The BEST Horror Movie Recommendation You'll Get This Year
Why Near Dark Needs To Be On Your Horror Movie Watchlist In 2026
Released in 1987, and starring the aforementioned trio of awesome eighties staples, Near Dark revolves around a young farm boy in Oklahoma called Caleb, played by Adrian Pasdar, who stumbles upon who at first appears to be a teenage drifter (Mae, played by Jenny Wright). As the two spend a romantic night together, Mae slowly lets Caleb into her world as well as her big secret - she's part of a surrogate vampire family, led by Henrikssen's ruthless Jesse Hooker.
Hooker has been around since the Civil War, and has been leading his band of vampiric outlaws as they drift from town to town to feed and survive. Caleb, through his romance with Mae, now finds himself caught firmly between two worlds - the family and home of his youth, and the sexy, freaky and violent environment that is young adulthood when vampires enter the equation. It's a thrilling combination, but what distinguishes Near Dark most is its gorgeous visuals, with Adam Greenberg's nighttime cinematography - black, blue and pale - feeling like cold death contrasted with the baking heat of the American Midwest. Bigelow contrasts the night and day expertly, particularly in an incredible shootout sequence where Hooker's gang find themselves cornered in a motel, bullets penetrating the walls and letting in lethal sunlight bit by bit.
I haven't even gotten to Paxton, who delivers a delicious reminder of his talents with his performance as the twisted and maniacal Severen. He may just steal the whole film during one particular scene at a roadside bar (if you know, you know). I've had Paxton on the brain a lot recently - which isn't particularly surprising given how much of my spare time is spent thinking about movies - and part of what spurred me to think about Near Dark again was a recent first-time watch of Carl Franklin's One False Move, an intoxicating and brutal neo-noir which may also feature his greatest performance.
Again, he's absolutely wonderful in Bigelow's vampire Western, and it's probably why he's the main feature on its poster. He's a supporting player, but clearly the main draw. The main quick on the draw. Because it's a Western.
But why now? What about Near Dark makes it a perfect first-time watch in 2026 specifically?
Well, monster movies have made a huge comeback as of late, and particularly those that belong to old myth and legend. Robbert Eggers' Nosferatu remake stole the box office at the backend of 2024 and early 2025, and he's primed to pull the same trick twice when Werewulf arrives on Christmas Day this year. Add to that Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin's fascinating-looking take on The Mummy, which arrives this April, and it's safe to say we're in the midst of a veritable monster mash. What better way to make it a graveyard smash than with one of the eighties' finest monster classics?