Nasty and scary

Rating: 7/10 (12 July 2009)

30 DAYS is the best vampire flick since K. Bigelow's classic NEAR DARK. A roving band of eastern European vampires hits a small Alaskan town and quickly slaughters most of its inhabitants. Then the group begins to hunt down the few survivors. The vampires are extremely bloodthirsty, animal-like creatures, relentless and absolutely heartless in their search for blood. Josh Hartnett plays the town's sheriff who tries to save a handful of town folk and figure a way to defeat the creatures. Veteran character actor Danny Huston is the vampire group's very scary leader, and another character actor, Ben Foster, plays a man on the run from the vampires. In fact, the opening sequence of Foster hightailing it through the snowy wilderness is reminiscent of the opening scene of John Carpenter's THE THING, where the sled dog is on the run across the frozen Antarctic tundra from the desperate Norwegians. 30 DAYS is extremely atmospheric, gory without being over the top, and truly frightening. The entire film takes place in shadows and darkness, as the sun has set for 30 days, hence the title. Much has been made of the overhead shots of the initial carnage, and rightly so. Choreographing it must have been akin to staging a small war. In the end, the film goes on a bit too long, and lifts its ending from one of the BLADE flicks, but not to worry. You are guaranteed to be on the edge of your seat during this one.