E's Reviews: 30 Days Of Night

30 DAYS OF NIGHT is a horror/thriller inspired by the graphic novel of the same name. It is directed by David Slade and stars Josh Hartnett as Sheriff Eben Oleson, Melissa George as his estranged wife Stella Oleson, and Danny Huston as Marlow.

This is the story of an isolated Alaskan town that is plunged into darkness for a month each year when the sun sinks below the horizon. As the last rays of light fade, the town is attacked by a bloodthirsty gang of vampires bent on an uninterrupted orgy of destruction. Only the small town's husband-and-wife Sheriff team stand between the survivors and certain destruction.

The small town in Alaska that this film takes place in feels very claustrophobic, very isolated. It’s something that builds the atmosphere for the absolute terror that these vampires are bringing to this community. It was one of the charms of this film (the isolation) and it made things feel that much more tense, knowing that no one is coming to help you. Now, for those of you who are fans of the graphic novel, the way the movie is filmed looks very much the way the comics looked and felt. Everything from the way the violence unfolded to the way Danny Huston’s Marlow and his band of vampires looked, was very true to the books. The acting was great from Josh Hartnett, but the role of The Stranger, played by Ben Foster, was both creepy and a bit heartbreaking at the same time. Ben Foster really stood out as bringer of doom to this small town. The way the vampires looked and felt during this film, will make you see vampires in a whole different light. They aren’t the charming, suave, cool vampires that Bela Lugosi or Tom Cruise made famous in film. Instead, they are the bloodthirsty monsters that you’d expect in a movie where their whole purpose is to gorge on human blood and erase a town from existence. The script had some weakness to it, sure, but the entire thing is just so utterly violent and shocking to watch, that I wasn’t really paying attention to a lot of the conversations between the survivors.

The film takes a few liberties from it’s comic book roots, but for some people who’ve never read it, it won’t be noticed. The vampires look incredible, Danny Huston plays a violent villain, without remorse, just slaughtering anyone in his path. Josh Hartnett plays a great hero, smart and resourceful. The isolation of the town, the violence, everything just brought the film together to make an entertaining horror film. It did have a few weaknesses, like some performances by some of the survivors didn’t feel natural or real to me, but it’s something that can be overlooked in a movie that is just this over the top. There also wasn’t any actual ‘fun’ moments in the movie, everything just felt very serious and gritty, which is what I think the director was going for.

Final Score: 8/10