Disappointed There’s No Vampires in Oklahoma
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
I think we've found our next christmas card picture!
It’s funny how often I get asked this, which is almost never, but my favorite vampire film of all time is Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark. Key for me in this movie is the villains, played gleeishly by Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein, Joshua Miller, and best of all Bill Paxton!
Caleb (played by Profit and Heroes’s Adrian Pasdar) is an aimless shitkicker looking for some action in the Oklahoma night. He finds more than he bargains for when he runs into Mae (Jenny Wright. Mmmmm…..Jenny Wright), who offers him a chance to leave with her, but the price is very, very high. After turning him into a shitkicking bloodsucker, Mae introduces Caleb to her family. Father figure Jesse (Henriksen), the maternal but lethal Diamondback (Goldstein), eternal little boy Homer (Miller) and affable cutup Severen(Paxton). Feeling that the family is big enough, the rest of them want to kill Caleb on the spot, but give him a chance to prove himself. Unfortunately, their test is played out in a bar, in the movie’s best scene. It turns into a bloodbath, and when Caleb allows his victim to escape, the cops come on the run for the rest of them. Caleb proves himself another way by rescuing them all and earning their trust.
While all this is going on, Caleb’s father (Tim Thomerson) has been looking for him night and day. Caleb leaves with his father, realizing there’s no place like home, and after a blood transfusion cures him (Really, it’s just that easy? Sweet! I’ve got to give this vampire thing a whirl!) his other family decide they hate loose ends. They come for him, and now we get to see cowboy ingenuity pitted against vampire strength and cunning. (I’m not joking. It’s actually pretty cool.)
Tangerine Dream alert! That’s right, the music for this film comes from Tangerine Dream, scorers of such films as Legend and The Keep and the TV series Street Hawks (Wait…what the fuck?) If you’re into the synth sound, and who isn’t really, then this is the film score for you. It does fit, all joking aside.
One aside here. I have the special edition DVD for this, and the making of interview with Lance Henriksen is a hoot! He absolutely loved being in this movie, as well as the character he played. He’s even thought of an idea for a sequel. It’s absolute shit, but he’s thought about it. Also revealed on the DVD is that little boy vampire Homer is the oldest of them (though the idea is presented in the movie, with Jesse referring to the little boy as Old Man throughout) and made Jesse Hooker into a vampire during the civil war. (”We lost”).
They actually make for a charming, if not completely evil family, and you find yourself rooting for the vampires, not the cowboy before it’s over, which I’m sure was the idea.
So, let’s slap on’r boots, tie us up a lasso, and watch some galdurn vampahrs!!!
Posted on October 24th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Ha! Near Dark is one of my favorite vamp movies of all time. Not my very favorite, but in the top five for sure. Adrian Pasdar’s finest work aside from his cameo role as a cop in his Dixie Chick wife’s music video “Goodbye Earl”. lol.
I have to say Bill Paxton had the best lines in this movie and cracked me up throughout the whole thing. “I hate it when they ain’t shaved”. : D
I really like the character of Jessie. I admit I think I have a thing for Civil War Vampires, which explains my attraction to Mr. Bill Compton.
I thought the fact that Vampirism could be cured through a back alley barn transfusion. Do all vampires know about this?
I have to say it’s funny that you wrote about this movie today, because late last night I was up late watching cable and “River’s Edge” was on. That little vamp kid is in that movie and when I saw him I immediately thought of “Near Dark”. Very wierd.
Thanks for posting. Great review as always! : )