20 Things You Didn't Know About Near Dark
19. From Aliens To Vampires
Kathryn Bigelow's career had barely started when Near Dark began pre-production, and the De Laurentiis Entertainment studio struggled to get their heads around exactly what she was trying to accomplish. She needed a cast who could believably portray a family who had been together for decades, if not longer.
James Cameron (whom she would later marry) had suggested a group of actors he had worked with the previous year on Aliens; Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein and the one and only Bill Paxton were more than happy to oblige.
The three clearly used the on-set relationship that had been developed on Aliens to portray the family of immortal psychopaths, chewing the scenery with a murderous synergy that pulls the film into cult status.