Post by doomedbloodwork on Nov 28, 2004 6:59:59 GMT -5
Kathryn Bigelow certainly announced her talent to the world with the cult movie NEAR DARK, a neat variation on the vampire genre that shares similarities with THE LOST BOYS, a much more visible studio movie.
Small-town America is the setting as a young man comes across a lady in a street and decides to give her a lift with a view to making advances on her. However, when she kisses him, she bites him on the neck which then sets the scene for the tone and style of this film....
What sets it a notch above the norm is the way that Bigelow underplays the vampire psychology and unlike today's CGI-based offerings (BLADE is pretty close to this) it reveals itself gradually and impresses in it's use of more physical make-up and gore fx. It reminded me in some ways of the Charlie Sheen movie THE WRAITH.
Other plusses are the brilliant manic performances of Bill Paxton, Jeanette Goldstein and Lance Henrikson (in another of those TERMINATOR / Cameron connections when it comes to association (PUMPKINHEAD, directed by Stan Winston also comes to mind)). The scene in the bar is the key stand-out sequence.
It is also a telling reminder of the promise that a young first-time director can show before going on to bigger projects (not that some don't do well in that case)
Small-town America is the setting as a young man comes across a lady in a street and decides to give her a lift with a view to making advances on her. However, when she kisses him, she bites him on the neck which then sets the scene for the tone and style of this film....
What sets it a notch above the norm is the way that Bigelow underplays the vampire psychology and unlike today's CGI-based offerings (BLADE is pretty close to this) it reveals itself gradually and impresses in it's use of more physical make-up and gore fx. It reminded me in some ways of the Charlie Sheen movie THE WRAITH.
Other plusses are the brilliant manic performances of Bill Paxton, Jeanette Goldstein and Lance Henrikson (in another of those TERMINATOR / Cameron connections when it comes to association (PUMPKINHEAD, directed by Stan Winston also comes to mind)). The scene in the bar is the key stand-out sequence.
It is also a telling reminder of the promise that a young first-time director can show before going on to bigger projects (not that some don't do well in that case)