Kathryn Bigelow’s vampiric western hybrid gets the special edition DVD
release courtesy of the great Anchor Bay UK, but is the film deserving of
the special treatment?
Young farm boy Caleb goes out for a drive one night and meets a mysterious
young woman called Mae. The two spend the night together but Mae appears
to be reluctant to get too close to Caleb. Caleb eventually coaxes Mae
into kissing him but she bites him just as the sun is about to rise. Mae
flees the scene leaving Caleb to his own devices. As Caleb nears home
however, the sun is almost up and his skin begins to burn. Almost home,
Caleb is grabbed and bundled into a camper van by unknown persons, much to
the horror of his dad and sister. What ensues is a road trip from hell
across America.
The film is essentially a Western and it shows. Brilliantly written by
Eric Red and Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, we are treated to many beautiful
scenic shots of the desert at sunset and sunrise and such other
conventions as a duel to the death between two characters in a deserted
street although the horses and pistols are exchanged for a pair of fangs
and a truck.
The film oddly enough never uses the word vampire and it seems that the
characters do not know what they are. The film does not add anything to
the vampire genre but has obviously influenced the style of such films as
‘The Lost Boys’, ‘From Dusk ’till Dawn’, ‘The Forsaken’ and ‘Vampires’.
The cast are all very good with Bill Paxton’s Severen standing out from
the pack, Lance Henriksen giving a good show as Jesse and the undeniably
creepy Joshua John Miller freaked me out as Homer.
There are many highlights in this film such as a bar brawl and the
aforementioned duel between Severen and Caleb to keep viewers entertained,
but the story and other elements such as the romance between Caleb and
Mae, and Caleb’s father and sister’s search to find him all keep the
viewer intrigued.
OVERALL SUMMARY
This film is sadly overlooked by the masses but is so influential of the
vampire sub-genre in subsequent years that it would be a crime not to see
it at least once, just to prove that women can make good horror movies
aswell.
