"Near Dark" Don't call it B grade! Origin of strong director Kathryn Bigelow

Bigelow wanted to make a Western.

If you just read the synopsis, you'll understand that this is a horror movie. In fact, there are many depictions of violence and splatter. However, there is more to this movie than just that. First, there is the love story between Caleb and May. At first, May doesn't have any feelings for Caleb, but she feels responsible for him becoming a vampire because of her, and this gradually changes into love for him. Meanwhile, Caleb, now a vampire, can't kill people, so he has no choice but to rely on the blood she shares with him.

This film also has two family dramas. One is the pseudo-family of the vampire group to which May belongs. The leader, Jesse, is like a father to his friends, leading them to protect the "family." On the other hand, there is Caleb's real father, Roy, who continues to desperately search for Caleb. In the second half, Caleb is forced to make an ultimate choice in front of these two "fathers."

"Near Dark" (c) Photofest / Getty Images

Another thing not to be missed is the essence of western movies. Bigelow and his co-writer Eric Red ( The Hitcher /1986) had always wanted to make a western movie, but no one was willing to invest in the genre, which was in decline at the time, so they found a compromise by incorporating the popular horror element. The vampire group in this movie are modern-day Jack Reacher, a gang of thugs who travel from place to place and commit crimes. There is also a scene where they are surrounded by police and survive by engaging in a fierce gunfight. In the climax, Caleb confronts his enemy on horseback on the main road, a scene reminiscent of a western movie.

To make this a modern drama, Bigelow cuts off the traditions of vampire movies. For example, gothic elements such as a weakness to crosses and garlic. The vampire's only weakness in this film is sunlight, and if that can be avoided, he can live forever. On the other hand, Bigelow borrows from Bram Stoker's novel " Dracula ," the origin of all vampire movies, a setting that vampires can return to being human by replacing their blood, something that has been ignored in many vampire movies.

Behind the innovative vampire movie lies the shadow of a famous director