As she prepared to direct her first solo feature, future Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow wanted to film a Western movie but she found it difficult to secure financing and a studio to back up her vision. 

So alongside co-writer Eric Red, who also penned the horror film “The Hitcher,” Bigelow shifted gears to combine her idea for a modern Western with the vampire genre that had become increasingly popular in recent years, especially after the success of “Fright Night” as well as another film called “The Lost Boys” that was set for release that same year. 

Bigelow didn’t want to make the same kind of movie as traditional vampire stories steeped in gothic or even romantic themes. Instead, her interpretation was much darker and grimier than most vampire stories — in fact she never even uses the word vampire in her film. 

Set against the dusty backdrop of the southwest, a young cowboy named Caleb falls for a beautiful girl named Mae but he soon discovers that one kiss from her comes along with a deadly invitation to join her family…

In the latest episode of Rewind of the Living Dead, we’re going to black out the car windows and crank up the Tangerine Dream as we discuss the 1987 classic “Near Dark”…

Music courtesy of Andrew Scott Bell and Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio

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