10 Great Horror Movies Made By Non-Horror Directors

One of the most acclaimed female directors in the history of cinema, Kathryn Bigelow is a shining star of Hollywood with her award winning/nominated action films Point Break, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. However, before all this, Bigelow made a major contribution to the horror world with 1987 vampire movie Near Dark.

Near Dark is renowned as one of the most original vampire movies of the 1980s, as it shows the vampires in a sympathetic light instead of the devilish creatures seen in other 80s films such as The Lost Boys, Fright Night and Salem’s Lot. Originally pitched as a western before it was turned into a vampire film, its touching story or supernatural romance makes the audience empathize with the struggles of the vampires and their curse. It takes the villains and makes them sympathetic in a way rarely seen in vampire films. This original take on the vampire genre meant that the film was very well received in 1987 with both critics and audiences.

Unfortunately, however, Near Dark was considered a loss in the long run. It didn’t break even in cinemas so a sequel was never planned, and Kathryn Bigelow moved on from vampire movies to make a name for herself by making excellent films the male dominated 'war' genre.