Vampires (pt. II)
Lili’s Pick: Near Dark
Lanie’s Pick: Ganja & Hess
As we ventured through the endless rolodex of horror films, we came across many vampire movies we’d like to sink our teeth into, but it was ultimately Ganja & Hess and Near Dark that won our hearts and our necks. Romance always seems to play a role in vampire narratives, but the story of Ganja & Hess is not your typical vamp love affair. This elegant and mesmerizing film is unique in its approach to vampires, in that the vampires here are refined, poetic, and Black. Apart from Blade and Blacula and the Queen of the Damned, we seldom see vampires of color, unfortunately because too many writers have failed to deviate from the lore that maintains vampires as pale, Anglo-Saxon creatures of the white—I mean night. Someone could write a whole book based on the horror genre’s complicated relationship with Black people, as this dearth of color and culture is a reoccurring problem. Ganja & Hess was dreamy and weird and chic as fuck, with horror hero Duane Jones as the leading man and Marlene Clark as potentially the most enticing vampire to ever enchant the silver screen. Clarks’ portrayal of Ganja the not-so-reluctant vampire was everything—from her fashion to her delightfully-placed overacting, this character and this film deserves far more credit than it receives for its good storytelling and good taste. Ganja & Hess was a no brainer for us, Near Dark, on the other hand, presented some challenges. Y’all have no idea how hard it is to find this movie. It’s not on any streaming services, you can’t rent it on Am*zon, and dvd prices range anywhere from $40 to $200. Deadass. It’s caught in an unfortunate war between streaming services—it was on the Criterion Channel for a sec and then suddenly it just wasn’t? I had to get to the bottom of this. I HAD to see this movie. Even if it sucked, it would’ve been worth it just to obtain a piece of this rarity. Eventually, after searching through multiple versions that were dubbed in German, I found a $50 (English) copy on eBay—that is somehow signed by Lance Henriksen. I obviously bought it and I can honestly say it was not just satisfying due to the fact that I had finally found this movie, but also because it was genuinely good. I love a Western and I love a good vamp flick, and Kathryn Bigelow found a way to not exploit either genre, but instead marry the two beautifully together. It just felt natural that a group of trailer park vampires could be traveling across the South in a blacked out camper. It felt natural that Lance Henriksen (and almost Michael Biehn but he rejected the role because he found the script “confusing”) would be the ring leader. What didn’t feel natural was his rattail braid that hung below his short mullet. The entire cast was amazing, and almost entirely borrowed from Aliens, there’s even an Aliens easter egg in this movie. The effects were just as impressive as Lost Boys and Fright Night’s, and I would say the writing here is even better. So why the fuck do people not know about this film? Did James Cameron steal the rights from Kathryn Bigelow when they split and he just won’t let them go? Regardless, the world deserves to have access to this film, and Bill Paxton and Adrian “Gaslighter” Padsar’s tight jeans. #FreeNearDark
