Near Dark Behind The Scenes

One of the technical challenges of Near Dark was to realize several extended sequences where the vampires burn-up in daylight. Special effects makeup artist Gordon Smith devised a prosthetic makeup which concealed tubes on the faces of actors. The tubes were also hidden under the clothes of the performer and were connected to a device that smoked tobacco under pressure, carried on a harness. Each actor had a valve to shut off the system if they got sick or nauseous...

Shooting started November 17, 1986.

The Director of photography was Adam Greenberg who had previously done "The Terminator". He was given instructions to create his night scenes with warmth and appeal, part of the tremendous impact of Near Dark. Said Bigelow: "Adam has an extraordinary eye and an amazing gift for night photography. He uses a real classic lighting style. I wanted the blacks to be sort of velvet black and not a blue black, not washed out, but a solid, incredibly seductive night. Once we hit on the look we stuck to it."

Kathryn Bigelow actually wanted to do a Western but no one would finance a Western so she pitched a vampire Western instead and got the money.

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