up to pull Caleb out of danger, and reveals Mae's "family" was actually a nomadic group of vampires, the plot really begins to take some amazing twists and turns.

To tell much more would be giving it all away, and, believe me, seeing the movie is more than worth it. But the least I can do is give you a quick introduction to the players of this macabre little play.

The first, of course, is Caleb Colton (played by Adrian Pasdar), a young man with a loving father and doting, if not a little temperamental, little sister. He's your boy next door... at least until a bloody little hickey shows him the dark side of the world.

Next, we have Mae (played by Jenny Wright). Beautiful young woman with a passion for life... or is it what's inside the living? A vampire of only four years, she doesn't seem so bad, and still seems to enjoy kissing as much as any living woman, at least, with the right guy. But above all, she is loyal to her pack.

Mae, however, is only but one member of this nomadic vampire pack. The leader is an older man known by the name Jesse (played by Lance Hendrikson). He's been around quite a long time, probably more than anyone else in the group. "Let's just put it this way: I fought for the South. - We lost." He's kind when he has to be, hard the rest of the time, and is the "leader" of the group.

Severen (played by Bill Paxton) is the next of our motley crew. A gunfighter of the "Old West," he was made by Jesse, and is easily the brute force of the group. He's rough, violent, but can play the Don Juan when he has to. Oh, and he "hates them when they're not shaved."

Another of Jesse's "children" is Diamondback (played by Jenette Goldstein), an out-of-luck Antebellum Southern Belle, with bleach-blonde hair and a spirit that outshines even her dark, vicious nature. She could easily be called the mother of the group, though she doesn't coddle anyone, by any means.

Finally, we have Homer (played by Joshua John Miller). He's a child of the 50's, and is still, for all physical purposes, a child of around 13 years old, at best. Though most of the time he has a very mature outlook on life, there are still times when he slips into his child-like nature. And don't mispronounce his name... it might be bad to upset someone with the spite of a child and the power of a vampire.

Whether traveling in semi-trucks, modified hearses, or even a van that looks like something out of "The A-Team," this group manages to find trouble at every turn... all of it by their own making. After all, when you drink the blood of other human beings, and live virtually forever, what is life but one big party? About the only thing I didn't like about the movie was the ending; it was contrite, fluffy, and left the audience wanting something more as the credits rolled on. But if you can handle a few little problems, I'd highly recommend getting this movie. It's worth the rental fee, at least, and the DVD has some special features that make buying it very worth while.

Rating:
Summary: Make Sure You Want This Kiss...
Review: Caleb is out and about late on a weekend night when he meets a fascinating young girl by the name Mae. Throughout their night together, Mae states that she is not like others and she will still be around when some of the stars fade away. This enhances Caleb's attraction to Mae and he wants to kiss her even though she resists. However, they end up in a kiss right before dawn when Mae is trying urgently to get back home. The kiss produces more than Caleb expects and it brings violence and death to his presence. Near Dark is an interesting story; however, it falls short in some aspects that hurt the overall film experience.

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Summary: Used DVD Near You in the Near Future
Review: Not only was this movie a bad vampire movie, it was one of the worst movies I have ever seen in any genre. A fuel-loaded semi blows up for no reason (other than it is required by the plot). If vampires receive a pint of blood during a transfusion, they are cured. And so on. If you need things to make sense to you, even in a vampire movie, you will be disappointed.

The acting is also wretched. Bill Paxton's performance could be his worst ever. And the two child actors in this movie can only be described with whatever adjective conveys a meaning worse than "wretched."

Are you a special effects junkie? Remember, this was a very low budget film. This is the first vampire movie I have ever seen that never shows anything but normal teeth. Whatever your level of expertise is with special effects--you could have created most of them yourself ("most" consists of fake blood and bodies that emit smoke).

I predict that the used DVD stores will be glutted with this movie soon. If you absolutely have to purchase it, do yourself a favor and purchase it used. I guarantee that used copies of Near Dark will be Near You in the Near Future.

Rating:
Summary: Finger licking good!!
Review: If you take anything away from this review, then please heed this advice. Even if you own this film on VHS, buy it on DVD NOW! This is how you treat a classic, the Living in Darkness documentary(47 minutes) is an absolute must see. Interviews with Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton and Katherine Bigelow are pure gold dust, their ancedotes told with relish and nostalgia and as expected, there is the obligatory back slapping, for once, it is all highly deserving. Picture quality is flawless, sound is as sound does but from the minute the warped animated menu contorts it's way onto the screen and that familiar haunting tune starts up, you realise it's been far too long since you watched this film and have presently forgotten how good this twisted little vampire tale was. Holding it's own against the powerhouse that is The Lost Boys, this title might as well stay seated atop of your DVD player as it's not gonna spend much time on your shelf.
Check out time indeed Severen!

Rating:
Summary: Extreeeemely disappointing DVD quality
Review: I have been waiting for Near Dark to come out on DVD ever since the format was introduced. Now it's out and I am going to stick with my VHS copy. The picture looks as if it was shot behind a sun filter and the color is lacking. The so-called widescreen is non-existent, losing part of the top and bottom of the picture. When I buy a DVD title I always compare it to my VHS copy to insure that I am in fact getting not only a better quality picture but true widescreen. My VHS copy is in so much better shape, I will no doubt watch that version rather than the DVD. The part that really irritates me is that I bought the DVD from Best Buy, whose policy is that they don't give refunds on open DVD's, only exchanges for the same title, so I'm stuck with it.
On another note, I have noticed that there are a number of DVD's that claim to be in widescreen but in reality only throw in the black bars to give the illusion of widescreen (check out Ferris Bueller for example). From my experience I think most of Paramount, Warner and Universal are the only companies that truly have widescreen formats on their DVD's, but even they have their failures. I don't know who does the screening of films when they are transferred to DVD but if I did my job that poorly, I wouldn't have it for long. I just wonder when these DVD industries will finally start living up to their expectations and release ALL movies in true widescreen?

Rating:
Summary: Decent vampire flick... But don't believe the hype!
Review: I hate to diss on this movie, but it's gotta be done in the hopes of sparing someone their hard earned duckets on this over-hyped film! I have been looking forward to getting a look at this pick since Maxim ranked it above even the great Dawn of the Dead within one of their schlock movie articles a few years back. Better than even the great DOTD? That's quite a claim! I thought I had really been missing out by having never seen "Near Dark"... Boy was I wrong!

It is not a total stinker... But to call this flick gorier than the legendary Dawn of the Dead or any of the Evil Dead flicks is pure fantasy and/or ignorance.... Then again I have to ponder how many peeps calling this flick so "gory" and "great" just happen to work at Anchor Bay who released this DVD? I mean is it possible anyone can talk outta thier ...that much? Anyways, the bottom line on gore in this flick... Don't expect anything more than some fake blood! There's a part where a character get's shot in the stomach, and all you see is fake blood on a torn shirt! What no entrails? How dare anyone comapre this to DOTD! Any TRUE schlock fan can name a thousand titles with more gore than this flick!

But gore is not everything... What about story?

I thought the premise was cool! These vampires cruising around mid-west americana in stolen vehicles... Blacking out the windows with aluminum foil and black spraypaint so they can cruise around in the day. But continuously I kept wondering when the movie was going to pick up! Then the totally rushed ending that basically smacks of writer's conveinence by rehashing part of the beginning like an inane instant replay! What? That's it? I guess so... And another title to collect dust on my collection shelf. No wonder it was a "forgotten" film! Well it will maintain that status in my collection. ;)

Pros? Bill Paxton I thought gave the only standout performance in the movie... He was really that damn good as Severen! The soundtrack by Tangerine Dream was pretty good... But not as great as their efforts for "The Keep"... But definitely an above average soundtrack for a low budget horror flick though. And the much touted "Bar-Scene" was by far the most interesting scene in this flick. Sort of reminded me of the opening scene in Natural Born Killers. But is this DVD worth the purchase for these few perks? Hell no! At least in my opinion! To sum it up... Does not live up to the hype by a longshot... And is rather a boring film. Not horrible... but none too great!

Please, by all means... If you are like me and haven't seen this flick, but are considering buying it based on the hype alone.... Do rent before buying! Call it "coaster" insurance!

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Summary:
Review: I LOVE this movie. I saw this movie for the 1st time a LONG time ago and was blown away! I rented it a couple of times, then it seemed impossible to find. When I bought my DVD player about 2 years ago, this was the 1st movie I tried to find. Almost 2 years later I saw that it was finally coming out on DVD. When I got it I called my husband and told him he was in for a real treat, I was coming home with the MOVIE. Within the 1st 15 minutes I became VERY aware that this movie has been chopped up. ALL of the blood, violence and gore that made this movie what it is was GONE! Yes, CUT OUT! Gone! The bar scene was butchered! All the scenes were cut, gone, not in the movie anymore. WHY?? Who did this to a classic film. I want to know who is responsible and they should re-release this movie with ALL of the scenes put back in!!

Rating:
Summary: one of the best vampire movies around.
Review: in my humble opinion this is one of the finest vampire movies ever produced. yes,its very violent and gory-but why watch a vampire movie if it isn't. the acting is top notch,the script is great,all in all it's one of the finest vampire movies produced in the past twenty years or so.
the whole idea of placing vampires in modern times and having them come on as cowboys and driving around in a rv was brillant as far as i'm concerned.
the love interest between the hero and the girl is wonderfully played out. there is not real sex in this movie,which if not for all the violence and language whould probably rate this movie a pg13 or something.i'm sure the hero would have loved to get the girl into bed,unforunately for him the girl is a vampire and has other plans for him.
there is humour laced throughtout this movie and if you listen carefully you'll pick up on it. it's really difficult to make any horror movie and try to play it straight all the way through.to have tried that with this movie with all the intensity and violence would not have worked i don't believe.
it's a wonderful horror movie and i am please to see theyfinally released it on dvd. i guess voting for different movies via amazon to put on dvd does help.
do yourself a favor and purchase this dvd.