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DVD AND MOVIE REVIEWS |
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Near Dark In the
1980's a film ended up on HBO and later HBO video. It was an obscure
gem, Near Dark. Its theatrical release was rather limited and
it was never quite marketed as it should have been so the most exposure
it received was on VHS and HBO. Not many saw it, those who did passed
the word and soon it was one of those cults’ favorites that just wouldn't
die. Now If
you haven't seen Near Dark, you should. This is Kathryn Bigelow's
<Strange Days> nomadic vision of a traveling pack of vampires
feeding off the American Highways. With a cast lifted right out of
Aliens, Lance Hendricksen, Bill Paxton and Jenette Goldstein, Kathryn
Bigelow debuted as a director. She conjures up a poetic tale of
vampire noir of a young man, Caleb played by Adrian Pasdar, being seduced
by Mae, played by Jenny Wright, into the world of the Nomadic Undead.
This
is also one of Bill Paxton’s
finer roles where he cut loose with that psychotic, hillbilly
finesse he does so well. The bar scene is chilling, funny and also
tragic. Watch what he does with a set of
spurs on the barkeep or smiles boyishly at a pair of girls that he tires to hitch
a ride from and later turns into a meal. But
the one carrying the most darkness is Hendricksen
Although he doesn’t have much dialogue, what he does have carries
weight with that baritone growl of his. Hendricksen is perfect for
this part with that craggy face, sardonic grin and feline eyes that flash primal glee. This film first
introduced me to Lance Hendricksen and I have admittedly been a fan
ever since. Jenette
Goldstein plays Diamond Back, the maternal figure of the pack with
Joshua John Miller as her “inducted sibling” who pines about being
old in a child’s body while chain smoking and cussing like a sailor. The pack ends up being a dysfunctional
family of co-dependant killers that prowl the It
is also interesting to note that the word “vampire” is never spoken
in the film. There is also no baring of
“fangs” or references to holy water or crosses. Bigelow plays the audience well
in this genre knowing she doesn’t have to insult fans by having to
explain everything. Instead she presents it like Caleb has stumbled
into a dream gone dark. THE SECOND DVD You
really need to see the interviews on the 2nd DvD with Lance Hendricksen,
Bill Paxton and the rest. Henriksen talks
with almost a sinister glee about how he prepared for the part of
Jesse, the leader of the pack and even how he describes the background
of his character, Hendricksen is quite inventive. If you are a fan
of Lance, you must have this movie. It is quintessential Hendricksen. Lance shares with morbid glee how
he toyed with a hitchhiker that he picked up traveling by truck to
the production site by getting into character. Bill Paxton relates
on how Lance and he were pulled over by a policeman and how Lance
kept looking at the cop as if he were food, unnerving the officer
until he let Lance off with a warning just to get out of the situation.
This is good stuff and the antidotes they share actually show how
devoted the actors were to the project.
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