Near Dark: A Relational Story
Kathryn Bigelow’s action horror film Near Dark mixes the genres of a western cinematography with a gruesome vampiric flair. After being nipped by an alluring vampire, Caleb Colton, a farm boy, has no choice but to join a group of traveling vampires to survive. This film was released in January 1988, and had a worldwide gross of $3,369,307. What sets this vampire flick apart from your stereotypical vampire movie is the focus on relationships among all the characters, the tastefulness of the gore and gruesome scenes, and the focus on detail of each character’s background story.
First, and foremost. It is important to understand who Kathryn Bigelow is as a woman in film. Not only did she direct Near Dark, but she also co-wrote it. Originally a fine-artist, Kathryne dedicated much of her collegial education to the arts, eventually making her way into the film industry at the Columbia University School of Arts in 1979. She has won numerous awards, and some of them she is trademarked for being the first female recipient as well. What is ironic about Bigelow is that although she is a woman in film, she doesn’t like to be represented in such a way. She feels as though being pinpointed as a female director/screenwriter, that it takes away from the artistry of her work when critics and viewers try to find feminist meaning in her films. Although this doesn’t mean that Bigelow isn’t trying to break gender normatives. The majority of Bigelow’s films are genres that are generally male dominated, and she does them well. Her expertise lies in thriller, horror, sci-fi, and war films, and more often than not she has a male protagonist. Near Dark fits into this category like a glove.
When Caleb gets nipped by a beautiful girl named Mae, he turns into a vampire in minimal time. Mae’s posse of fellow vampires scoop him up and start to show him the ropes of survival as a vampire. Most of the people in this group have been vampires for quite some time, and occasionally allude to the fact that they aren’t even sure how long it’s been since they “turned,” as they call it in the film. Therefore, their relationships and personalities are super unique. The men affiliated with this tribe have the obvious masculine energy that makes them seem like an alpha, whereas the two women are quieter and tend to thrive as a wing-man. The only exception to that is when Mae stands alone, and goes under the radar against her community for what is right. An example of this is when she allows Caleb to drink her own blood because he is not yet familiar and comfortable with killing civilians quite yet, but when they are with the group as a whole that isn’t the case. She continues to encourage Caleb, but cannot allow him to rely on her in front of everyone. The bar scene is a prime example of this. She helps set up Caleb for a kill while dancing with one of the bar-goers, but doesn’t actually aid him in the process of attempting to kill him. There are many more points in the film where Mae is acting like a teacher for Caleb, which builds a stronger, more trusting relationship between the two of them. I think it is also an interesting aspect of having the man need the woman in this case.
Even though Mae might be someone who teaches and supports Caleb, which is an interesting role reversal, there is ultimately a man in charge, Jesse. He seems to have a lot of control over the entire group. Especially with Diamondback and Mae. Jesse made the decision to allow Caleb one more chance to try and fend for himself, how to handle the police, he often makes the first kills, etc. A great example of Jesse being the leader in the film is when Caleb’s family finds them at the hotel, and Homer tries to turn his little sister. Caleb ultimately turns to Jesse, and Jesse only, to beg for his family to be left alone and let go. All of these small details of the hierarchy and relations between the characters adds so much depth to the story that might not even be consciously considered by the viewer, but adds a lot of impact to gender and societal norms.
As to be expected, there are plenty of scenes with gore, blood, and all sorts of ailments that a horror movie is so partial too. Bigelow portrayed these moments in an incredibly tasteful and artistic way, which I think is a statement in the differences between the way a man vs. a woman produce this content, broadly speaking. A lot of times in horror movies the scenes that contain gore can be incredibly emphasized and sometimes might have too much of a focus on it. This might be fine depending on the message of the movie, but for some movies it removes emphasis from the main point of the movie. In the very beginning scenes of Near Dark, there was a lot of tension and build up of Mae and Calebs first relations with one another, and when they finally kiss, she quickly nips his neck, and runs. It is understood by the audience that Caleb was bitten, but the way the scene was shot the viewer is more concerned about what is going to happen next rather than focusing on the bite itself, which I find very artistic and a smart direction on Bigelow’s part. This is one of many scenes that is done very well in this matter. Some other examples include each time one of the vampires get a wound or are shot, or when Homer runs out into the sunlight and explodes. It is only adding excitement and horrific aspects without taking away from the story, which is very challenging to do.
When there are multiple characters in a storyline, many times not all of them get to have their own personal identities, and in Near Dark there are a handful of characters that share a larger chunk of screentime. What I mean by that is there seems to be a lot of connections between the vampires with each other. We come to learn that Homer turned Mae, we visibly see that Mae turned Caleb, etc. Due to them turning one another they have this bond that comes with an unsaid protection of one another. We never do find out who turned Jesse, but in compromise we get a slight hint on how old he might be since it is understood that their vampiric qualities seems to include immortality. Caleb asks Jesse how long he has been a vampire for, and he replies with an allusion to fighting for the South, so it can be assumed that he fought for the Civil War, which in turn can help us gage why he is so well experienced in survival tactics, and probably also why he is a very cold hearted person. We also find out that Homer is old, since he complained about being so many years old in a young body. This gives insight into the condition that they have most likely also stunts aging as well. From these aspects it can be drawn that the screenwriting in combination with the directing and story line has a lot to tell to the viewer. So much insight went into planning each character, plot line, and background of the film
All together, Near Dark is a successful horror movie in all aspects, even while including a subgenre of a slight western theme. I think the themes of artistic special effects usages, and the connections between characters and their backstories all flow together nicely. In turn this allowed Bigelow to produce a film that was not only scary, but had a great story. Whether or not Bigelow wants to be represented as a woman paving the way for other aspiring female filmmakers, she is doing so just by putting out films that break gender normatives, and in an artistic manner nonetheless.
First, and foremost. It is important to understand who Kathryn Bigelow is as a woman in film. Not only did she direct Near Dark, but she also co-wrote it. Originally a fine-artist, Kathryne dedicated much of her collegial education to the arts, eventually making her way into the film industry at the Columbia University School of Arts in 1979. She has won numerous awards, and some of them she is trademarked for being the first female recipient as well. What is ironic about Bigelow is that although she is a woman in film, she doesn’t like to be represented in such a way. She feels as though being pinpointed as a female director/screenwriter, that it takes away from the artistry of her work when critics and viewers try to find feminist meaning in her films. Although this doesn’t mean that Bigelow isn’t trying to break gender normatives. The majority of Bigelow’s films are genres that are generally male dominated, and she does them well. Her expertise lies in thriller, horror, sci-fi, and war films, and more often than not she has a male protagonist. Near Dark fits into this category like a glove.
When Caleb gets nipped by a beautiful girl named Mae, he turns into a vampire in minimal time. Mae’s posse of fellow vampires scoop him up and start to show him the ropes of survival as a vampire. Most of the people in this group have been vampires for quite some time, and occasionally allude to the fact that they aren’t even sure how long it’s been since they “turned,” as they call it in the film. Therefore, their relationships and personalities are super unique. The men affiliated with this tribe have the obvious masculine energy that makes them seem like an alpha, whereas the two women are quieter and tend to thrive as a wing-man. The only exception to that is when Mae stands alone, and goes under the radar against her community for what is right. An example of this is when she allows Caleb to drink her own blood because he is not yet familiar and comfortable with killing civilians quite yet, but when they are with the group as a whole that isn’t the case. She continues to encourage Caleb, but cannot allow him to rely on her in front of everyone. The bar scene is a prime example of this. She helps set up Caleb for a kill while dancing with one of the bar-goers, but doesn’t actually aid him in the process of attempting to kill him. There are many more points in the film where Mae is acting like a teacher for Caleb, which builds a stronger, more trusting relationship between the two of them. I think it is also an interesting aspect of having the man need the woman in this case.
Even though Mae might be someone who teaches and supports Caleb, which is an interesting role reversal, there is ultimately a man in charge, Jesse. He seems to have a lot of control over the entire group. Especially with Diamondback and Mae. Jesse made the decision to allow Caleb one more chance to try and fend for himself, how to handle the police, he often makes the first kills, etc. A great example of Jesse being the leader in the film is when Caleb’s family finds them at the hotel, and Homer tries to turn his little sister. Caleb ultimately turns to Jesse, and Jesse only, to beg for his family to be left alone and let go. All of these small details of the hierarchy and relations between the characters adds so much depth to the story that might not even be consciously considered by the viewer, but adds a lot of impact to gender and societal norms.
As to be expected, there are plenty of scenes with gore, blood, and all sorts of ailments that a horror movie is so partial too. Bigelow portrayed these moments in an incredibly tasteful and artistic way, which I think is a statement in the differences between the way a man vs. a woman produce this content, broadly speaking. A lot of times in horror movies the scenes that contain gore can be incredibly emphasized and sometimes might have too much of a focus on it. This might be fine depending on the message of the movie, but for some movies it removes emphasis from the main point of the movie. In the very beginning scenes of Near Dark, there was a lot of tension and build up of Mae and Calebs first relations with one another, and when they finally kiss, she quickly nips his neck, and runs. It is understood by the audience that Caleb was bitten, but the way the scene was shot the viewer is more concerned about what is going to happen next rather than focusing on the bite itself, which I find very artistic and a smart direction on Bigelow’s part. This is one of many scenes that is done very well in this matter. Some other examples include each time one of the vampires get a wound or are shot, or when Homer runs out into the sunlight and explodes. It is only adding excitement and horrific aspects without taking away from the story, which is very challenging to do.
When there are multiple characters in a storyline, many times not all of them get to have their own personal identities, and in Near Dark there are a handful of characters that share a larger chunk of screentime. What I mean by that is there seems to be a lot of connections between the vampires with each other. We come to learn that Homer turned Mae, we visibly see that Mae turned Caleb, etc. Due to them turning one another they have this bond that comes with an unsaid protection of one another. We never do find out who turned Jesse, but in compromise we get a slight hint on how old he might be since it is understood that their vampiric qualities seems to include immortality. Caleb asks Jesse how long he has been a vampire for, and he replies with an allusion to fighting for the South, so it can be assumed that he fought for the Civil War, which in turn can help us gage why he is so well experienced in survival tactics, and probably also why he is a very cold hearted person. We also find out that Homer is old, since he complained about being so many years old in a young body. This gives insight into the condition that they have most likely also stunts aging as well. From these aspects it can be drawn that the screenwriting in combination with the directing and story line has a lot to tell to the viewer. So much insight went into planning each character, plot line, and background of the film
All together, Near Dark is a successful horror movie in all aspects, even while including a subgenre of a slight western theme. I think the themes of artistic special effects usages, and the connections between characters and their backstories all flow together nicely. In turn this allowed Bigelow to produce a film that was not only scary, but had a great story. Whether or not Bigelow wants to be represented as a woman paving the way for other aspiring female filmmakers, she is doing so just by putting out films that break gender normatives, and in an artistic manner nonetheless.
FEMALE CAST AND CREW
Kathryn Bigelow - Director/Writer
Jenny Wright - Mae (Actress)
Jenette Goldstein - Diamondback (Actress)
Marcie Leeds - Sarah Colton (Actress)
Jan King - Waitress (Actress)
Neith Hunter - Lady in Car
Theresa Randle - Lady in Car
Diane Nabatoff - Associate Producer
Karen Rea - Casting
Dian Perryman - Art Director
Linda Nottestad - Makeup Artist
Jennifer Pray - Set Dresser
Eileen Winterkorn - Scenic artist
Holly Davis - Sound Effects Editor
Joan Rowe - Foley Artist
Kelly Tartan - Sound Effects Editor
Carey Loftin - Stunts
Stevie Meyers - Stunts
Lee Poppie - Stunts
Kristen Suzanne Raden - Stunts
Alicia Craft - Second Assistant Camera
Leslie Weir - Costume Supervisor
Sally Dixon - Negative Cutter
Vivian Hengsteler - Negative Cutter
Mary Ann Skweres - Second Assistant Editor
Grace Valenti - First Assistant Editor
Constance L. Hoy - Script Supervisor: Second Unit
Connie Papineau - Script Supervisor
Laura Cartwright - assistant production coordinator
Kim Deen - Production Auditor
Lisa Etherington - assistant production accountant
Carol Shapiro Janson - publicist
Karen Altman Morgenstern - production coordinator
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