Near Dark

"First released in 1987, Near Dark is a vampire film set in the contemporary American Midwest that tells the story of Caleb, a half-vampire trying to decide whether to embrace his vampire nature or return to his human family. The film, an early work of the now-established director Kathryn Bigelow, skilfully mixes genre conventions, combining gothic tropes with those of the Western, road movie and film noir, while also introducing elements of the outlaw romance genre. Stacey Abbott's study of the film addresses it as a genre hybrid that also challenges conventions of the vampire film. The family of vampires who lure Caleb into their nocturnal existence is a central element of the film's innovative power: defined by a nomadic lifestyle, anarchic behaviour, a passion for violence, ambition for eternity, intense family bonds, and a gritty visual appearance. The vampires are morally ambiguous and undermine the class structures that have historically defined stories of the undead. These are not aristocrats but instead they capture the allure and horror of the disenfranchised and the underclass. The film is sumptuous in its aesthetic design, offering a nuanced and haunting presentation of its monstrous protagonists who stalk the Midwestern backroads and desert landscape. While it remains Bigelow's only foray into horror to date, its innovation showcases the creativity and artistic richness of the genre without sacrificing its visceral qualities.