A farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars.
High-powered but pared down, slick but spare, this is a tale that introduces the unearthly into the banality of rural American existence.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
26 Sep 2007
fresh:
This is on the whole a striking directorial debut, at once scary and erotic, with lots of sidelong touches in the casting, direction, and script.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
26 Sep 2007
fresh:
Near Dark has filmmaking finesse to spare, but puts its dank characters on display rather than cadging sympathy for them. It is the Blue Velvet of date-night spook shows.
– Richard Corliss,
TIME Magazine,
14 Oct 2008
fresh:
There's a ghastly humor in all this, and Bigelow brings it out without overindulging it. Faced with a nearly repulsive subject, she makes the blood flow inside it, stream out over the cuts.
– Michael Wilmington,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Oct 2013
fresh:
Long after the picture ends, you're left with potent half-images: strong-but-vague impressions that resemble the remains of dreams.