Excellent Vampire Film, and One of the Best Horror Movies of the Year.

Rating: 9/10 (21 October 2007)

"30 Days Of Night" centers on the small, rural Alaskan town of Barrow. Each year, the 'city at the top of world' is plunged into one month of darkness, void of any sunlight. Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett), the town sheriff, looks over the snow-covered, close-knit community. On the last day of sunlight, a stranger (Ben Foster) arrives in town, babbling about the darkness and what is yet to come. Eben and his estranged wife, Stella (Melissa George), also a law-enforcer, think nothing of the man's rantings. But when a group of vampires arrive in town, with a thirty day feast ahead of them, it seems this stranger knows more than they assumed. As the vampires suck the life out of everyone in the town, Eben, Stella, and a group of others are the only ones left alive... but can they survive the next thirty days before they become victims of the blood-drinking creatures?
Based on the graphic novel, "30 Days Of Night" is likely one of the scariest and best horror movies to come out this year. Most horror fans know that the horror genre hasn't seen a genuinely good vampire film in quite some time. I can't think of one in the past ten years that has been anything above average. But, if you've been waiting for a good vampire movie, you've got it right here. The most impressive thing about this film to me was the construction of the setting for the film, and the catch to it all - the fact that there is no sunlight for thirty days, which basically gives vampires an endless smörgåsbord. And while the credit for this does go to the writer of the graphic novel, this film was very well made, and managed to stay fairly unpredictable and consistently suspenseful.
It begins fairly steady, but when the night begins to fall and the thirty days of darkness arrives, things begin to kick and the story is wound tight with plenty of tensity. The atmosphere was very good, the isolated setting worked perfectly and the extremely cold, snowy backdrop is an unusual but chilling setting for this type of film. The jolts are well-executed and the suspense factor is high. David Slade, who directed the magnificent thriller "Hard Candy", directs this film as well, and I thought he did a great job here. The cinematography was excellent and there are some really great shots in this film, among them being a breathtaking birds-eye view of the town as it's being ransacked by the vampires, who have left large pools of red snow throughout the streets. The vampires themselves are grotesque and downright scary looking, and are nearly half creature-like. Not only that, but they also have their own language, which is translated with subtitles.
Each of our characters are fairly well written, too, and all of them were very well acted. Josh Harntett leads the cast as the film's hero whose job is to take care of everyone else. He's convincing in the action scenes and with emotion, and does a great job. Melissa George plays his estranged wife in somewhat of a tough-girl role, and she's excellent as well. Rounding out the cast is Ben Foster, who really surprised me in his performance as the filthy drifter who has a connection with the vampires, Mark Rendall playing Hartnett's teenage brother, and Danny Huston as Marlow, the leader of the bloodsuckers. I thought the ending was brilliant and very unpredictable and unexpected.
Overall, "30 Days Of Night" is an exceptional recent entry into the vampire sub-genre, and it provides one frightening ride that is worth the price of theater admission. It has an original story, some great scares, and stunning cinematography to boot. It isn't your usual vampire movie, and for fans of vampire flicks, it will be a refreshing and scary experience. Well worth seeing, especially during the Halloween season. I can say it's one of the best horror movies of the year thus far. 9/10.