A fun fright flick.

Rating: 8/10 (26 December 2011)

It's always nice to see a different take on a genre. One may find out that it's not wholly original, but at least it will be something that they themselves haven't seen before. In this case, the idea of "vampires in the snow", turned into a successful graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, did intrigue this viewer. These blood suckers are a particularly animalistic and aggressive - and unrelentingly merciless - bunch, led by a monster named Marlow (Danny Huston). They come upon the small Alaska town of Barrow, the Northern most town in the entire United States, which regularly experiences the natural phenomenon of a whole month without sunlight - which gives our survivors, including intrepid young sheriff Eben (Josh Hartnett) one more thing to worry about, and the villains one less thing. Can Eben and his fellow intended victims hold out for that long? Commendably, never once do these filmmakers intimate that there will definitely be some sort of happy ending. The atmosphere is just overwhelming, and the creation of this remote wintry town, with on location filming in New Zealand, is impressive to behold. While there are clichés to be found in this screenplay, we never learn much about the motivation of the vampires themselves - which don't adhere to all vampire "rules", as they can be eliminated with bullets - making them enigmatic entities indeed, and the human element is never lost. One can believe that these are real human beings, with all of their imperfections, that are at risk here. Some absolutely beautiful shots at beginning and end truly show off the majesty - and danger - of this landscape. There's tons of violence and gore to satisfy some tastes, and some decent suspense to go along with it. However, some of the best stuff revolves the "God's eye" view of the town as it gets completely ravaged by this seemingly unstoppable force, creating a feeling of utter helplessness. Hartnett actually does a pretty good job in the lead, with Melissa George appealing as his leading lady, and capable support by Ben Foster as the weirdo stranger who helps to signal the arrival of the enemy, Mark Boone Junior as scruffy, solitary local Beau, and Mark Rendall as younger brother Jake. It's also nice to see Peter Feeney, the greedy, tweedy bad guy from the splatter comedy "Black Sheep", in a small role, and Huston, son of the legendary John H. and half-brother of Angelica H., making a pretty strong impression in this role that never receives much elaboration. Stylish, energetic filmmaking makes this a good entertainment with a strong dose of nastiness along the way. Eight out of 10.