Better than most horror nowadays

Rating: 6/10 (15 April 2008)

I really want to say that this movie was one of the best horror films I've seen in years, that it was a great addition to the Vampire horror sub-genre (a genre in need of a boost) and was worth owning in one's collection. And technically, considering the massive amount of crap Hollywood throws at us including bad Japanese Horror re-makes, "original" horror films borrowing Japanese style clichés and an abundance of slasher/torture porn I would be right in making that claim. However, on its own, its flaws keep it from being the classic it should have been.
The concept is great, a town in Alaska is raided by Vampires taking advantage of its Winter Solstice which causes the area to be shrouded in complete darkness for 30 days. What a great setting, reminiscent of the isolation in John Carpenter's film "The Thing" we are introduced to a small working class town where everyone knows each other and not much in the way of crime happens. So it is fitting that our protagonist is a law-man, Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnet), who is used to dealing with one empty jail cell and assisted at home base by his grandmother and younger brother.
Although the concept is great it unfortunately isn't fully realized on the big screen (I have not yet read the comic book). The feeling of isolation by being trapped in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow and ice is dealt with rather quickly. The cell phones that were burnt, the killing of a pack of dogs, the blackout were nice touches but were rushed. Was everyones communication to the outside world really destroyed? And the Stranger in town was really able to kill all those dogs? And no one heard a thing? And what took those vampires so long to figure out that killing the towns people during the winter solstice was a good idea? Where were they hiding out all this time? Note that I didn't hate the film either, I may be a bit nit picky but I'm also realistic. The performances and most of the scenes were well done. The battle between the sheriff and the lead vampire seemed to end too quickly but the ending itself was satisfying.
I just wish there was more emphasis on the isolation which may have led to better development of the characters (I just didn't feel anything for the victims). But considering the attempt at something more thought provoking and original than the current crop of horror I would still recommend this film.