One of the best of 2007!!

Rating: 10/10 (26 October 2007)

Horror reaches all-new heights and temperatures in the Arctic vampire flick 30 Days of Night, a film which made 16 million dollars and was first in the box office during week one of release. Directed by David Slade of last year's underground thriller Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night gives a new name to vampire films with its slick acting and directing, stunning special effects, insane action, gallons of blood and gore, and intensely terrifying sequences. 30 Days of Night stars Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, and is based upon the graphic novel of the same name.
After being plunged into darkness for an entire month, an Alaskan town is attacked by dark creatures that feed on human blood. Desperate to survive and without phones or any way of communicating, Sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett), Stella (Melissa George), and a select few other survivors fight for their life against bloodthirsty vampires and try to make it through 30 days of pure darkness.
Director David Slade utilizes beautiful cinematography along with the stunning surroundings of Alaska and snowy winds. All of the violent and gruesome scenes are not just nasty, but they flow with the story and make for amazing visuals. The CGI that is used in a few scenes is barely noticeable, and the brutality will, at times, leave your mouth agape. Slade brings a nice flow and great pacing, although sometimes it can be uneven, and gets some great performances out of the actors.
Josh Hartnett, surprisingly enough, plays a completely out of control character for once, and he really shines in the role. His character has a lot of depth and goes through important changes through the film. Melissa George may not have been the better half, but she made the relationship between Eben and Stella pretty believable. Her character might be hollow, but she brings quite a lot of charisma and a great personality to her character. Ben Foster, undoubtedly, serves up the best performance in the movie as the terrifying and mysterious Stranger. With his limited screen time, he manages to bring in a creative accent and a grimy and unique look and feel to a rather bland character. He gets some of the best dialogue in the movie.
Unpredictable for the most part, 30 Days of Night moves at an insanely fast pace and felt a lot like 28 Weeks Later for the vampire lover. One of the best horror movies of 2007, 30 Days of Night should not be missed for its unique performances, non-stop action, shocking scenes, great score, and a very creative direction from David Slade. Rating ~ A