Review: 30 Days of Night

In a small Alaskan town where there is a period of 30 days of no sunlight, most of the townsfolk have skipped town, but a few decide to stay (around 150). This includes dutiful sheriff Josh Hartnett, but in the case of his ex-wife Melissa George (a fire marshal who misses her flight out), she has little choice. Meanwhile, a horde of animalistic vampires (led by Danny Huston, who is more “Nosferatu” than “Dracula”) decides to romp into town for an all-you-can-suck buffet! Ben Foster plays a creepy stranger with seemingly a connection to the vamps, and who has been causing havoc in town leading up to their arrival.

 

The late 90s and early 00s weren’t my favourite decade for horror but things did pick up a bit in the middle and back half of the 00s. This 2007 David Slade ( “Hard Candy”) adaptation of a graphic novel boasts one of the most ingenious and fascinating premises for a horror film that I can remember. The scenery is stunning, but setting the film in a part of Alaska where it’s dark 24 hours a day for a month makes that landscape ominous as hell. Throw in a lack of electricity? That’s a big no thanks from me, I would not be able to handle that. Although I am not usually a fan of the animalistic-type vampires, this film damn nearly converted me. For once the sped-up, hyper-attack style works in showing just how frenzied and animalistic these blood-suckers are. In fact, they don’t just seem like blood-suckers, they seem like flesh-eaters crossed with some kind of demonic-looking shark. Seemingly dead inside, they’re some of the most frightening creatures I’ve come across in a long time (If you like “Hellraiser” these might be your kind of vampires). When they get dialogue, it’s chillingly nihilistic and cold-blooded. They’re pure evil. Eventually a little girl is turned into one of them. Yeah. How long has it been since you found vampires scary? You will here, with these Max Schreck-inspired vamps, led by a truly terrifying Danny Huston in easily his most memorable screen role.  

 

Experienced readers will know I find jump scares tedious and lazy for the most part, but the first attack here is revolting and savage. It’s actually a pretty smart horror film in that the vampires take full advantage of the location and weather, but because the locals know the lay of the land and the weather conditions, they can potentially fight back. I also love the film’s use of title cards, with ‘The last day of sun’ being particularly ominous, and my heart sank at a very simple but telling ‘Day 7’. The situation almost seems hopeless.

 

Admittedly, lead actors Josh Hartnett and Melissa George aren’t Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Aussie actress George is OK but struggles to maintain an American accent, as do some of the clearly Kiwi members of the cast. Hartnett is sympathetic enough, but typically mumbly. Better is a rock-solid Mark Boone Junior, whilst a loony, Dennis Hopper-esque Ben Foster steals his every scene as an unhinged criminal who seems to have some kind of link to the vampires. Going all out, Foster is an amusing distraction from the real threat at hand here in what is essentially a horror version of “Rio Bravo”.

 

One of the better horror films of the late 2000s, this graphic novel adaptation is interesting plotted, well-photographed, and genuinely terrifying. The screenplay is by Aussie Stuart Beattie (“I, Frankenstein”, “Collateral”, “Australia”), Brian Nelson (“Hard Candy”, “Rupture”, “Devil”), and Steve Niles from the graphic novel by Niles and Ben Templesmith.

 

Rating: B