Finally, a vampire film that is truly horrifying...

Rating: 9/10 (24 October 2007)

Ever since I was a little kid and caught 'Salem's Lot on TV, I've been fascinated by the lore and legend of vampires. I've read the book several times and find it to be very downright scary and a perfect vampire tale. If you ask me, Spephen King imagined the most frightening, nightmarish incarnation of these creatures the world had seen and that was back in 1974! Since then vampire movies, though entertaining enough, just haven't hit the nail on the head. I've longed for the day when we would lose the frilly, lovelorn vamps of Dracula and Lestat lore, the wise-cracking, leather bound, techy ninjas of Blade, Buffy and Underworld and get back to what makes vampires a thing to be really, really afraid of. 30 Days of Night gets this right and does it in spades. And thank God for it (God? No God.)! These vampires are entirely worthy of our worst childhood nightmares. They are base, vicious and cruel. They are soulless, dead-eyed, pale animals who take great joy in tormenting and horrifying their prey before violently tearing them to bloody shreds without mercy. The guttural and ancient sounding language they choke out between satanic shrieks just adds to the level of danger and menace that simply drips from the screen like blood. I'm telling you these creatures are spine-chillingly frightening!
And what's a good vampire tale without the right setting? The small, isolated town of Barrow, Alaska is the perfect backdrop for this hellish nightmare to unfurl. Bleak and minimalistic, completely cut off from the outside world and thus any help, it truly folds you into it's dark and doomed embrace. The slow-burn pace of mounting dread within the towns (remaining) citizens is incredibly effective in achieving the gut-wrenching sense of paranoia and fear that this movie basks in. Barrow itself is so beautifully portrayed that you can nearly feel the cold shrieks of arctic wind yourself. I really can't properly convey the beauty of the cinematography here, as well as the perfect set design. Again, 30DN gets it oh-so-right.
If I were to have any gripe at all, it would be with the end of the film and what the protagonist does as his final, desperate act to save his town and his people. It was the ONLY time my suspension of disbelief was, well, suspended. But it's a small price to pay for such a superb, frightening and convincingly realistic portrayal of the vampire myth. If you, like me, are a fan of the vampire genre, 30 Days of Night is a MUST see. You won't be disappointed.