Every Kathryn Bigelow Film Ranked From Worst To Best
4. Near Dark (1987)
Bigelow's first writing collaboration with kindred spirit Eric Red birthed this cult classic; a fresh combination of Western mythos with vampire horror.
Featuring rough characters and brutal violence, yet sensitively made by Bigelow, it was her first solo directing entry, and she truly came into her own, creating a tough no-mans's land full of dusty faces yet sensual camera work.
A smart coup was landing a chunk of James Cameron’s cast from Aliens - Bill Paxton, Lance Hendriksen, and Jeanette Goldstein- that arduous shoot had already built them into a familiar unit and their charisma pops on screen as a gang of outlaw vampires. So large are their presence, it's easy to forget they're just the supporting cast.
Luckily then the central romance works; Adrian Pasdar and Jenny Wright create a genuine adorable chemistry as the naive cowboy that falls for a creature of the night. It all leads to a rip-roaring second act as Pasdar is taken into the 'family’, featuring highlights like the grisley yet darkly comical Bar Room massacre, or a cleverly subversive motel shoot-out with the police.
It's a interesting conflict thats wrapped up a little too neatly in the weaker third act, yet the journey there is one of the most memorable and unique vampire films ever made - period. Bigelow’s thematics of the 'outlaw family' are explored to some chilling extents, with their loyal camaraderie comes a sinking of the moral compass.