Kathryn Bigelow - Near Dark

0:00 Okay, Brad, it's October. Uh, that means it's time to watch the thrillers, the scary movies, the horror films. Have you started watching anything? Yeah? Absolutely, I mean I started in the middle of September because I think there's just some movies. Like you said, you know, you start off with your thrillers and then you dive into some horror. Uh. Like I said, we we watched Paranormal Activity the other night, which I was surprised that it still holds up pretty well, that holds up really well. It's it is creepy. Yeah, for what you say. We you know, we did a little Village of the Damned Carpenter. Yea love we love Carpenter on this podcast. You did you did Village of the Damned already. Yeah, we did Village of the Damned. And then last night we uh, you know, we dove into that Adam Sandler. We you know, you need a chuckle right now, and I think we all kind of need a little chuckle. And if you liked the humor that was in Billy Madison, The water Boy and Happy Gilmour, you will like Hubie Halloween.

1:00 You know, it's it's something fun, it's completely ridiculous. But if you like that Adam Sandler humor, it's definitely the movie for you. I mean, it's it's fun, it's lighthearted. If you have children, you can watch it with kids. I mean it's you know, it's something you can put on right before you put the kids to bed, before you throw on something a little bit more darker. But what are you watching? I went straight for the classics. I started off with Phantasm, which I for the first time, Yes for your request, well, you know, thirty years in the making, but we finally got you to Phantasm. I did Phantasm, and then I went right into Phantasm too, and then I went to A Cabin in the Woods always great. Yeah, you mentioned like you need sometimes you want a little bit of a chuckle that movie. Yeah, it's got some good scares, but it's it's funny. I just yeah, I love seeing I love seeing that one. And I gotta tell you, actually, this week, I think I'm going to dip into the vampire genre kind of because of what what we're talking about today. Yeah. Absolutely, So we have a film by Catherine Bigelow. Let's talk about Near Dark.

2:30 You've seen this many times, right, not just not many times. This was a hard movie to you know, even when it came out. This was a late night cable movie that you had to stay up for to find, you know, it was it was the only way that I was there labeled to just see it. I had to see it in pieces when I first saw it, you know, in the eighties. So it was this like a Joe Bob Briggs driving movie for you or I mean I had already been a fan of the Vampire movie and it just it was another thing to just try to dive into. You know. It wasn't very Joe Bob riduce because it's this one isn't very cheesy, you know, it's it's at all. Yeah, But the films that I think that Joe Bob Briggs would do or a little bit more on the lighter side, is like this was this is light, but it's also a very dark subject. But this one was a lot more fun to like get into, you know, with with the genre, the fact that it's Halloween and the way the movie is. It was it was just a lot of fun to rewatch this movie and I hadn't seen it in a long time. I still remember the cover art on the VHS tape at five Star Video. You know, because I was just I'm a horror junkie. I love the scary movies, and I would get the point where I just grab anything if I hadn't seen it yet, and I was like, near dark, Okay, this this could be cool. I didn't expect it, even even back then, I didn't expect to see a Western. Is it fair to say that this is kind of like a Western?

3:55 This is a full on Western vampire film. Is funny because Katherine Bigelow, you know, when you read, when you read about the making of this film, she wanted to do an Old West movie, and you know, you know how Hollywood is it that kind of rises and falls with what's popular, and she was flat out told no. But as soon as she goes back and interjects the vampire angle to it, it's it's greenlit immediately. Yeah. I mean, if in eighty seven, if you weren't Clintiswood or Lauren Kazan, you're not getting this straight up western made. I mean, so yeah, you definitely had to switch things up. And like that's the thing. It's like, horror films are a great way for a director to get the esthetics down because if you think about it, you have to worry about different kinds of lighting because you're setting a mood for a horror, you've got a special effects action. You get all of that out there with performances as well. So as far as knowing the blueprints of how to make a movie, horror is your best way to start off. See you mean you mean wait you mean as a director, it's I think it's I think it's a good way to start off because you're learning all aspects of what filmmaking goes through. You know, you have you know, if you're doing something like The Breakfast Club, you don't have to worry about so much as a facts or action or things like that. With horror, you've got to do performances, you've got to show emotion, You've got to do so many things in the film. And it's it's kind of like it's kind of like an audition.

5:27 I feel like when you know, when a director is starting off with a horror film, it's let me see if I can make a movie. And it proved that she could. She definitely proved herself. But you make a good point, I think, you know, like I think Steven Spielberg, and I'm not talking about Jaws. I'm talking about Duel, which is just awesome, you know, not a scary way. It's you know, maybe it could be scary. Uh, it's a thriller, definitely, But I just I'm trying to think like other big directors, like what you know, whether or not they started with like a small independent horror film, and Coppola started off with working with Roger Corman on movies like Dementia thirteen. You get Tommy Scott doing The Hunger and I believe it's like eighty three or eighty four. Yeah, Like it says, once you establish yourself of I know how to make a film, you know the design of a film, then later on you know and you can throw your your type of style into it and that can develop into things. So yeah, I think I think Duel is a great example. You know, it's it may not be considered a horror film, but is it a terror type of adventure? Absolutely? You know, it's scary. The more you think. The more I think about it, now, I'm running through my mind with directors and I think you're right. Like Oliver Stone, he did that what was it the hand?

6:45 Yeah, the hand Michael Caine. So, I mean it's a great place to get things going. Some of those directors choose to stay that horror route, some of them go a different way. So I mean, I think every good rector has got a good horror movie in there somewhere. So you mentioned you mentioned interjecting the room style into a horror film, and I think that that's relevant because when you think about Near Dark. One thing that I've always appreciated about the film is that Katherine Bigelow, she created her own mythology for the vampires, and her mythology that she creates almost turns them. It's a more realistic approach to it. You know, there's no garlic, there's no crosses, they don't turn into bats, they don't sleep in coffins.

7:34 This is ah. I almost feel like the way she interpreted the vampire. You know, maybe maybe you saw it a different way, but my feeling is these vampires, this this family of vampires, they're more like a pack of predators that are that are an endangered species. Yeah, and it they blend in a little bit better. You know, it's all the things that you know, you can go down your vampire check of what works what doesn't work in your mind? But yeah, like you said, this is this more straightforward? You know a lot of it. You could say possibly it was budget concerning, you know. I'm like, you know, if you're gonna do fangs, you know and stuff. We don't see fangs in this movie and really don't. And I don't believe the word vampire is ever mentioned.

8:22 Not once I watched this recently. You never hear single it's you know, I think the closest thing you even hear about the mythology who is it? Adrian Pastor who plays Caleb, he mentioned he talks to his dad about getting bit and that's it. You know. You never see fangs though, which is which is interesting. I mean, a vampire movie without fangs, that's you know, and it's it's a kind of thing. Was when you're going into seeing this movie and I think it even said it like on that box that you saw it, like five star video, you know, you're watching a vampire fang. You're you're not going into this movie going what is going on? You know what's going on? There are many she hints to many things. She builds, she builds, she builds, and you don't need to lay out like, oh, hey, so just let you know we were okay with garlics bakesed on her. You know, you don't have to send a list. It's just like, here's what I got for you.

9:16 This is just her. Like you said, she built her own myth out of it, and that was so good about it. Let me tell you what else is so good about it? And this might be Uh, it's surprising for me to say this because our first episode when we talked about Ridley Scott's legend, as you recall, I trashed the Tangerine Dream score on the on the US that it just terrible ruined that movie. But Tangerine Dream their score on Near Dark, I think it's one of the best parts of the movie they create. It's so haunting, it's beautiful. It's definitely got that that synthesizer eighties feel to it, so okay, kind of dates it to the eighties, which is okay, But I love the I love the score in this movie. Yeah, and it's dream. You know, I'm not a big fan of but I love it. And this this might be one of my favorite well no, not, maybe, it's definitely my favorite thing they've ever done well when we were starting the movie. You know, it's it's the credits run at the beginning, and I saw that pop up and I was like, oh, do I remember if I liked the score or not. And honestly, I didn't think about Tangerine Dream once once the movie started. It is a very different score. I mean the cinematography.

10:28 I don't know if you know, but the the guy that did the cinematography did the original Terminator. Yeah, Adam Greenberg. He's actually worked. It's funny you mentioned that because Greenberg, I think he's a great cinematographer this movie, especially just the fact that all the night shooting, and this is something I think cinematographers are failing at nowadays. When you see something that's shot it at night, you get at home, whether you're in the theater, you got you got it on your setup at home. You must have to adjust your settings just so you can see it, because it's just it's you blacked out this film. What Adam Greenberg did with his lighting on this is gorgeous. It definitely feels crisp. You can see everything. I mean, think about this movie. You know they what's called magic hour. You know you got ten fifteen minutes before sunset, ten fifteen minutes before sunrise. They had to shoot a lot in those little, those little pockets of time, and I think the movie's beautiful because of it. Yeah, I mean half of the movie looks like a magic hour. We talked about he had done, he did The Terminator this and that's just one more thing where I think you're gonna see a connection between Katherine Bigelow and James Cameron, especially with this cast.

11:35 I mean, yeah, you can't watch Near Dark and not immediately want to watch Aliens right afterward. You know, I don't think it hurts the movie. You know, I watched the documentary about it, and you know they talk about, you know, the Aliens connection, and they all really didn't realize when they were getting this stuff that it was going to be the three of them Janette Goldstein, Bill Paxton, Lance Hendrickson in this film. It. You know, Originally they were like, hey, we just did Aliens with James Cameron. It's a huge hit, and you want to go do a vampire movie. And then they read the script and they said, yes, immediately, immediately, we want to do this is this is this Katherine Bigelow just just talking to talking to Cameron and cherry picking from Cameron or is it? Is it Cameron cherry picking from her? Like who Cameron was established before Katherin Bigelow, is that correct? Yeah? Yeah, And I mean, okay, we all know that they were married. As far as what they used and what they didn't use, I mean, he was a producer on Point Break, he was a producer on Strange Days. I kept looking to see if his name popped up as a producer on Near Dark.

12:45 It didn't. Didn't see it, but I have a feeling he had his hand in it. Well, you gotta, you gotta wonder. So Katherine Bigelow is watching Aliens and going through her head. She says, you know what works, Let's put Bishop and Hudson and Vasquez. Let's let's turn into vampires and let him drive around Texas or Arizona. Where the hell they are? Who? Who? Who does that? Who? You know? I mean, that's there's such a great dynamic. And it's funny because you know, uh, Lance Hendrickson is so so calm and docile in Aliens. You know, he's he's definitely the weak character. And then you turn around and as Jesse, who is the patriarch of this vampire family. He's he's scary.

13:31 I mean, you know, you do not want to mess with him. You know, you were talking last week how you don't see enough of like an actor like Bruce Davidson. I feel the same way about somebody like Lance Hendrickson. I always enjoy when he shows up in something. You know, he'll show up, you know, for five minutes. Sometimes you know, a movie that's just not even like it's not great, but he'll show up in like Sam Raimi's Quick of the Dead for like ten minutes of the movie, and he he shines on the screen. He's he's got a presence, and he's one of those actors. He's got the very raspy voice. You know. Yeah, I'd say this one it was this movie was more a chance to say, it was more of a give Lance Hendrickson a little bit of a light to shine on him, you know, because I think, you know, even though another Aliens thing, it was originally offered to Michael Bean, this part the Lance Hendrickson parted kidding me, Yeah, so they were gonna Michael Michael Bean is originally considered for Jesse, and he says, no, yeah, but yeah, I love. I mean, he's just I don't know if it's the way he delivers lines or just his voice.

14:39 He's just got a very he's just got a very good presence when he's there, and as him is the leader of these outlaws, because they are they are out it really really you know looks and the cast is fun, you know, I mean, you were I mean we're talking about Lens Henrikson. Jeanette Goldstein. You know, she's obviously worked with Cameron more than you know. I think she showed up in Terminator too and stuff. He was she was John Connor's mom. Yeah, a step and I remember she was a she was a She wasn't Riggs partner obviously, but she was definitely one of the ones in Leath the Weapons, Yes, yes, she was. Yeah, I think she's the one that gets blown up in her swimming pool. That's right, you are right on that. Yeah. And then you've got then you've got Iron Eagles dad shows up, you know, and because every time I see that guy, I'm like, here's Iron Eagles Dad.

15:28 And then of course you've got, in my opinion, the star of the movie, say, Bill Paxton is just so I mean, if you wanted a sequel to Hudson's story, if Hudson would become a vampire, you get it in Near Dark. And as much as I enjoyed watching him and this, I got a little sad, thinking, like, man, it's it's just too bad that we get no more Bill, because I think that that cowboy, that wild boy mentality, he had that down in some of his roles, and so definitely here I okay, So I do want to talk about Bill Paxson and this. I don't know, because I said I just I just watched it recently. Again, I don't know if I've ever seen an actor have that much fun in a movie. And I'm not talking about him chewing up the scenery and hamming it up. I mean he's legitimately having a great time and even on the uh the audio commentary, if you if you find a copy of this on DVD and get and watch and listen to the audio commentary, Catherine Bigole even talks about how he did a lot of things on set where he was just trying stuff like in the in the bar fight or I wouldn't call it a fight, the bar massacre when he's when the biker starts choking him that that's just him improvising, you know, the whole life, like he's scared, and then taking the sunglasses off of the

17:00 guy and putting them on, which makes that scene. I mean, it absolutely makes that scene. That's just him improvising and having fun, and that's her trusting him to go with stuff. I love Bill Paxton in this movie absolutely. It's one of my favorite Bill Paxton rolls. And when he's doing that masker, I get this very uncomfortable feeling when people are doing something that they really shouldn't be doing. I mean, he spills that drink right away and you know, starts assault in the whole place, give me any you know, piss you're serving these look I'm like, wow, he just I mean he and the people are looking at like who do you think you are? Buddy? And I mean literally and Henriksson's line when he asked them what they want it just like it looks at him. He's like, just a few moments of your time, which is going to be your last. I'm like, oh man, it's a great it's a great moment in that movie.

17:56 And I gotta tell you here's something I don't know if you know this, so, uh, Near Dark comes out in I think it's October. Yeah. Now The Lost Boys comes out in July of the same year. And I gotta tell you, Bill Paxton almost feels like he could have been hanging out with with with Keifer Selling and that pack, you know what I mean, Like he has that that that that that dirty rocker look, that you know, western rocker look. But his attitude, I mean it almost like, you know, you could see him going into into either movie.

18:40 But I almost feel like he's a little too too much for them. I almost feel like to be like, hey, we're trying to keep a lower profile here, buddy, you're just we we kill people out on the beach. You're going right up into a bar and just tearing people apart, man, you know. And that's that's the thing I think when you talk about these characters, and you know, Jesse, he he's the oldest, you know, he's Lance Hendrickson's character was actually turned during the Civil War. I think they mentioned yes, lovey, yeah, like he's got that Uh they say, how are you? And he goes, let's put it this way, I fought for the South. You can definitely see you can watch how each one of these vampires. They're a family, you know in the sense that they travel together, but they all have like their own their own style.

19:27 Uh. You know, like I think like May and Homer kind of have like a tortured soul kind of a feel, whereas I almost feel like Bill Paxton's vampire, I think I think his name is Severn. Yeah, if I'm right, Yeah, Severn enjoys being a vampire. He has fun being a vampire, almost like you think of Tom Cruise is uh let's stat from the interview with the vampire. Yeah, he enjoys like he's having fun doing what he does. He doesn't kill to eat, He kills because it's for it's sport. He just has a good time with it. Yeah, I love it. I know we're talking about Bill Paxton, but he he is the you know, he's the shiner in this film. You know, he is the standout performance. And I mean this is also a film that and if you hear some of the dialogue that that Bill Paxton and Lance Harrison exchange each other, it's very Western esk. Like when they're in the gunfight with the police, they're very much like how many rounds you got. I mean they're I'm like, is this butch casting a sundance kid or is this vampire movie? You know, they they keep their guns in a holster there.

20:37 They're slick with them and they use like the six shooters, and I mean the way they're dressed. It's literally a band of outlaws coming to your town to raise some hell, and that's exactly what they do. So I got a I got a cool story for you about Lance Henrickson. We're talking about you know, they all have like a different look and just embracing the role, so to speak. So Captain Bigelow talks about this on the audio commentary, and I think it's one of the coolest and maybe creepiest stories I've ever heard about about an actor kind of really getting into the role, you know, like you you know, like the method acting as as you as you actors call it. Brad so Hendrickson, Uh, he has makeup do his hair. You know, he's got like that that like dirt dust covered blown back hair with like that that ratty ponytail. He has his hair done and his fingernails done because you know, that's another that's one of the that's one of the small vampire things that she does do is she gives them like the creepy fingernails. Yeah, so he does this, he has he goes into makeup, and then he doesn't fly out to the set. He gets a car and he's Lance Henrickson drives cross country to get into the the mind of Jesse, so to speak, because he knows that these guys are just like they're they're no mads. They just they drive from They're always on the

22:10 they're always on the move, right. Hendrickson drives cross country to the film set and picks up hitchhikers along the way, introducing himself as Jesse and kind of kind of finding the character and crafting the character and who he is on the way. Could you now imagine what is this nineteen eighty six? I think nineteen eighty Yeah, right, yeah, you're you're you're going down uh seventy five and you know, you just you just need to get to the next town. And and fucking Lance Henrickson picks you up, looking like looking like he does in Near Dark. I don't even know if I want to get in the car even, you know, I mean, we know who he is because he's got he's got such a great character look, and he's got that voice. But could you imagine getting in the car with someone like that looks like that, I mean, you're gonna get that's scan the shit out of you. And the thing is, I think I'd be afraid to wave him off too. It's like, if I waive this guy off, he's gonna be pissed, but if A go with him he might be so Yeah, well, I mean think about it. He's in like the some shitty shitty Winnebago or station wagon. He pulls off and you go running up and you're like you lean you lean down on the window, and there's Lance Rickson like how far are you gonna go? You know? I mean I don't know if I'm getting in the car with him. Yeah, but yeah, you mean, if you're gonna be hitchhiking and that guy's gonna be picking you up, well, And that's the thing that it's funny you say that the scene there is a scene where they actually pick up hitchhikers. I know, I love it. And now the only thing is that we don't really

23:45 get to see what they do to to the hitchhikers that try to, you know, take advantage of him. But I'm like, I really would have liked to see them go on full attack. And you did you recognize the one that gets in the car with him? Uh, he's he kind of has that that that moment where he's trying to intimidate uh Diamondback, who was played by Janette Goldstein. If you you know, he's got such a small moment in the movie. But did you recognize who that was? I needed refresher because I remember seeing somebody. I just cannot remember who it was, so I remember. Okay, So he gets in the back seat and then he's like he has the gun. He's puts the barrel of the gun towards her, like her collar bone or something like that, and says, we're we we got lucky with this these guys because she's so hot and this guy's so stupid. Can you see his face? Do you do? You?

24:37 Do you remember where you saw him? I don't recognize him though, But who was it? Okay, big spoiler alert. I don't know who he is, but I know what I know what he was in U cult classic Stone Cold, which stars Lance Hendrickson's Chains Cooper. Yes, that's the dude, Remember, like he was. He's the one that was collecting for chains and like gets blown up or whatever, and he like faces, gets all mangled up, and they go seem in the hospital. That's the dude. That's right, That's right. You gotta wonder, like, is that change. Is that Hendrickson's buddy you think, or it's just I don't know. For me, it was a weird connection. It was like, hey, I know that guy. He he got blown up in Stone Cold Start. And as you said, cult classics when you do a list, when people do their list of cult classic films, this is pretty much on the list every time. This movie is on cult films list all the time. Near Dark is, without a doubt, a cult classic. I don't think it made a whole lot of money, but when it comes to vampire movies, this is this is definitely if you're a bit, if you're a vampire fan, it's on your list. And I noticed that a lot of people that that did like the film, they really liked it, and they really it felt like it was kind of like their own personal movie, you know, like it wasn't a giant success, but it was felt it felt like it was a winner only to them. And and and and that's what's great about it is it is on every one of those lists, and it I mean,

26:08 it's it's a tough one to find. I mean, it's a tough movie to find. And it's always been a tough movie to find. You know, we've we've talked a lot about you know, if you haven't seen it at this point, Uh, it's not the Near Dark starring Lance Hendrickson and Bill Paxson. They're not even the leads. So let's let's talk about the leads here for a minute. Adrian Pastar so never really took off as like a big movie star. This guy's done a long history of work in TV. I think the first time I saw him where I recognized him.

26:51 If you remember that show Heroes, Yeah, I do remember that. That was something that they go, the guy from Near Dark is finally in something popular. Yeah he was. He was Nathan Petrelli and on Heroes. But here's something I thought was was kind of interesting. Adrian Pastar has played Tony Stark aka iron Man, way more than Robert Downey Junior has. Oh yeah, will that shock you? Yeah, he's he's actually he does the voice for Tony Stark and he's done it in like a ton of Marvel cartoons and some of the video games actually, which I would never I would never suspect that. Yeah, I mean he's I believe. I looked him up, and you know, he was a character in Top Gun that I don't really remember his kid played. He played Chipper, who I'm trying to figure out who is I mean, I think he was. Was he Hollywood's Rio?

27:45 I think maybe possibly could have been, I don't know. And then you got Jenny Wright, Oh Chitty right, uh, you know, I think a lot of people saw her from Saint amost Fire. Okay, I don't under stand this at all. So she first off, she's I think she's an amazing actress. She's so beautiful, and you're right, she played Rob Lowe's ex girlfriend or baby mama, whatever you wanna call it. She Felicia in and say Almost Fire. So you see her in that, you get her in Near Dark and that, like what else? Like where where is she? Like? Why why didn't Brad? Why didn't this this actress?

28:33 Why didn't she take off in the eighties like like a Phoebe Kates. Her look I think is very looks like somebody that's gone through a lot. You know, it looks like she has a past. You know, she's okay. So you mean like like like she has like like she's an old soul. You don't mean like she looks like run down like she's no, because I was about to say, why are you crazy? No, No, she looks more like a girl that has a backstory. You know, I Phoebe Kate's something like that. You know, they're very more smiling and stuff. You know, she's not a big smiler. You know. The last thing I think I saw her in was you know, Young Guns Too. She played the girl that helps Oh she's she's unredanizable because of her hair.

29:17 Yeah, she's got that big volume red long hair. Yeah. She she played Jane Grayhouse. She ran the whorehouse that Pat Garrett and Billy the Kidd went to. You know, I think she was the way they talk about her on this documentary, they you know, even Adrian Pastor says like, you know, hey, Jenny, if you're out there, I'd like to touch base with you. So there's this mystery about what happened to her. No One, no one seems to know where she is. She's obviously not acting anymore what she's doing, but yeah, she's she's pretty much off the radar. Yeah, Young Guns too. That was that was I think that was nineteen ninety two. So if that's the last time we've seen her, I don't know, I kind of feel sad about that, because, yeah, I think she's she's a she's a beautiful actress. As she was very talented. It's a shame we didn't see more of her in the eighties and the nineties doing doing more stuff. And the thing is, when you know, this movie starts off right away, and it was even Katherin Bigelow that was saying, like when you see her licking that ice cream cone and stuff like that, you know, she just looks so like, how do you not fall in love with her? You know, it was just she's adorable.

30:26 It was like she really didn't have to do much as the vampire to lure him in. You know, she's just kind of just you know, it sucked him in and that's you know, and that starts off right away. It's like some people might say, like, well it seemed a little sudden. I was like, yeah, but look at the way she shoots it. It's you. You would have to fall for this girl. Yeah, you got you gotta fall for Jenny, right, But that that's the directing of I think of Katherine Bigelow. I mean, you want to talk about like kind of her filmography a little bit more. Yeah, absolutely, I mean, I know, I know what my favorite Katherine Bigelow movie. But but you yeah, let's give me, give me the rundown. Well, I mean, but right before this, she did a film called Loveless, which you know just kind of you know, didn't really do much.

31:11 But that was in eighty one, so another six years before she gets to direct Near Dark. And then a film that she does after this. I don't know if you ever saw Blue Steel, Oh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jamie Lee Curtis ro love Blue Steel ro So, yeah, he was a psychopath in that done, very well done film, another one very hard to find. And then of course she goes one year later, she goes and does Point Break, Point Break, Yes, and she took a film that had, when you see it on paper, is you know, kind of a really out there, a little bit of a ridiculous story. But her directing style of how she handled this movie made you believe everything. We would not be still talking about Point Break years later if it wasn't for her direction.

32:01 I believe if I was gonna become a bank robber, I wouldn't do it, and good conscious unless I knew how to surf. And the thing is, you got to think after Point Break is when you heard things like extreme games, extreme things, people doing that all kind of stemmed from that film, you know they in it really took her to you know, when you watch this film and you saw that, you know, you know that she did it, you were like wow, there And like I said, doesn't work with any other director, not even James Cameron in the directors seat. So she does, uh you know, she does the horror film with Near Dark, she does the action, the summer action movie with with Point Break. What else? What else you got for after Point Break? She goes to Strange Days, which was a movie that was built up a lot and just didn't deliver. Never cared for it, it just didn't deliver.

32:57 It was talking about you know, the virtual reality before there was really virtual reality. But then you know a couple of years ago by a couple of not so so great films, and then in two thousand and nine, she gives us the hurt Locker. That's a she wins the Academy Award for that, right, the first ever woman to not only win the Director's Guild for Director, but yeah, the first woman to ever win an Academy Award for directing. Fantastic movie too. She did Zero Dark thirty also, right, She also did Zero Dark thirty, which I think I kind of like a little bit more than the hurt Locker. Yeah, Zero Dark thirty. I think when it came out, you know, the incident with Asama bin Land had sort of recently happened, you know, this one, maybe it's the second viewing that I had of it. You know, you're you're able to fall along more of like what you know, the Cia and Stuffer doing.

33:50 You know, it's you know, and what she does in all of her films, and you always see this, You're like, hey, I'm watching this and it's everything to be going really well. Everybody's having a good time. Something bad's got to happen. Catherine Bigelow knows right when to take the rug and pull it out of you as soon as something good is going on. Same thing in this movie with what does Adrian Pastor's character's name Caleb. Caleb, Caleb, Caleb Colton. I think once Caleb and May are in a point where he's kind of happy he got his dose of blood and stuff, and think, anytime things start to go good, as soon as you start to get this like hey, you know it's a little lighthearted, boom, she pulls the rug right under you. You know, and that's what she does that really well, you're absolutely right, so he I think when when Caleb gets to the point where he accepts what his new life is gonna be, and he you know, and he earns the he kind of there's a moment where after the shootout, he kind of earns the respect of the entire vampire crew. There, You're right, all of a sudden, then she she flips it on us because his uh, his his actual father and a little sister, uh finding Yeah, and he's caught between. And I think Katherin Bigelow made a great conversation about this on the on the commentary where Caleb has to struggle with his his night family and his day family. Yeah,

35:22 who who is he? Who does he elite? Who does he help hold allegiance to? And who's he gonna who's he ultimately on the side with, because he's kind of like, you know, it's like he's got two dads, you know, he's and he's trying to please them both. So you're right. He definitely in the motel scene when they have to standoff, you know, and he has to everything's going great for him and then all of a sudden he loses all that. Yeah, And and that's the thing. It's like Caleb at this point, you know, after the shootout has been on watch by Jesse and the rest of the crew, like, look, you make a kill to night, he won't feed. Yeah, And right now you're as the audience, you're like, Okay, I'm scared for Caleb, but what's gonna happen to him outside as a vampire? But these other vampires just might kill him as well. So as soon as he gets that crumfortble point where I mean, if it's Bill Paxton comes over to him and he's just like, you know, pretty good work and stuff, and everyone's smiling. And as soon as everybody gets Catherine Bigelow doesn't let you get too relaxed, like yeah, yeah, it pulls it out from you and yeah, and as soon as everything's going great, and he's like, well, you know what, it almost feels like you're at a point where he's like, I'm a vampire now I'm this is what I'm gonna have to do, and then everything changes right away. I hate to go back to Bill Paxton again because I don't want this to be the Bill Paxton episode. But I think my favorite line in the movie is in that motel when they had the standoff the little Caleb's little sister. Homer brings her back, not knowing that it's Caleb's little sister, and they're sitting there playing cards, and she

36:52 looks over at him and they just, you know, they still have that that charred look around him from where they were in the sunlight. Bill Paxson's still wearing the sunglasses at night inside the motel room, and the little girl she's like, you folks, sure stay up there, you sure stay up late, and Bill Paxson just nonchalot goes, we keep odd hours. Yeah, almost like like you know, like he's working in a cubicle in the office or something like that. I just I crack up every time I hear that line. But uh, and I like how they throw in little pieces, like when they're playing cards, they're talking about some of the stuff that they've done in the past, and you're like, wow, these guys, you know, these this group has been doing this for a long time, where they've been what have they seen? You know, It's it's nice to get that thrown in there every once in a while. There's a great throw it's a throwaway line earlier in the movie when they have to trash the Winnebago so that people can't catch up with them. They set fire to the Winnebago, right, yes, And there's that little throwaway line that Bill Paxton's character says to Lance Henry says, Hey, Jesse, you remember when we started that fire in Chicago, And I'm assuming that is a nod to the great Fire from what I don't I don't even know, ye from yeah, yeah, the big Chicago fire from like, yeah, I believe that is whatever, what it's gotta be, it's gotta be that. But a lot of things we liked about this Anything you dislike about this movie, Brad Well, I'll tell I'll tell you some of my other LIFs too, because we're like the shoot that shootout, Yeah, I mean the cinemetary, the way the

38:23 sunlight goes through all of them, and the that battle. It's it's great mix of I mean, when you want to mix Western and horror together, that that's perfect. I mean, the the effects of you know, of even though they're wearing blankets, a little sunlight's getting through, the little tiny threads of you know, weaving and stuff getting through. I think that is is so was was just so well done and very long act. Let me tell you about that gunfight. Okay, this is something you have got to give Captain bigelok credit to. So anyone, anyone out there that's been to the range, has fired fired a gun. I don't care if you're talking about a shotgun or a thirty eight. There's always going to be some kick to it. Okay. You can't pull a trigger and not feel a little bit of a kick in Hollywood when you're shooting. When you're shooting guns and they're firing blanks, there's absolutely no kick. You can pull a trigger all day on a gun it's firing blanks. There will be no drawback, there's no recoil at all. Katherine Bigelow knew that, so she took them to a gun range for a week and had them fire guns just so they could get the muscle memory down of what it feels like when you pull the trigger and that in your hand kind of there's that recoil action. She had to see that on the screen and she she had them go through that as a as a group. She had them do that so that they knew how to hold a gun, how to fire a gun, and more importantly, how

39:54 to react to a gun going off. And I think that's just the dedication. That's brilliant, and it goes and more than that, and it's something I want to talk about here in a second. But you know, they do that thing where they have to kind of get ready for daylight in the car. They have to black out the car with the foil and everything. She said, if you sat in a car and tried to do that, it would take you a solid thirty minutes to an hour to do it right. She had them rehearse that for over a week as a group and assigned like, hey, you're on spray paint, you're on foil, you're on double side of tape. She had them rehearse that for a week and they got it to where they could do the whole car in two minutes because she needed she needed that realism to say, Hey, they've been driving since cars have been we're you know, we're invented. They need to know how to make a quick cover for themselves, to protect themselves. And I love that because it's when you watch the film and they have to do this this blackout scene a couple different times, and it's it's not so much that they're doing it. It's that they're just reacting. It's almost like they're not. It's like a second it's like second nature to them. They don't have to think about on it. You know, even when you see someone hands someone, no one's looking, there's no eye contact like hey, or you take this or you take that. They're just handing it and it's it's all fluid and it's it's gorgeous. I love it. And they're doing it while still I mean, Lance Hendrickson's you and stuff with one arm while still driving the winnip and I'm like, uh, just very very very impressive. Now you mentioned dislikes, there were there are a few dislikes in the movie that that I

41:24 can guess bring up. Like I said, I I would have liked a different male lead Adrian start with for you, huh, I didn't. I didn't buy his accent. You know, he looked to city boy for me. You know it just as far as his vulnerability, yes, dead on. But I think with an eighty seven we could have found maybe somebody had a little bit more stronger presence. But you know, but you know, that's that's that's a very small dislike out of the movie. I mean, all in all, it's you know, it's it's it does not make or break the movie, no, you know, with him at all. And then you know, you got that Tim Thomerson who was the character of Iron Eagles Dad, Iron Eagles Dad. I think I think he had some did he do like he had a role like didn't have like directive video, wasn't the Whn't there was like the movie The Trancers. Yeah, it's like some cheesy sci fi series where he was like the main lead. I'm gonna stay in the age and past our camp. I thought he did all right, But if there was one thing the movie could have improved upon, yeah, Iron Eagles Dad, he definitely kind of he hands it up a little too much. I don't know how much. I believe him. Now what very what did you think of the ending? The final ending? How did you feel about the ending? Are you talking about like him curing them of yes?

42:54 Okay, so uh interesting interesting story here again. Catherine Bigelow is out to make a realistic take on vampires. So the whole idea of Caleb's dad being able to give him blood transfusion and more or less heal him much in the same way they end up healing may that actually is an idea that she got from none other than brom Stoker. So the bloodletting is what is what Stoker called it, the idea that you could basically nearly drain all the blood out of out of a vampire's body and then fill it back with clean blood, as it were, could heal you. As far as her creating her own mythology, she actually lifted that from bram Stoker and and added that because she wanted she wanted that happy ending. You know, you you gotta you gotta give these kids a chance to be together, because they almost have like that that Romeo and Juliet moment when he gets turned back and she's still a vampire, and you're like, how are they going to end up together.

43:55 So I like it. It's it's not something you see in other vampire movies. Yeah, you know, once you're a vampire, you're kind of you kind of unless you killed the head vampire, kind of like a frog Brothers thing and loss boys, you don't. Yeah, it didn't matter. You could kill Lan Sandwards and all you want, but you're gonna stay a vampire in this movie unless you do the blood transfusion. And you know, I buy it because his dad is a is a veterinarian. You know, he's taking and you know he's taking care of like what like bulls and cows and horses and all this stuff on the farm. So I know, and that's the thing instead of having him be a doctor and being a veterinarian, he knows more than one blood type. Yes, yes, so I thought that was cool. It plays for me. I think it works. My only wishy with is is that I feel like May really didn't want to become human.

44:45 You don't think so. I felt she was pretty, you know. I felt like that her being a vampire was an escape from something terrible in her life. And I felt like when she woke up and she's like I'm not vampire anymore. That I don't know. I thought it was a very very rosy ending for such a dark movie, So I completely disagree. Her backstory as she tells Caleb, she's in high school and Homer the young the young boy who is actually like in his forties or fifties, you know, because he's been a vampire that long. She tells Caleb the story about how Homer uh was was acting like a fifth grade or needing, needing help with his homework, and then he bit her and turned her. And then even at the beginning when she has that, she has that line, that really sad line. She's all, she's so enamored with the Scott, the stars and the darkness, and she's telling Caleb like, look out those stars, what do you see? You know? And he's you can tell he look the dudes, he's a cowboy. He's just trying to hook up. He's he's not really buying into what she's talking about. But she has that really sad line about that the light from the star that they're looking at, and how a thousand years from now, she'll still be here when it when it, when it gets here, she'll she'll be here, and I feel like she's she's a very sad character. She's very she doesn't want the life she has and uh, and I think that's why for me, I think that's why she brings Caleb into the mix, you know, to have a companion,

46:20 someone, someone that she can relate to. Yeah, and I think that's why they immediately reject him at the beginning. So I'm going to disagree. I don't think she's happy being a vampire at all. I think she's relieved. And when she does wake up in the barn and the sunlight hits her, I think that's just her her immediate reaction to I'm about to get burned and it's gonna hurt and then she realizes, hey, I'm okay, it's it's not gonna hurt me. So I got I gotta agree. I gotta disagree, Man, I see it a different way with her. Have you seen. I think I saw more people on fire in this film that I did in Backdraft. There's so many people on fire, which is very impressive for nineteen eighty seven, you know. Yeah. So, and this is one of those things where, yes, sunlight will kill a vampire in this in this mythology in Near Dark. But it's gonna be a slow and painful process because and painful. They're basically just gonna get barbecued until I think.

47:15 I think, I think they kind of create the reality that if you've been in the sunlight long enough, you will spontaneously combust, as we see several of them have. That happens to them and them, yeah in the end. But and I mean in Homer's death, Oh that kid, I mean the way the way he buys it is just I mean, sure he's probably fifty, sixty whatever years old, but it's still a child. I'll watch him just explode on my on my TV. But I mean it's yeah, I mean this is yeah, and I saw it was just like god, this you can feel the pain of them when I'm running down that road. Oh yeah, yeah, it definitely. I mean this is a gritty movie. It's a very gritty movie. You know, what do you think as far as vampire films go, in as many as we've seen, Okay, this is tough for me because I love Near Dark. Is it in the top It's not in the top five of all time? You know, when I think about the vampire movies, that I have to see this time of year in October. I'm gonna watch it, but I'm not. It's I don't expect people to be like, oh, when are we watching Near Dark? Because, like you said, it's a cult classic. It definitely has a following. But for me, it's one of it's one of my go toos, uh if only for the fact that it it's not your typical bats and castles and coffins type of vampire movie. For me, it almost it almost plays like a companion piece to The Lost Boys. And maybe that's

48:45 because it came out the same year, but I almost feel like those two movies exist in the same universe. I could, I could believe it, if that makes sense. Yeah, And the thing is the eighties kind of really reinvented the vampire film, you know. They was the last kind of thing that you had heard about with vampire type of movies were those hammer films. So as far as mainstream, it wasn't mainstream until you know, The Lost Boys, Near Dark, Fright Night, The Hunger. You know, the vampires ruled the eighties and I love a good vampire movie, and I love the fact that you can have so many different things you can make your own myth about it. And I love that if this isn't the okay check all the boxes of vampires stuff that we have to do in this movie, they didn't have to do this, and they did it in a way that I mean, you can almost say that John Carpenter's Vampires can you know, as kind of a spin off of this in some way, you know, of the Desert. And it's great that we have so many subgenres of the vampire film. So let me tell you one thing I don't like about not that it's not that it's a dislike, but it's something that I'm like some of you could so I'm like, well, yeah, maybe maybe. And I don't know if it takes away from the like some of the dramatic movements of the movie. But if I'm going to believe that these vampires have been out there on the road for decades and they've got their system down right, they know how to conceal themselves, I gotta tell you when you watch this

50:16 movie, these vampires lack a serious sense of urgency and time management. Not to not to sound like the assistant manager, but they have they have no time management skills because I feel like every time you turn around, they're like, shit, the sun's coming up and they have to immediately, you know, quickly. Damn it. You're a vampire. You've been doing this for decades, you know, when the sun's coming up. And like they're all like, I lost track of time. How how are you losing track of time as a vampire? Yeah? You and like how did you live this long? Yeah? You know this long with you know, I mean, come on, you gotta know when the sun's coming up. And they several times they are racing the daylight, you know, check it, check it into the motel or when they're in the station wagon. It's like, come on, man, get a watch we have you mean, I think we have internal clocks. We know when it's daylight outside or night time and stuff like, yeah, get get better at that, you know, be better, be a better vampire. Do you think that if if there was no Lost Boys film that this film would have done better? No? And here's why. If anything I think this movie was I would think the Lost Boys helped this movie because, as I said, like, I'm pretty sure Lost Boys came out at the end of July, Okay, and we know that's a big hit that would love Lost Boys. So if I'm if, if I'm going to the theater that year and I have a good time at Lost seeing The Lost Boys, and then I see a poster for Near Dark and it has that same, you know, contemporary vampire movie feel to it,

51:51 I would think I'd be excited, I would want I'd want to go see it. I don't know, I don't I don't know if Lost Boys helped it or hurt it. But it's a good it's a good thing to to ponder. Yeah, I mean it's I kind of see this as you know how You've got something like an American werewolf in London, which is great, but then you also have something like The Howling, which is, well, this is a horror werewolf movie too, and we kind of do some of the same thing as far as effects and stuff, you know, kind of like the give Us Give Us a Shot too, you know. Yeah, And maybe it's because, like The Lost Boys, it has a more comedic feel to it. Yeah, Near Dark does not have that at all.

52:32 It's more of a you know, it's yeah, it's a Western, it's it's a vampire movie, but it's also it takes itself. Seriously, you know, does it? It doesn't cheese it up the way The Lost Boys does it to an extent. Yeah, okay, So let me ask you this. Clearly, Catherine Bigelow is not finished. She's got a long career. However, so let me ask you this, based on what you've seen her do, what what do you want to see her do next? Or what would you like to see Captain Bigelow do? Well? I mean as much as I say now that I want her to kind of do something else besides the you know, war type of films. It looks like one of her next projects is going to be some bagdad film. But I think after doing you know, stuff like The hurt Locker and Zero Dark thirty, she's spread out to where I would like to see something different. Maybe not an action film, you know, maybe something more you know, I didn't see the movie that Detroit, but something with maybe not so much of a of a history lesson you know in it, you know, something just you know, not a based on a true story, no more based on a true stories is what I'd like to see from Katherine Bigger. I'd like to see, you know, because you know, she's one of the co writers of the script of Near Dark. So I would like to see her, you know, attempts another original material type of type of film, if I have my pick. And Katherine, if you're listening, if you hear this, someone at Warner Brothers and DC need to get a hold of her. Now,

54:04 hold on. I know you're gonna think. I know you're I know you're kind of sick of the whole superhero thing. But I would love to see Katherine Bigelow do a zay Tanna film for for DC the DC movies now. And I don't know if you're familiar with her, She's one. She is one of the most badass female superheroes in the DC universe. She's the Magician. I don't know if you ever maybe you've seen it in Justice League or I've seen it Smallville. Yeah, so I would love to see Katherine Bigelow do Aza Tana film for for the DC unit. Well, I don't know if they don't, if they're still calling with the DC you extended Universal, whatever, whatever the case may be. But but give us another strong female superhero, give us a strong female director to do it. Katherine Bigelow Zatanna. Yeah, And if Katherine Bigelow, you know, really started the women director movement for more modern generation. You know, you don't have Greta Gerwig, you don't have Petty Jenkins. You know, you don't have some of these people without Katherine Bigelow. And she really is, you know, she's a trailbraiser because not only does she win the Academy Award for Best Director, not she beats her ex husband, who the last time he was nominated for Academy Award swept everybody. Do you know how satisfying that probably made her feel. It's somebody to be able to say, like, yeah, I'm up against my ex husband who last time he was here Klinghouse, but I'm

55:34 gonna take him down with my little war film she did. You know what else I love about her? If someone says, hey, what's your favorite rom com that Katherine Bigelow did, the answer is none, because she doesn't do that that bullshit. You know, she doesn't. She doesn't just accept like you know, and I think this is something that that female directors are definitely getting away from. But you know, Katherine Bigelow has taken like if you look at all of her body of work, you know, it's it's stuff that you typically wouldn't see a female director tackle. And uh, and I love that about her. You know, she can make She's proven that she can make a better war film, she can make a better you know, horror film, she can she can do drama better. It's not it's not about you know, who she is, It's about what what her talent is. And that's what That's one thing I just I love about her movies.

56:27 And I always get excited when I hear she's she's got a new one coming out. And the thing is, I don't think we've seen her best yet. I think the best is yet to come. I would agree. I would definitely agree. I think the more I've seen, when you go from just something like her Locker to Zero Dark thirty, you see a director improving, And I think she is going to get better and better and and and once again gonna open just the floodgates, you know, to for women directors, which you know definitely needs to be done, because I mean, she makes movies that balls, in my opinion, Point Break has balls. You know, it's it's a very you know, you watch that movie like that's a very macho film. You know it's and that's what's what's great about it. I mean, yeah, I can't wait to see what she does next. Yeah, she doesn't need to do a rob com if that's your thing, no problem. She wants to do her own thing, and I love her for that. I think she's absolutely absolutely Yeah, shout Factory needs to give us like a steelbook or you know, lithograph cover something with some some killer extras. Come on, shout Factory, help help us out.

57:35 Yeah. But the thing is, even when it was just on video, it was still a very difficult movie to find. Cult classic that's what that's what they do. Yeah, and uh so, but I mean, like I said, this one, this one was fun to watch. I mean I really I had a lot of fun watching this movie. For those listen out there, I mentioned our email address and the Facebook page if you're trying to find the podcast, Uh, it's on all of your favorite streaming platforms, Apple, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, iHeart Radio. Check us out on Twitter at a film by podcast. Same thing with Facebook. If there's if you have questions, if you have comments, if you have if you have requests, let us know because we're listening. And uh, well, we'll check out the movies you want to hear about. Yeah, and so far the comments that we've god have been great. You guys have given us a lot to a ponder about. Let's just say that, you know, we've we've been talking about your guys comments. So you guys have got some good ones. But keep it up. Please, more and more, please, we love it. Keep them coming, all right? Well, Brad, anything else about it? Near dark? It's near dark now where I'm at, So it's it's getting near dark. What I say is that if you know someone that has a copy, give it a try. Like I said, it is a tough one, tough one to find, but I think eventually it will be available for more to see and just see what a what a fun movie that it is, how fantastic Bill Paxton is, and it what a great job Kathermer Bigelow does writing and directing the film.

59:07 It's it's I mean, it's it's a lot of fun because it is different. It's it's not mainstream, and that's what's the fun part about it. All right. Well, I have been Jeff Johnson and I'm Brad Cozo and we'll see you next time, all right. Thanks, guys,