30 Days of Night (2007)

Posted on April 23, 2015 by emmakwall

30 Days of Night – horror movie review

30 Days of Night is a 2007 horror film starring Josh Hartnett and the current Queen of Scream Melissa George. Since leaving Summer Bay the poor girl has faced almost continual mortal peril! She’s been in a lot of horror films basically. But she did get to shag Ryan Reynolds in The Amityville Horror so…….swings and roundabouts.

So anyway, 30 Days of Night is directed by David Slade (Hard Candy, Hannibal) and based on a graphic novel by Steven Niles. It tells the story of a small, isolated Alaskan town that is pounced upon by a group of ancient and blood-thirsty vampires. Hartnett and George star as two police officers (also ‘hilariously’ going through a divorce) trying to lead their friends and neighbours to safety.

30days

Barrow in Alaska – where the movie is set – is so far north that during winter the sun doesn’t rise for a month. As well as being a bit miserable (I would be so fucking miserable), this makes for rather a sticky situation when the vampires turn up. I mean, sunlight is generally looked upon favourably when dealing with the undead – especially when you live on the edge of the earth with no means of escape. The premise of 30 Days of Night is pretty simple – survive the month and beat the vampires – but it is delivered well.

It’s a similar plot to Swedish film Frostbiten (2006) but whilst that was more of a comical movie, 30 Days of Night was pleasantly surprising with its darkness and brutality. After all, vampires are often viewed on screen as sexy, civilised or even mildly glittery (vomit). In 30 Days of Night they are dangerous predators – powerful, ruthless and not afraid to use their nails.

Image result for 30 days of night gif

They are human-ish of course, in the way they walk on two legs and have eyes, ears and a nose. But that’s where the similarities end.

I enjoyed 30 Days of Night a lot. I first saw it in the cinema but I’ve watched it since on DVD and still think it’s one of the better vampire flicks around. It does have some flaws of course – and something of absolute hilarity that I can’t wait to share with you – but generally I thought it was a pretty good horror film. It’s clear that it was based on a graphic novel – the atmosphere and use of colour, the dramatic, sinister score written by Brian Reitzell and the ever-so-slightly arty bits.

vamps

It’s a gory film (woo hoo) with plenty of blood and death to rejoice in (double woo hoo). The vampires are noticeably cruel and without sounding like a psycho (I know I sound like a bit of a psycho) I enjoyed it for the pure horror that it was – rather than all this Twilight and True Blood stuff we’re used to, where it’s all “let’s be best friends and / or have sex with each other”.

Not that I have any issues with Buffy of course. Buffy was (and still is) the best TV show EVER.

See the source image

Unfortunately I did feel that the gripping 30 Days of Night concept was rather redundant – as really, all the events could have happened in a couple of days – nothing made me feel that the story was set over a few weeks.

Now – for the little something of absolute hilarity. The cold brutal leader of the vampires (Danny Huston) looked just like Neil Tennant from the Pet Shops Boys. There, that’s pretty much it. But damn it was funny!

See the source image

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About emmakwall

Films, books, soundtracks, good humour
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135 Responses to 30 Days of Night (2007)

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  1. Fictional Jenn's avatar Combustible reviews says:
    October 28, 2015 at 15:50

    I didn’t like the ending either. I love how cruel the vampires are in this film. It’s even more refreshing considering what vampires are nowadays, I’m looking at you Edward!

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  2. Cici's avatar Cici says:
    June 21, 2015 at 21:05

    I love this movie… Part two sucks though they just pushed the grossness too much. #crazyforscaryvamps

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  3. beetleypete's avatar beetleypete says:
    May 20, 2015 at 08:47

    Great vampire film, one of the best ever. They are truly scary, and the way that they hunt relentlessly is so well done.
    I didn’t want them to lose!
    Best wishes, Pete.

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  4. David's avatar That Moment In says:
    May 2, 2015 at 14:26

    I actually truend this movie off after like the first twenty minutes.

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  5. Laura's avatar Laura says:
    May 2, 2015 at 14:25

    Great review, Emma. I liked this film a lot, and have seen it a few times because it often seems to be on Film4 late at night. I love Melissa George, I really think she should be much higher profile than she is. She’s not only very good, but also very likeable.

    There’s something missing in 30 Days, though. Humour, maybe?

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  6. Jordan Dodd's avatar Jordan Dodd says:
    April 24, 2015 at 16:47

    I just nominated you for the first ever Official Award of Awesomeness!!

    THE VERSATILE BLOGGER AWARD

    Thanks to Eric @ IPC for the Award image.

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