Near Dark

So Caleb is a good-looking country guy working on his dad’s farm with his little brother, living the typical boring farmhand life. When he and a buddy go into the city looking for chicks, beer, and a good time, Caleb finds it. Mae is hot, quirky, and likes Caleb a lot…so much she nearly bites his throat out getting some hanky panky. Understandably Caleb freaks out and heads back home, bleeding out and feeling his skin burn the closer morning comes. Before he can reach his home, he’s snatched by a gang layered in thick blankets who speed off with Caleb in an RV with all blacked out windows. Odd. Turns out Mae is part of a nomadic gang of anarchist vampires, feeding and raising hell by night while laying low come dawn. Caleb is drawn between his budding love for Mae and the comradery he begins slowly forging with the maniacs but is he willing to destroy his soul for love and immortality?

Ok, this movie is a gem and I’m utterly pissed its a pain in the ass to find. There’s some legal rights dispute bullshit with it so finding it physically is going to cost you a hell of a penny, and streaming is a headache. I found it on Tubi- once- after trying for over a decade to track it down.

If you loved Aliens the gang will look extremely familiar; Henrickson, Goldstein, and Paxton did Near Dark right after Aliens actually. Bill Paxton (RIP) steals the show as a menacing, hilarious, and awesome villain. The acting all around is great. I love that the movie is a terrific balance between a western and a horror movie. I weirdly found many themes from Twilight as far as Caleb’s pathos when he has to fight the cravings to keep his humanity, just obviously much better and effectively done, reminding me much of Kaneke’s arc in Tokyo Ghoul (season 1) . I do like how they came up with a clever means to a happy, albeit badass ending. In the end, I implore you to go find Near Dark and experience this super underrated, near-forgotten gem for yourselves. May the gaming gods bring you glory Mr Pig Knuckle.