Review of 30 Days of Night (2007) by Thequietgamer — 25 Mar 2018

Now this is more in line with what vampires should be. The 2000's were largely clogged with movies depicting them as fashion-centric pretty boys and oversexed supermodels. It's something the bloodsuckers have never quite recovered from. Now I believe there should be some sexuality to these creatures of the night. Even the original Dracula story gave the undead Transylvanian some seductive power. But humanizing love stories just aren't what these creatures are about. What should have been the occasional deviation became the norm for vampire flicks, leading most to forget that at the end of the day they are still monsters and should be treated as such. 30 Days of Night didn't forget though.

Based off a comic book miniseries, there's a great core concept holding the movie together. An isolated Alaskan town undergoing a lengthy Polar Night proves to be the perfect playground for the creatures of the night. The carnage looks fantastic. The scenes are shot in a way that makes them feel like they were ripped right from the pages of a comic book. The slaughter is even more striking than in other films due to whiteout setting. The liberal use of gore really stands out. I will never underestimate how good blood looks on snow again. There's a solid undercurrent of tension running through the whole thing. The sense of being of being closed off from the world and the characters being forced to band together in small groups to survive almost gives the film a post-apocalyptic vibe most commonly associated with zombie flicks. However, 30 Days of Night manages to avoid stepping too far over into another monster's territory by staying true to what makes vampires unique. Mainly by showing off their intelligence and enhanced physical capabilities. While doing a lot to make vampires menacing again, the overall movie isn't able to avoid all of the flaws that have been slowly driving a stake into the heart of these kinds of films for a while now. While it has two compelling protagonists, the rest of the cast feel like generic survivor types. Josh Hartnett gives a really good performance, but a lot of the other acting is subpar. There's plenty of cheesy dialog and unintentionally goofy behavior from the antagonists the kind of drag down the flick's respectability. It's also got a lot of downtime and it falls into a loop where the characters go out to get supplies, lose someone, and repeat. These kind of things don't ruin the experience. They just keep 30 Days of Night from sitting anywhere near the top of vampire canon.

Flaws aside, if you want a vampire movie that treats them like the relentless, bloodthirsty monsters they are then this is the feeding frenzy for you. It was a clever idea to make use of Alaska's extended periods of darkness. Often one of the things that keeps people going in the face of nightmares is the knowledge that morning is around the next corner. 30 Days of Night removes that comfort by having the sun take a lengthy vacation. Allowing it's nocturnal hunters greater freedom to toy with their prey. Watching the characters try to survive in a world with no safe places and salvation being an entire month away makes for a bloody good time.

7.