It's own movie IMO

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2008)

The graphic novel 30 Days of Night is one of my favorites. Excellent premise (why hasn't ANYONE thought of that before?), beautiful art, and gory as well! So news of the movie made me excited and the casting choices I thought were... a little interesting (Never imagined Eben being as young as Josh Hartnett, and Melissa George has long blonde hair while Stella in the comic had short black hair. OK, maybe that's a little nit picky, but whatever). But I thought the same thing I think whenever I think the casting choice is odd: The director knows something about them that we don't, so we'll have to see. I go into the theater expecting not only an awesome vampire movie, but a great adaptation of the graphic novel. Walking out I was a little disappointed with some of the changes they made (the divorce back story, Marlow being the brains behind the idea when in the novel he was against it). But now a second viewing I've realized that even if it's not a great adaptation, it is a good movie on it's own! It's still a bleak dark movie (no happiness, no laughs, no smiles, except if you smile during the gory bits), with some good gore (the snow plow scene is the highlight), and good characters you care about. Josh and Melissa end up doing good even if they don't remind me at all about the original characters. The main character highlight is Ben Foster as The Stranger. I like this actor for his versatility in acting. From the comic relief in The Punisher, to the hero Angel in X-Men 3, and now this creepy stranger. It's too bad he's not in the film for long, but he does wonderful for what time he has in this. But there were some things from the comic I wished they used (the Louisiana back story is important if they plan on adapting the sequel Dark Days), and this again is a little nit picky, but I would've preferred if at the end when Stella is watching the sunset with the vampire Eben before the sun kills him, if they had Eben turn completely to dust rather than having her hold his charred corpse. The former I believe is a lot more saddening, but that's just me.
Overall, alright adaptation, but if you let that go and watch it for a good scary vampire movie, then you wont be upset