Review of 30 Days of Night (2007) by Mark S — 08 Dec 2011

A bone-chilling, evocative and terrifying vampire film that is brilliantly brought to the screen by director David Slade who fully captures the essence of the cult-hit graphic novel by Steve Niles which it is based on.

In the small isolated Alaskan town of Barrow, where every winter a natural phenomenon brings thirty consecutive days of night, but this winter a dark evil has come to Barrow which has the townspeople succumbing to lethal attacks from a merciless gang of bloodthirsty vampires bent on an bloodily orgy of total destruction, the town's only hope for survival comes from its young Sheriff, played by Josh Harnett in a superlative performance and his Deputy and estrange wife, solidly played by Melissa George.

Special kudos must be given to Danny Huston for his mesmerizing portrayal of the malevolent vampire leader Marlow and Ben Foster's disturbing turn as the mysterious stranger who arrives in town just before the vampires.

The vampires themselves are intelligent amoral demonic predators whose driving force is their great hunger for blood, they don't bite but rather tear open their victim's neck with their shark-like teeth, they also have a new unique look that has never been seen before, thanks to Gina Acevedo and his team's extraordinary makeup which without doubt makes these evil bloodsuckers the scariest most ruthless vampires in cinematic history! A wonderfully haunting score by Brian Reizel with stunning cinematography by Jo Wellems, shocking gore and extreme bloodily violence, a truly unforgettable horror film.

Highly Recommended.