By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The Southwestern vampires are finally seeing the light of day again.
One of horror’s most-desired hi-def disc editions is happening at last as Synapse Films announced today that it is working on a 4K restoration and UHD release of Kathryn Bigelow’s 1987 cult classic NEAR DARK. Scripted by Bigelow and Eric Red, it stars Adrian Pasdar as a farm boy forcibly inducted into a roving gang of bloodsuckers played by Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, Jenette Goldstein and Joshua Miller.
“After many years of being unavailable on the physical media market, we’re proud to finally remedy that situation,” says Synapse president Don May Jr. “Having found the original 35mm camera negative buried in a vault in the California desert, and the original 4-track Ultra Stereo audio mix in a Kansas salt mine, we have secured the best elements for the ultimate 4K restoration of this amazing film.”
The negative was scanned with a Lasergraphics Director™ in 16-bit 4096×3112 DPX featuring dual-flash HDR and infrared dirt mapping, and Synapse is paying equal attention to the audio. “We aren’t doing some PAL-to-NTSC conversion where they forgot to fix the pitch of the voices,” May notes. “We’ll have the sound effects in their proper place, too—unlike a previous version where Lance Henriksen’s gun cocks in the left speaker while he’s standing on the right edge of the screen when he says, ‘I’m Jesse Hooker.’”
For those concerned about “grain management,” May assures, “One of the first things we asked director Kathryn Bigelow was, ‘Do you like film grain? Because if you don’t, there’s going to be a problem.’ She responded, ‘I love film and I love film grain.’ So, yeah, Kathryn Bigelow is pretty awesome.”
As for when fans will be able to get their hands on the UHD, May advises, “I know next year is the 40th anniversary, but my restorations take time to get right. Unlike companies that rush things out and face recalls for avoidable mistakes, I want to do this correctly the first time. I’m guessing we’ll have it out in 2037 for the 50th anniversary.”
He adds that this edition will by typically packed with bonus features. “We’ll most certainly have a remastered version of the classic Tangerine Dream soundtrack, among other things. I’m also tossing around the idea of a fully black-and-white version called ‘NEAR DARK Noir’ but we’ll have to see how that goes.” They may also go for multiple packaging options, similar to the Red Shirt Pictures edition of TRICK OR TREAT that Synapse distributed. “I’m thinking ten different covers at $99.95 each. The fans will love it!” May exclaims.
While we wait for a definitive date for the UHD, May reveals that a slew of merchandise is planned for next year’s 40th anniversary. “Who wouldn’t want a pair of Bill Paxton-Severen underwear? T-shirts, socks, posters, games, keychains, hats, mugs, a 180g vinyl soundtrack filled with red ‘blood’ liquid, a Hot Wheels branded RV that catches on fire, an intentionally distressed authentic VHS tape version in an extremely limited quantity and priced ridiculously…the possibilities are endless. Maybe even a NEAR DARK shaving kit for those folks who hate it when their victims ‘ain’t been shaved!’” Keep your eyes here for further updates!
