GoreMongral's Review: 30 Days of Night

Rating: 8/10 (20 October 2007)

Horror movies have slowly been coming back to what made them...horrific. The 90's saw the unfortunate demise of horror thanks to the horror spoof/horror lite material that surfaced. Movies like Scream, IKWYDLS and the like changed what Hollywood viewed as true horror and unfortunately what an entire generation viewed as horror. Luckily things are slowly coming back to what they should be and a good example of this is 30 Days of Night.
Barrow, Alaska...the top of the world and also a place where for 30 days a town is shut off from the rest of the world as darkness settles. Enter Sheriff Eben Oleson who has just saw nearly 3/4ths of his population leave due to this and unfortunately replacing them is a horde of vampires that would like nothing more to feast on the remaining 4th of the town. The sheriff and the rest of the town are faced with a grave question, how do you fight off an army of the undead for 30 days.
One of the first things that makes this film work is its somber lack of humor. Horror movies have over the last decade changed peoples views as they tend to cry about lack of humor to lighten a mood. Correct me if Im wrong but this is horror not the next Will Farrell movie. No humor is found here and the humor that is there is the acceptable kind. Normal conversation humor unlike the kind we see in so many of the "modern' and "90's" films that literally wink at the camera.
Also the feeling of dread is around every corner as you never know where or when the vampires will attack. People are pulled out of there homes like someone picking and apple from a tree some more grueling than others but all are violent. The violence factor in this one is very high and the gore on display is nice. For gorehounds I feel you will be pleased, several decapitations, lots of ripped open jugulars and a severed arm or two are on display but don't expect every kill to be gory. Do however expect each one to be visceral and violent.
The Vampires on display as well are very nice. Looking like an unholy union between Marilyn Manson and Jaws, they are smart and very tactical but are very savage resembling a pack of wolves ready to strike at there pray. The only difference is when they attack they are much more lethal. These vamps will not ask you to invite them in or try to charm you they will bust down your door and rip you to shreds before you know what hit you.
The characters here are very believable as well and for the most part I could believe the action on display here. Now absurd over the top scenes to ruin the mood of dread here, only a few acts of genuine heroic attempts that are all plausible. Believe me there is no removal of mood throughout as it will keep you intrigued up to the very end.
The actors on display were all up to the task even Josh Hartnett (surprisingly) but the real show stealer in my mind is one of the best up and comers Ben Foster as the Stranger. Though he has a limited screen time his character sets up the dread to come with an err of creepiness that comes off like a cross between a crazy mountain man and Dwight Frye's Renfield character from the classic 1931 Dracula. Horror director's need to cast this guy as often as possible as he pulls this style of character acting off without a hitch. In the end the somber mood the violence and the fitting end make this one of the best horror movies of the year. Director David Slade who's previous work "Hard Candy" was nothing short of stellar has nailed two great movies out the box and is definitely a director to keep an eye on in the horror scene With its nods to the best in classic horror like John Carpenter's The Thing and its genuine old school approach this is one that all the old school horror heads can get behind and tell the unfortunate horror raised youth of the 90's and early 2000's "Now that's a horror movie".
8/10: Very Good, One of Best Horror Movies of the Year and what Im hoping brings us even closer back to what makes horror so good. Go see this without hesitation and support a great film.