Near Dark

Bigelow’s acclaim flop horror-Western about a bumpkin falling in with a coterie of ne’er-do-well vampires never stood a chance at the box office being released so close to “The Lost Boys”. For as good as that film is, “Near Dark” is better, an efficient and wonderfully shot piece of Gothic terror with a killer soundtrack and a game cast, though Paxton steals the show, that is occasionally undercut by odd direction and editing (one character’s tragic end is undercut by an inexplicable explosion) but is mostly successful at everything it sets out to do. Worth the trouble to watch it.

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