Best Vampire Movie Since Near Dark

Rating: 7/10 (5 January 2008)

There are titles in this genre that generally seem to miss the mark. Contrived efforts either made too "stylish" and unnecessarily complicated, or too "over the top" and laughably unbelievable. The few exceptions that managed to stand the test of time (for me anyways), shared an element of tangibility. Meaning at some point I actually bought that this could be happening while watching it. This was one of those movies, and quite frankly, the first vampire movie to have done so for me since possibly Near Dark.
People will name drop several entertaining (if not campy or facetious) romps through the bloodsucker genus to splatter film archives for the latter half of the 20th century - Salem's Lot, From Dusk Till Dawn, Fright Night, Lost Boys, Vampire Hunter D, Interview With The Vampire, Vampires, and the always popular Underworld and Blade trilogies etc, but outside of Nosferatu, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), and the above mentioned Near Dark, there has been little in the way of anything genuinely frightening about them. 30 Days of Night manages to bring back some of the very raw and chilling elements of a good vampire story.
The cast, while never very devoted to the development of any characters, also isn't "selling" the cliché archetypes you've come to expect from the recent spate of "high school horror" monster/psycho affairs. The acting is surprisingly good by the leads, and to some extent the support (no doubt credit is due to Slade for careful directing here). The first clue this was something to pay attention to was not only the shot selection, but also that the actors themselves aren't caked with make up. Slade wants you to see these people as real, a believable setting you can relate to. The storyline, conceptually, may be the weakest link here. Group of survivors in a town under siege needs to ban together to stay alive, and improvise survival strategies as they go etc etc. Not exactly a high calorie plot for the fiction novel devotee, but rest assured you're never quite sure who makes it. The setting is really the sell point here. Snowed in and locked away with no chance for help in an Alaskan town that sees no daylight for 30 days, it really conveys well, and almost reminds of scenes from John Carpenters remake of The Thing.
The "brood", or family of vampires really is one of the defining qualities of this movie. There is something so cold, but so unforced about them. There is no Anne Rice script here, no lonely or lost soul you feel compassion for. They've been reduced down to the vampire essence, at the top of the carnivore food chain, speaking an ancient dialect among one another about how to best conduct war on man, to achieve their end to ultimately feed. One aspect I'd like to see become trend is you never feel like the effects get in the way. In perhaps the best use of GGI I've seen in some time, the effects are literally seamless. These almost reptilian hunters use their ability to stalk and hunt the weaker prey. There are no frills, bells, whistles, politics or high drama here. 30 Days of Night is a chilling, and primal human last effort to survive when the Hunters find their prey at their most vulnerable.