A horror flick that actually went quite well? Is it a dream? No it's 30 Days of NIght

Rating: 7/10 (19 March 2010)

Your initial thoughts on this film might consider it a mindless blood fest with little or no point, along the lines of Rambo but when you seriously watch this film you realise what it's really got going for it. Now, make no mistake there WILL be blood, not to mention bone, gristle and every other part of the fragile human anatomy. This film could be described as a horror flick but I'd put it more as an action although there are some undeniably spine tingling moments.
The plot centres around the residents of Barrow, Alaska which is the northernmost town in the United States. Now living in Barrow has the interesting (or in this case unfortunate)side effect of having a month of perpetual darkness and news of this has reached a rather pale and unhealthy fellow named Marlowe (Danny Huston). Marlowe and his disciples it turns out are vampires and they're more or less looking at Barrow as an all you can eat buffet.
One performance I enjoyed very much was that of a seemingly addle brained man called the Stranger (Ben Foster). For the first fifteen minutes the Stranger roams around butchering sled dogs and basically making the vampires jobs easier until he is nicked by Sheriff Eben Oleson (Josh Hartnett). He's struck some sort of pact with Marlowe and Co, if he helps them butcher ever poor sod left in Barrow he'll get to become a vampire to. Well Marlowe goes back on his pact and kills him.
One sequence that was particularly creepy was when the remaining survivors are hiding out in an attic and a vampire catches their scent. He wanders into the house. Due to the hidden nature of the attic he is unable to find them but it makes for edge of your seat viewing. Another great sequence is when practically the entire gang of vampires are attacked by the local snowplough driver Beau (Mark Boone Jr) and he proceeds to carve several of them up with the snowplough before using road flares and dynamite to blow a few more to kingdom come, taking him with them. Unfortunately it doesn't quite go to plan. Several vampires are incinerated by the blast but Beau survives until a royally hacked off Marlowe gets a hold of him.
One thing that stood out was the image of the vampires. There's none of this new age Twilight crap but there's also none of the Industrial Revolution Dracula look. These vampires are pretty much grotesque with pale skin, distinctly uncomfortable looking fingernails (or claws as is more accurate) and serious issues with dental hygiene. Of course they are covered in blood most of the time and they certainly look menacing enough but the majority of the vampires are somewhat two dimensional.
Another criticism to make is the seriously misguided casting of Melissa George as Eben's estranged wide Stella. Now I'm sorry but she can't act and her looks of terror when confronted with the pale and ghoulish vampires come across as amateurish, second rate and above all transparent. In fact the only purpose Georges casting serves is to distract from the uninspired choice of Hartnett as the leading man. Neither actor is really making go of it and I feel that drags the film down.
It is my opinion that it is the direction by David Slade that salvages the film, the way he cranks up the tension and films the action scenes with breathtaking skill and scope. One shot gives an eagle eye view of the town panning across bloodstained snows and showing vampires brutalising the poor townsfolk with only screams, growls and the occasional shotgun blast for sound. While we're at it the vampires speaking not in English but a guttural tongue that is subtitled is better because I couldn't see English coming out of those mouths with the fangs in the way.
On the acting front it was Huston and Foster that salvage the film, Huston in particular playing the low key menace and sadistic pleasure to the hilt and resiting the temptation to overact the part that so many vampire actors have done before cough Robert Pattinson cough! The calm and detached way Marlowe directs the transformation of Barrow from winter wonderland to slaughterhouse is truly inspired and his calm manner as opposed to his rampaging, bloodthirsty cronies are what makes this film.
All in all, it's no movie milestone, not by a long chalk but for those who enjoy a good horror flick but want to see some quality acting and film work, this is the film for you. Though maybe not if you're a dog lover or have a weak stomach.