Someone Bring Back the Sun!

Rating: 7/10 (27 September 2017)

Vampire films are arguably one of the most over-exposed of the horror sub-genres, but TDON is a refreshing departure from what has become mainstream vampire movies. Set in a northern Alaskan town that experiences the natural phenomenon of losing the sun for a month, the town is besieged by a group of mysterious vampires. They are vicious, pitiless creatures, intent on wiping out the human race.
Ordinarily, I'd be looking for a bit of backstory to put the plot and its movement in context, and am usually annoyed when there is none. However, the lack of history of these vampires just adds to their mystique, and the sense of their eternal existence.
Josh Hartnett leads a crew of more than passable actors, but Danny Huston steals the show as the vampire patriarch, Marlow. He develops a style and execution that has the viewer actually despising the character, no easy task in modern cinema. The other vampire actors also display a merciless, violent approach that have you rooting for the trapped townspeople, just as their future seems hopeless.
The production values and sets are above average, as are the FX and CGI, certainly something you would expect from a big movie house like Columbia Pictures. The only thing that I couldn't wrap my mind around was the passage of time. Supposedly, these townspeople had to survive by hiding for a full thirty days, but the pacing of the vampire's killing and the thinning of the townspeople herd couldn't make me believe that they lasted that long. It was probably the most implausible part of the movie.
Still, it was an entertaining thrill ride for 90 minutes.