Unsure

Rating: 4/10 (13 July 2009)

4 stars out of 10 (it was less, but we are only allowed integers):

Story: 1 Alaska. Winter. A month long night. You expect polar bears, a terrorist gang taking over the place for some infamous projects, mad scientist making some "researches", etc... No. You are presented with vampires... interesting...

Acting: 0.6 Not so bad. As said in the "trivia", the original movie script has been rejected several times. Do a good acting job with a less-than-coherent script is difficult. Perhaps an aging Nicholson as a forgotten police officer would have been better than Mr Hartnett, but well... when actors are required by script to behave like 80 IQ people, they can't save the day...

Location: 0.7 Alaska. Snow and the misery of being isolated in a little remote town (village?). Filmed in New Zealand thought: the movie stole a name (Barrow) and it is a pity that you do not have proper local view (a flat - and desolated?- tundra according to a reviewer)...

Direction/Realisation: 0.4 Not impressed. Using the technique of filming during days and artificially changing the light into a "night effect" shows its limits. A bit too shaky either. It is not like the Blair Witch or Cloverfields, but scenes are cut too fast and are just shaky enough for being somehow annoying.

Music/Sound: 0.1 A nail on a dark blackboard: crrrrrreeeeeeeekkkk... This what vampires will sound like most of the time. Nothing impressive. A bit loud at times, just for awaking you, just in case of...

Creativity/Ideas: 0.1 pfffff... as someone said, they are zombies, not vampires. And as I speak French, I can say it clearly: "c'est trés cliché". Greasy faces versus strawberry jam on faces. Artificial snow, artificial lights, and more "Scary Movie" tricks than it should.

Keep me on the edge of my seat: 0.1 No. However I did liked some short scenes: the overview of the initial attack on the town, a disturbing head chopping at the end. I prefer Romero's style otherwise as his zombies are smarter than those vampires.

Interest in characters: 0.1 Yes the dog. Why poor dogs need always to bark at the coming threat, and then be murdered? I would have preferred the vampires to have more "finesse" and say use the dog for tracking the cattle, i.e. the food on 2 legs... or just patting this 4-legs friends and say with a smile: " just be quiet, and I promise you mountains of good juicy bones!.."

Photo: 0.3 And I am generous. Actually, now that I have to search for good things, let us say that I gave half a point for some scenes I can't even remember!

I wish for more (sequel): 0.1 No. Perhaps a remake, with a revised script, where vampires are more adaptive, and more organized, and also show that centuries brought them some hunting experiences...