Now Here's a Vampire Movie To Sink Your Teeth Into...And Vice-Versa...

Rating: 9/10 (5 May 2008)

So you say you like your vampires that are all harpsichord-playing, puffy-shirt wearing, emo-with-extra-eye-shadow and a side order of existential angst to go? If that's your cuppa blood, you might want to stay as far away from 30 DAYS OF NIGHT as you can. Here, there be monsters. These vamps are not quick with witty bon-mots, not romantic, seductive or sexy by any stretch of the imagination. They look at human beings the way we look at cattle. They're hungry. You're food. End of story.
And if that were just the story, that alone would be enough. If you've seen the vampires from movies like JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRE$, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN and NEAR DARK, you know the damage they can do; the havoc they can wreak.
Now...imagine them doing it in a town where THERE IS NO DAYLIGHT.
And that is the basic premise, just like the graphic novel it's based on, (which I hadn't read before seeing this, but I will sure read the entire series now!) In Barrow, Alaska, there is a period during the start of winter's depths, where there is no sunrise or sunset for a month. Those who can't bear the "longest night of the year" get the you-know-what out of Dodge, while the hardier souls stay to tough it out.
Only this year, that thirty-day period is going to change the lives of the town and its inhabitants forever. A stranger is coming...and right behind him, Death follows.
Video and now feature-director David Slade cut his teeth with HARD CANDY for his big- screen debut. I have not seen that film, but it comes highly recommended...with a warning. I guess it's going to be a pattern with his movies, because I am definitely making the same kind of recommendation with 30 DAYS. Lovers of anemic, bland, PG-13 rated schlock should probably stop reading here and go see the PROM NIGHT remake for the eighteenth time. Slade kicks it old-school here - kind of like a Hammer film on steroids, without the heaving cleavage and horse-and-carriage chases - and doesn't skimp on the blood and violence.
It's also great that at least some time is taken for character development before the slaughtering starts. The usually ill-used Josh Hartnett shines here as Barrow's sheriff and reluctant hero Eben Olesen, a role that allows him to be much less...pretty, shall we say, than some of the romantic dramedy stuff he used to get pigeonholed into. Melissa George also made a great first impression on me as Stella, Eben's strong-willed, feisty ex, whose moxie definitely comes in handy when things get hairy...and "FANG-EY"...
And kudos must definitely go to Ben Foster (SIX FEET UNDER, X-MEN 3, HOSTAGE), for playing a character so skeevy you can almost SMELL HIM whenever he comes on-screen. Ditto to underrated actor Danny Huston, who makes one of the most wholehearted commitments to a role of pure, black-hearted evil I have seen since Anthony Hopkins went hunting for a nice Chianti to go with the fava beans. His late dad, John, would be proud.
I know that most audiences these days just want their blood and guts and they want it NOW, but be patient and give this flick a chance. It does take its time getting started, but once it does, it becomes pretty clear that its R-rating was well-earned.
And I have to mention that this is one of the most beautiful-looking horror films recently. The photography and art direction are unbelievable, (check out the DVD extras for the striking comparison between the movie stills and the novel's original artwork.) And the impressive visual and special effects come courtesy of the WETA Workshop in New Zealand. If you are a LORD OF THE RINGS fan, a Peter Jackson fan, or know anything about this outfit, you know that's all I need to say...It's the equivalent of having Tom Savini, Rick Baker and John Carl Buechler all working together at once.
30 DAYS OF NIGHT is definitely one of the best and most terrifying two-hour periods you will ever spend in the dark...But at least, unlike a good portion of the people of Barrow, YOU will survive it...