Near Dark

Near Dark (1987)

  • 90% of critics liked it
    (41 reviews)

  • 72% of users liked it
    (22,318 ratings)

In Kathryn Bigelow's tale of vampires in the American Southwest, the creatures of the night aren't elegant, cloaked aristocrats. They're a gun-toting gang that dresses and acts like a motorcycle gang. Caleb (Adrian Pasdar), a restless young man from a small farm town, meets an alluring drifter named… More

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R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By
Kathryn Bigelow
Genres
Western, Horror, Romance, Mystery & Suspense
In Theaters
Oct 2, 1987 Wide
On DVD
Sep 10, 2002
Lions Gate Films

Critic Reviews

  • , TIME Magazine

    Near Dark has filmmaking finesse to spare, but puts its dank characters on display rather than cadging sympathy for them. It is the Blue Velvet of date-night spook shows.

  • Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

    This is on the whole a striking directorial debut, at once scary and erotic, with lots of sidelong touches in the casting, direction, and script.

  • Variety Staff, Variety

    High-powered but pared down, slick but spare, this is a tale that introduces the unearthly into the banality of rural American existence.

  • Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

    Bigelow's artful handling of the magic and menace of the night is hauntingly apparent.

  • Caryn James, New York Times

    You might call this the scattershot school of film making.

Read all 17 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • Reid V


    A sexually charged tale of vampirism created decades before it was considered vogue by Pattinson-worshiping pre-teens. When young Caleb is picked up by a marauding band of night-walkers, he is forced to learn how to survive in his new skin without abandoning what he knows to be… More

  • Phil H


    Hell yeah, what a cast! my dream team almost, Paxton, Henriksen, Goldstein, Wright, perfect. I dont like the desert feel for the vamps but this is still an awesome bloodsucker. The classic bar scene is violent and sadistic yet you wanna join them haha Wright is cute and Henriksen… More

  • Anthony L


    Near Dark's influence is quite vast when you think about it, bizarre though too as it is so overlooked and very underrated. It's unfair that it has lived in the shadows of The Lost Boys for so long as it is a much better film. Alas, it is always going to be hovering in… More

  • Randy T


    Technically it's a 2 star film, but <i>Near Dark</i> has enough cult panache to elevate it above its means.

  • AJ V


    A surprisingly fantastic vampire movie full of action and romance. This is what Twilight should have been like. Although I think Lost Boys is the best vampire flick of the decade, this one is a close second, it's got a great story and it's more serious than Lost Boys. I… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Cast

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